How often do you gross?

[pathslides]

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For those out of residency and are practicing, how often do you gross per month?

 

[Alteran]

About a week every 2 months when our PA is on vacation. We divide the grossing load evenly at the hospital. For our other site, the pathologist who is grossing the big specimens doesn't sign out as much as the others. We have techs do the biopsies and miscellaneous no-thought stuff.

 

[coroner]

Everyday

 

[icpshootyz]

Never. We examine frozens w/ the PA's and we go over tough cases to show them how to gross, but no one in our group grosses.

 

[octopusprime]

Never. Maybe a last minute breast lump to stay within the formalin times. Otherwise never.
Most everyone i know in PP grosses save a few dermpaths.

 

[coroner]

Most everyone i know in PP grosses save a few dermpaths.

^^^This^^^

In general, some if not regular grossing is the norm in the hospital-based, pp model. This excludes reference/off-site labs, academics, and being employed/salaried directly by the hospital/health care network.

There are exceptions in pp though. Most notably a) Your group is big enough, say 6+ pathologists or so to hire a PA because you can afford it. b) You have a generous CEO or work in a hospital flush with cash willing to hire a PA. c) The head of your group (or you if solo) is a shark and knows how to negotiate that your time is spent in the lab more valuably than grossing. Often, this is not the case. Particularly with admins having no sympathy for what they view as part of your job description and reducing costs by not hiring a PA.

 

[Cellpathology]

almost never, haven't grossed a big specimen in a couple years

 

[jupiterianvibe]

once a week. all big complex cases.

i dont think pathologists should be grossing. anything a tech can do they should do.

 

[univlad]

We gross a few left over things from Friday night on Saturday when we are on call for weekend (q4 weekends) and then when our PA is on vacation (ends up being about 5 weekdays per pathologist per year).

 

[Euchromatin]

I am part of a fairly large private practice group. We gross only in very rare instances, such as a rush specimen coming in late in the evening/over the weekend while on call or if we go do a frozen at a small regional hospital without a PA.