Please forward the link of this petition to as many US pathologists as you can. Only by voicing our concerns as a group can we cause positive changes.
There is no cost to signing the below petition. Please ignore the step where you are asked to make a donation.
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I am the US Anatomical / Clinical Pathologist (resident or fellow) and I am concerned about the severe oversupply of Pathologists in our country. The glut is a consequence of mergers and acquisitions, the relegating of administrative and Clinical Pathology duties to non-MD staff, the trend of older Pathologists to remain on the job and retire at later ages, and most of all, the overproduction of new Pathologists by teaching hospitals that keep cranking out large numbers of freshly-minted Pathologists regardless of the market needs.
We expect that the new GME bill will be introduced in 2019/20 and will result in an increase of GME funding for all specialties in near future. Our “leaders” in academic Pathology are, however, not content with just a general increase of GME posts, which would increase the number of training spots in Pathology simply due to trickle-down effect. They have already gone a step further by adding Pathology to the list of specialties in short supply and will push for additional slots under the new legislation (see links below).
We understand that teaching hospitals need federal funds; however, these should not be obtained by training physicians for positions that do not exist.
We respectfully demand that the training of new Pathologists be cut by at least one-half. The foreseeable future will not require more than 300 new Pathologists per year. This means that no more than 300 PGY1 positions should be allocated to Pathology residencies. The remaining 300 PGY1 positions currently reserved for Pathologists should be given to specialties where a shortage actually does exist and is not fabricated for the purpose of obtaining Medicare funds and cheap labor of residents. You can read more at:
http://pathologistoversupply.weebly.com/about.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oversupply-of-Patho...
Updates
July 9, 2017
Seeing this kind of movement confirms that the frustration felt in our field is not just anecdotal. The path forward feels heavy and the pushback from those in power will be intense but we are finally being heard.
Reached 100 supporters
July 9, 2017
55 Comments
Most applicants have 2-3 fellowships, old pathologists NEVER retire, they practice in their 80s and enjoy great salaries and NO need to take or retake the boards, HOW IS THIS FAIR?
We had 90+ applicant for 1 open position at our last recruiting opportunity. If this doesn't speak to oversupply, I must not understand its definition.
Academic pathologists behave like a religious cult in this respect. They know well that their residents cannot get jobs; however, they react by repeatedly issuing studies that claim there is a shortage of pathologists, while neglecting to acknowledge there is a shortage of positions. HOW INCREDIBLY TRUE
with continuing cuts of reimbursement, less pathologists are needed for maintaining current level of income. Oversupply of graduating residents certainly will crank the job market of supply/demand.
CAP has been hijacked by academia. We, community pathologists, will have to form our own college to represent our interest and not interest of academic centers or commercial labs.
Need to have a serious look at how many patholgists are actually needed
All these poor trainees with no chance of finding a good job. Corporate pathology labs will ensure that young trainees will never make much income.
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Please forward the link of this petition to as many US pathologists as you can. Only by voicing our concerns as a group can we cause positive changes.
There is no cost to signing the below petition. Please ignore the step where you are asked to make a donation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am the US Anatomical / Clinical Pathologist (resident or fellow) and I am concerned about the severe oversupply of Pathologists in our country. The glut is a consequence of mergers and acquisitions, the relegating of administrative and Clinical Pathology duties to non-MD staff, the trend of older Pathologists to remain on the job and retire at later ages, and most of all, the overproduction of new Pathologists by teaching hospitals that keep cranking out large numbers of freshly-minted Pathologists regardless of the market needs.
We expect that the new GME bill will be introduced in 2019/20 and will result in an increase of GME funding for all specialties in near future. Our “leaders” in academic Pathology are, however, not content with just a general increase of GME posts, which would increase the number of training spots in Pathology simply due to trickle-down effect. They have already gone a step further by adding Pathology to the list of specialties in short supply and will push for additional slots under the new legislation (see links below).
We understand that teaching hospitals need federal funds; however, these should not be obtained by training physicians for positions that do not exist.
We respectfully demand that the training of new Pathologists be cut by at least one-half. The foreseeable future will not require more than 300 new Pathologists per year. This means that no more than 300 PGY1 positions should be allocated to Pathology residencies. The remaining 300 PGY1 positions currently reserved for Pathologists should be given to specialties where a shortage actually does exist and is not fabricated for the purpose of obtaining Medicare funds and cheap labor of residents. You can read more at:
http://pathologistoversupply.weebly.com/about.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oversupply-of-Patho...
Updates
July 9, 2017
Seeing this kind of movement confirms that the frustration felt in our field is not just anecdotal. The path forward feels heavy and the pushback from those in power will be intense but we are finally being heard.
Reached 100 supporters
July 9, 2017
55 Comments
I agree. The problem has existed since at least the 1990s. Academia is out of touch with the real world. The vast majority of Pathology positions in the US are in community hospitals not academia. However, there is no voice for America's community patholgoists and CAP only represent academia's viewpoint.
Most applicants have 2-3 fellowships, old pathologists NEVER retire, they practice in their 80s and enjoy great salaries and NO need to take or retake the boards, HOW IS THIS FAIR?
We had 90+ applicant for 1 open position at our last recruiting opportunity. If this doesn't speak to oversupply, I must not understand its definition.
Academic pathologists behave like a religious cult in this respect. They know well that their residents cannot get jobs; however, they react by repeatedly issuing studies that claim there is a shortage of pathologists, while neglecting to acknowledge there is a shortage of positions. HOW INCREDIBLY TRUE
with continuing cuts of reimbursement, less pathologists are needed for maintaining current level of income. Oversupply of graduating residents certainly will crank the job market of supply/demand.
CAP has been hijacked by academia. We, community pathologists, will have to form our own college to represent our interest and not interest of academic centers or commercial labs.
Need to have a serious look at how many patholgists are actually needed
All these poor trainees with no chance of finding a good job. Corporate pathology labs will ensure that young trainees will never make much income.
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I agree. The problem has existed since at least the 1990s. Academia is out of touch with the real world. The vast majority of Pathology positions in the US are in community hospitals not academia. However, there is no voice for America's community patholgoists and CAP only represent academia's viewpoint.