What does a clinical pathologist do?
Clinical pathologist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real clinical pathologist resumes:
- Supervise and manage pathology, microbiology and biochemistry laboratory.
- Interpret laboratory finding and diagnosis to patients.
- Assist histology and necropsy laboratories attending client's needs by investigating and establishing new techniques and improving current ones.
- Observe therapy services provide by speech language therapist, occupational and physical therapist.
Clinical pathologist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Clinical Pathologists are proficient in Clinical Chemistry, Pathology Reports, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Organizational skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Clinical Pathologists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Clinical Chemistry, 21%
Supervised 4 staff in clinical chemistry department, diagnosing gastrointestinal histology as well as urine cytology.
- Pathology Reports, 21%
Performed numerous tasks for Pathology department such as sending out specimens and producing pathology reports.
- Patient Care, 17%
Evaluated patient care procedural changes for effectiveness.
- Diagnosis, 16%
Interpreted laboratory finding and diagnosis to patients.
- Test Results, 6%
Maintained and provided accurate and timely test results to Physicians/Providers and answered inquiries regarding test results.
- Laboratory Equipment, 6%
Operated and calibrated laboratory equipment.
Common skills that a clinical pathologist uses to do their job include "clinical chemistry," "pathology reports," and "patient care." You can find details on the most important clinical pathologist responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a clinical pathologist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what clinical pathologists do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, a clinical pathologist resume shows how clinical pathologists use communication skills: "provide speech services to patients who use alternative augmentative communication. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling clinical pathologist duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "good recordkeeping and other organizational skills are critical in both medical and business settings." According to a clinical pathologist resume, here's how clinical pathologists can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "led organizational efforts to achieve iso 9001 certification of laboratory services. "
Physical stamina. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of clinical pathologists is physical stamina. This skill is critical to many everyday clinical pathologist duties, as "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "observed therapy services provided by speech language therapist, occupational and physical therapist. "
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what clinical pathologists do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to clinical pathologist responsibilities because "physicians and surgeons need to evaluate patients’ symptoms and administer the appropriate treatments." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical clinical pathologist tasks: "banked and filed slides, printed and resolved pending list' performed hsil calls"
The three companies that hire the most clinical pathologists are:
- AbbVie2 clinical pathologists jobs
- Seattle Children's Healthcare System2 clinical pathologists jobs
- The City University of New York2 clinical pathologists jobs
Compare different clinical pathologists
Clinical pathologist vs. Pathology laboratory director
An Associate Professor of Pathology specializes in teaching pathology courses to undergraduate and graduate students at universities or colleges. Their job entails developing curricula and course materials, administering examinations and quizzes, organizing laboratory activities and demonstrations, facilitating discussions, and keeping an eye on their academic progress. They may also participate in various research programs, pathology projects, and committee works. Moreover, they organize seminars for the students and invite experts as guests, helping to broaden the students' knowledge and insights.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a clinical pathologist are more likely to require skills like "clinical chemistry," "diagnosis," "immunology," and "test results." On the other hand, a job as a pathology laboratory director requires skills like "anatomic pathology," "regulatory agencies," "infection control," and "lis." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that pathology laboratory directors earn slightly differ from clinical pathologists. In particular, pathology laboratory directors are 23.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a clinical pathologist. Additionally, they're 9.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Clinical pathologist vs. Associate professor of pathology
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that clinical pathologist responsibilities requires skills like "patient care," "diagnosis," "test results," and "laboratory equipment." But an associate professor of pathology might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "research projects," "resident training," "american association," and "reference laboratories."
Associate professors of pathology earn lower levels of education than clinical pathologists in general. They're 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Clinical pathologist vs. Molecular genetic pathologist
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, clinical pathologists are more likely to have skills like "clinical chemistry," "pathology reports," "patient care," and "diagnosis." But a molecular genetic pathologist is more likely to have skills like "dna," "molecular genetics," "technical audience," and "technical platform."
Molecular genetic pathologists typically earn similar educational levels compared to clinical pathologists. Specifically, they're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Clinical pathologist vs. Attending pathologist
Even though a few skill sets overlap between clinical pathologists and attending pathologists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a clinical pathologist might have more use for skills like "clinical chemistry," "diagnosis," "immunology," and "test results." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of attending pathologists require skills like "dictation," "speech language pathology," "frozen sections," and "speech patterns. "
In general, attending pathologists hold lower degree levels compared to clinical pathologists. Attending pathologists are 9.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 12.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of clinical pathologist
Updated January 8, 2025
