Pathologists dismayed by recruiting problems

With only 18 residency positions available in the entire country, it must be very difficult to enter laboratory medicine specialties such as general pathology, right? Wrong, says Dr. Sandip SenGupta, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Pathologists. Writing in the latest issue of the CAP Newsletter, he said that despite the small number of positions available, one-third of them remained unfilled after the 2000 residency match. In that match, only 10 of 1084 participants listed a laboratory medicine specialty as their first program choice. He warned of a ”downward spiral to oblivion” for laboratory medicine unless recruiting, including recruitment of international medical graduates, improves. ”Only with an all-out offensive effort can we expect to be successful in stemming the tide and saving the profession for the next generation,” he said.