Description
Diagnose disease by examining organs, tissues, cells, and body fluids; direct laboratory testing, perform autopsies, and consult with clinicians. May serve as a medical examiner.
- • Testify as an expert witness in depositions or trials.
- • Review cases using autopsy findings, lab data, and investigation reports.
- • Direct and manage pathology laboratories.
- • Stay current through literature, collaboration, and professional activities.
- • Develop or validate new diagnostic tests and instruments.
- • Teach and mentor physicians, trainees, and laboratory staff.
- • Conduct research and present scientific findings.
- • Perform autopsies to determine cause of death.
- • Supervise pathology staff, residents, and visiting pathologists.
- • Obtain specimens via procedures such as biopsies and superficial FNAs.
- • Assess etiology, pathogenesis, morphology, and clinical significance of disease.
- • Diagnose infections by interpreting serologic and molecular tests.
- • Perform molecular and cytogenetic analyses on tissue and cell samples.
- • Write clear pathology reports with analyses, results, and conclusions.
- • Analyze and interpret microbiology, cytology, chemistry, hematology, and molecular test results.
- • Communicate diagnostic findings to surgeons and other clinicians.
- • Advise clinicians on test selection, interpretation, and implications for care.
- • Examine gross and microscopic specimens to identify disease.
- • Diagnose disease using gross pathology, histology, cytology, immunology, flow cytometry, and molecular methods.
Related specializations
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Available on paid plans only
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Related Pathways
Healthcare & Human Services
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
