Pathologist Expectation

Expectations

In the time of January, the 9th to January, the 20th I’ll spend my time in the pathological institute in Heidelberg and in a General practitioner’s surgery in Dutenhofen. I chose these workplaces with my wish, to become a forensic doctor someday, as a basis. Even though it is not the work I want to do someday, I see this work placement as an opportunity to experience different regions in the world of medicine. As I did a work placement in the surgery before, I have certain ideas about how the upcoming two weeks will be, like how I’ll have to work with different people and help organising things. That is with the general practitioner but as for the work of a pathologist I cannot come up with ideas. When I hear the word pathologist I think of working with dead bodies researching the human body. I want to become a forensic

In general, there is the “main” laboratory where organs are cut into small pieces, other fluids and biopsies are fixated in formalin and then cut so that pathologists can look at it under a microscope. There were lots of high technology machines which either fastened the process or take some if the task which are too important to leave it to people. An important part of it is a room where “fresh” preparations were sent to. Here the different organs and biopsies need to be investigated in a time limit of 20-30 minutes as the patient is still in surgery. Next to the main laboratory I could look at the main chemical room where the smallest preparation can be analysed under an electron microscope. The next one I visited was the molecular gene laboratory where people worked on DNA and RNA, especially the mutation in them. My second work place was a normal surgery in a small village. There was a small lobby, waiting room, and three different parlour offices and a small laboratory. During my work placement, I mostly stayed at the laboratory or at the lobby to assist the