Report of the ASCP Fellow In-Service Hematopathology Job Market Survey

By Thomas J. Bollinger, MD, MPH

The first-ever Fellow In-Service Hematopathology Exam (FISHE) was administered by the ASCP in 2008. In keeping with the pathology job market research survey conducted by the ASCP Resident Council, which is administered at the end of the RISE, a hematopathology-specific job market survey was administered at the end of the FISHE. The ASCP Resident Council is extremely grateful to all of the respondents for taking their time to complete the survey. We also thank Robyn Potts, MD, FASCP, a former Council Member, for her insight in constructing survey questions.

The job market for graduating Hematopathology fellows appears robust. At the time of exam administration, 76 of 103 fellows (74%) intended to apply or had already applied for jobs. Of 65 formal applicants (11 have not yet applied), 62 (95%) had interviewed for jobs and 61 (94%) had received offers. Of graduating fellows not seeking jobs, 25 have applied for or intend to pursue an additional fellowship.

Training

Medical School. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents were U.S. medical graduates; 27% were international medical graduates; 1% were U.S. international medical graduates; and 3% responded “other.”

Residency. Of the 103 individuals surveyed, 84% were from dual anatomic pathology/clinical pathology (AP/CP) programs, while 9% were solely CP and 7% solely AP. Fifty-eight percent were from a university-owned public hospital, 30% from a university-owned private hospital, 4% from a community based teaching hospital, 3% from a military hospital, and 5% from other institutions.

Fellowship. Of 103 respondents, 24 had completed a fellowship in a different subspecialty. Of those, 13 completed fellowships in Surgical Pathology or another Anatomic Pathology subspecialty (54%). Six completed fellowships in Molecular Pathology. Others completed fellowships in Transfusion Medicine (3), Pediatric Pathology (2), and Immunohistochemistry (1).

Additional Training Beyond Hematopathology Fellowship. Twenty-five respondents applied for or intended to apply for fellowships instead of seeking jobs. Of 23 fellowship applicants who formally applied, 100% applied for 1–3 fellowships. All received offers. Nineteen (83%) took fellowships and did not seek a job, 2 took fellowships and received no job offers, 1 took a fellowship and declined later job offers, and one took a fellowship but later declined to accept a job. Prospective fellows were most interested in Surgical Pathology and Anatomic Pathology (including Dermatopathology, Cytopathology, and Gastrointestinal/Hepatic pathology), Molecular Pathology, and subspecialty fellowships. Of fellows applying for additional training, the majority (71%) did so for long-term career interests, 25% did so because they felt it was necessary to secure employment.

Job Market

Of 76 potential job seekers, 65 formally applied. Thirty-four percent applied for 1–3 jobs; 28% for 4–6 jobs; 20% for 7–10 jobs; and 18% for >10 jobs. Ninety-five percent (62) of those 65 applicants formally interviewed for jobs, with 74% interviewing for 1–3 jobs, 23% for 4–6 jobs, 3% for 7–10 jobs. Of the 61 who received offers, 46% received one offer, 33% received two offers, and 21% received three or more offers.

Of the 61 job hunters, 87% searched for less than 6 months before finding a job: 18% found a job in less than a month; 36% found a job in 1–3 months; and 33% found a job in 3–6 months.

Of the 61 respondents who were offered a job, 24 (39%) were offered positions in their own residency/ fellowship program, 14 of them declined this position for another offer, 5 accepted and planned on staying at their program, and 5 accepted but continued to look for other offers.

Most new hires took jobs in community practices (44%). Thirty-three percent landed academic clinical practice jobs, 11%, 7%, and 2% will work in a reference lab/corporate setting, academic research, and “other” settings, respectively.

Work will consist of hematopathology, surgical pathology, and other clinical pathology for 33% of new hires. Another 33% will practice hematopathology and surgical pathology only while 21% and 10% will practice hematopathology only and hematopathology with other clinical pathology respectively. Three percent responded that their workload will consist of “other” duties.

Compensation

Employment Status. Thirty-nine of 61 new hires (64%) will work in an employee-employer relationship. Twenty-two of 27 new hires (82%) will work in community practices, while the remainder will work as partners or potential practice partners.

Salaries. A question regarding the range of starting salaries (excluding benefits) offered was answered by 60 respondents. Salaries were reported as follows:

<$100,000		2 (3%)
$100,000 +		16 (27%)
$150,000 +		24 (40%)
$200,000 +		12 (20%)
>$250,000		6 (10%)

Bonuses. According to our survey results, 90% of employers did not offer signing bonuses, although 56% offered moving bonuses.

Factors in Job Search

Type of Practice. Thirty-seven percent of 76 respondents found that community group practice held the most open hematopathology positions in the market while 33% thought academic clinical practice offered the most opportunities. Fourteen percent reported that academic research practice positions and 13% thought reference laboratories were most available.

Geographic Region. Of 76 job hunters, 66% restricted their job search to a specific region. The most common reason for their restriction was “lifestyle/family issues” (55%), with area nativity, spouse’s job, and professional contacts in the region mentioned as other reasons. Of applicants who restricted their job searches, most restricted their job search to the Midwest United States (28%). Other regions were as follows: 18% Northeast, 16% Southeast, 14% Southwest, 10% Northwest, 8% “other,” and 6% Canada.

Other Factors. Only 5% of applicants restricted their job search based on visa status. For those seeking a job, multiple job factors rank at varying levels of importance to each applicant. The applicant’s perception of staff and institution at the time of interview was ranked highest in level of importance, with job availability in geographic regions, long-term job security, family factors, and opportunity to practice a subspecialty following. Career advancement opportunities, salary considerations, research opportunities, fiscal pressures (e.g., loan repayments), and teaching opportunities were secondary.

Referrals. When searching for a job, applicants ranked referrals from faculty and word of mouth as most helpful. College of American Pathologists listings were ranked next in importance, followed by random mailings/calls, ASCP Job Finder and executive recruiters. With regard to using the internet for job search activities, the vast majority (74%) of respondents indicated that they found websites such as mdconsult.com, careerweb.com, and monster.com as most helpful.

Dr. Bollinger is in residency training at the Orlando (FL) Regional Medical Center and is currently co-Chair-Elect of the ASCP Resident Council.

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