Careers Inquiry

In Social Studies we are learning about different Careers. The career I chose to research is Pathologist. I found it really interesting as I get to research more about this field and how they work and what their work like in hospitals or in the lab. Another reason why I want to be a Pathologists is that while I was searching about this career I was enjoying it. This is my inquiry for it.

FQ 1: What does my chosen Job entail? 

1. Provide a one paragraph written overview/summary of your job.

 Pathologists are doctors who diagnose and study human diseases and conditions.

They diagnose health problems by testing tissue and fluid samples taken from patients.

2. What are the working conditions like?

• may work regular business hours, or be on call if they work in hospitals
• work in hospital laboratories, private laboratories and medical schools
• work with infectious material – laboratories have strict health and safety standards to minimise risks
  
• travel throughout New Zealand and overseas to attend meetings, seminars and workshops.

3. What skills and knowledge are required for this career?

• how the human body works
• how to diagnose different diseases and illnesses
• medicines and treatments, and the effect these have
• the chemistry of the body
• anatomy and medical-surgical procedures
• current research and practices in their field.

4. What are the personal qualities that you require to do this job?

• accurate, with good attention to detail
• analytical, with problem-solving skills
• able to work well under pressure
• excellent at data analysis and interpretation
• good at communicating
• good at report writing
• be patience towards the patient

5. What are the key tasks that you will do in this job?

• analyse samples taken from patients
• diagnose diseases such as cancer and diabetes
• discover the genetic causes of disease
• provide reports and advice for medical practitioners
• research diseases to find cures and guide public health policy
• investigate deaths and perform autopsies
• monitor treatment and progression of diseases

6. How much will you earn? Salary? And what are the work hours like?

• Registrar (trainee) pathologists usually earn between $97,000 and $197,000 a year.
• Qualified pathologists working for a DBH can earn between $164,000 and $245,000.

7. What training and education is required for this career? How long does the training take and cost?

- The training takes 13-15 years

8. What pre-requisites are there to get into the training course?

• Complete the Health Sciences First Year programme at Otago University or the first year of either the Bachelor of Health Sciences or Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science at Auckland University
• complete a five-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree at Otago or Auckland Universities
• work for two years as a house officer (supervised junior doctor) in a hospital 
• Complete another five years of specialist training and examinations to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
• complete a further one or two years of specialist training and examinations to become a Joint Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

9. What subjects will you need to study in school to prepare you for this career?

• Chemistry
• Physics
• Biology
• Maths
• Health Education
• English

10. Add any interesting information about your chosen career that you may find

11. Add in an image/photo / picture that relates to your job

FQ 4: Evaluating your Job – the what and why you are interested in this career
You need to answer these questions and you are expected to write a paragraph for each.
1. Why do you think this job is important, what values does it promote?
• I think this is important as you can cure people and help others
2. Why have you chosen this career to investigate?
• I think it's nice to be a doctor since I like science and I am interested in Science
3. What qualities and skills do you already have that suit this career?
• I like doing a research project and analysing things.

4. What qualities and skills do you need to develop for this career?
• I think I have to expand my knowledge about anatomy and physiology
5. The job market is competitive, what can you do now or in the near future to out-compete others for this job.
• You need to improve your self-esteem and have faith in yourself. For your work, you have to take responsibilities and work the best you can.

FQ 6: Reflecting on the Research Process

1. What worked/went well for you during the research?

I could search for a job that interests me and find a little information about it.

2. What have you found challenging during the research?

I couldn’t find any answers for some questions especially in FQ3

3. How did you try to overcome these challenges?

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to overcome the challenge as I couldn’t find anything.

4. If you were to do this again what would you do differently and why?

I think if I were to do this again I would search for a different career but still in the medical field. The reason why I would still look in the field is that I just like science and I want to do research and look at cells through a microscope.