Manpower deficiencies in cardiovascular pathology. Implications for medical care of cardiovascular diseases.

Abstract

The general shortage of pathology manpower has been well documented, but virtually no published data are available on cardiovascular pathologists. To address this situation, the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology surveyed all chairpersons of academic pathology departments, chiefs of academic clinical cardiovascular programs, including adult and pediatric cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, in the United States and Canada, regarding their perceptions of cardiovascular pathology manpower and the training and areas of expertise necessary for a competent cardiovascular pathologist. Of total respondents, 41% stated that their institution's department of pathology needed to add a cardiovascular pathologist, 39% of respondents replied that money and funding were available to hire an additional cardiovascular pathologist, yet only 19% stated that their institution intended to add a cardiovascular pathologist. In regard to career orientation, 77% of respondents wanted a cardiovascular pathologist capable of both diagnostic work and basic research. The survey results show a significant discrepancy between apparent institutional needs for cardiovascular pathologists and hiring plans, implying that there is a substantial shortage of cardiovascular pathologists. This deficiency in cardiovascular pathology manpower has important ramifications for the amount and quality of medical services that can be provided to clinical cardiovascular colleagues in an era of increasingly complex pathobiological information and interventional strategies in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.