To get into training currently you need to have done a minimum of two years postgraduate but the more years you’ve done the better. Usually you’ll commence pathology training in PGY3 or PGY4 but there’s quite a lot of variation.
As a pathologist you will do quite a lot of processing of specimens that can be quite smelly and repetitive. To help you determine whether this is the right job for you and given there is no opportunity to do a pathology term in PGY1 or PGY2 it’s worth looking into an observership for a couple of weeks which can usually be done at SCGH or FSH. To organise an observership try contacting the Director of Training – Dr Yancey Wilson and she will be able to organise an observership for you.
Once you know you want to do pathology you can sit the Basic Pathological Sciences (BPS) exam. Some trainees sit this in their first year of pathology training and others do it in medical school. Additional information about the BPS can be found
here.
Starting pathology is like you’ve started again. What you learnt in medical school doesn’t really cut it. There are pathologists who have been working in this career for 30 years and are still learning new things. It’s very interesting and cutting edge (being curious is a good thing). There isn’t a specific curriculum for exams and everything is based on WHO textbooks that only get updated every five years and there can be quite a lot of changes so there’s quite a lot to study for.
The training program generally takes five years unless you take additional time to complete your exams and then this can be extended to six years. It’s centralised so you get employed through SCGH and move through public and private labs around Perth (there are no rural rotations). There’s no on call and generally your weekends and public holidays are free. Perth has a reputation across Australia as being a good place to train. There’s a good teaching focus and you will learn a lot.
As a registrar you will do two to three days of ‘cut ups’ a week, where you can see the pathology with the naked eye versus under the microscope. On the other days you will have you will do reporting and tutorials scattered throughout the week depending on what’s available, what site you’re at and if you have upcoming exams.
For further information about training to become a pathologist, refer to the Royal College of Pathologists Australia
RCPA - General Information
Applications are advertised around June each year via the JobsWA website.
