Letters to the Editor Pathology Manpower examinations are foreign medical graduates, this anticipated event will have rapid and substantial effects on the supply of pathologists. (3) Selectivity. As the ASCP/CAP report forcefully states, many applicants for jobs are rejected by potential employers. This apparently occurs far more commonly than the converse situation {i.e., job offers rejected by applicants). As the report points out, the reasons for this selectivity have not been explored. However, clearly this observation has an effect on the job market. For the above-mentioned reasons, we feel that it is extremely important that pathologists not become complacent over the apparent match in supply versus demand for pathology manpower. This field is expanding rapidly as pathologists are asked to assume increasing clinical, research and instructional responsibilities. At the same time, there appears to be a variety of threats to the input segment of the manpower pipeline. Although there is some evidence that the specialty is gaining in popularity among graduates of American medical schools, we must continue to be alert to the need for additional pathology manpower. A detailed follow-up study, as is strongly called for in the ASCP/CAP report, seems highly desirable and badly needed. ROLLA B. HILL, JR.,
M.D.
Professor and Chairman Department of Pathology Upstate Medical Center Syracuse, New York 13210 ROBERT E. ANDERSON, M.D.
Professor and Chairman Department of Pathology University of New Mexico School of Medicine Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 References 1. ASCP/CAP Joint Task Force on Pathology Manpower. Pathology manpower needs in the United States. Am J Clin Pathol 65:909-920, 1976 2. Goodale F, Gander W: The future of pathology: A Delphi study by pathology chairmen. J Med Educ 1976 (in press)
Received June 22, 1976; accepted for publication July 16, 1976; Key words: Pathology manpower needs. Address reprint requests to Dr. Hill.
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To the Editor:—In the report of the ASCP-CAP Joint Task Force on Pathology Manpower,1 the conclusion that "the supply and demand for pathology manpower are in approximate balance" is reached. This excellent report serves pathology well and places us in a position to act rather than react. However, we feel that it is important to note three areas in which the report may be subtly biased and which may therefore warrant further future evaluation: (1) Need. The report focuses on a forecast by practicing pathologists who anticipate that expanding workloads and a broader role for pathologists in health care will require at most a modest increase in the number of practicing pathologists. A recent forecast by the chairmen of pathology departments in the United States and Canada2 supports the hypothesis that the role of pathologists in the health care system will expand markedly during the next ten years. In addition, the pathology chairmen anticipate an increased emphasis upon subspecialization and the possible development of new areas in pathology (i.e., environmental pathology). Whether the pathologists responding to the ASCP/CAP questionnaire have accurately forecast the number of new pathologists needed is thus open to some question; the chairmen's view would suggest that it may well fall short of the mark. (2) FMG's. The data include a large number of foreign medical graduates now in the practice of pathology and in residencies in pathology. Recent actions by the Coordinating Committee on Medical Education, portions of the Health Manpower legislation currently being written in both houses of Congress, and potential actions in the Department of Labor that will have impact on immigration policies are being widely interpreted as inevitably leading to a marked decrease in the number of foreign medical graduates entering this country as physicians. Since approximately 50% of persons taking the American Board of Pathology
M.D.
Professor and Chairman Department of Pathology Upstate Medical Center Syracuse, New York 13210 ROBERT E. ANDERSON, M.D.
Professor and Chairman Department of Pathology University of New Mexico School of Medicine Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 References 1. ASCP/CAP Joint Task Force on Pathology Manpower. Pathology manpower needs in the United States. Am J Clin Pathol 65:909-920, 1976 2. Goodale F, Gander W: The future of pathology: A Delphi study by pathology chairmen. J Med Educ 1976 (in press)
Received June 22, 1976; accepted for publication July 16, 1976; Key words: Pathology manpower needs. Address reprint requests to Dr. Hill.
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Downloaded from http://ajcp.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on June 5, 2016
To the Editor:—In the report of the ASCP-CAP Joint Task Force on Pathology Manpower,1 the conclusion that "the supply and demand for pathology manpower are in approximate balance" is reached. This excellent report serves pathology well and places us in a position to act rather than react. However, we feel that it is important to note three areas in which the report may be subtly biased and which may therefore warrant further future evaluation: (1) Need. The report focuses on a forecast by practicing pathologists who anticipate that expanding workloads and a broader role for pathologists in health care will require at most a modest increase in the number of practicing pathologists. A recent forecast by the chairmen of pathology departments in the United States and Canada2 supports the hypothesis that the role of pathologists in the health care system will expand markedly during the next ten years. In addition, the pathology chairmen anticipate an increased emphasis upon subspecialization and the possible development of new areas in pathology (i.e., environmental pathology). Whether the pathologists responding to the ASCP/CAP questionnaire have accurately forecast the number of new pathologists needed is thus open to some question; the chairmen's view would suggest that it may well fall short of the mark. (2) FMG's. The data include a large number of foreign medical graduates now in the practice of pathology and in residencies in pathology. Recent actions by the Coordinating Committee on Medical Education, portions of the Health Manpower legislation currently being written in both houses of Congress, and potential actions in the Department of Labor that will have impact on immigration policies are being widely interpreted as inevitably leading to a marked decrease in the number of foreign medical graduates entering this country as physicians. Since approximately 50% of persons taking the American Board of Pathology
