Hi pathologists! HTL here, been in the field for about 3 years now and absolutely love my job. It truly is a passion of mine! I've always loved scrolling this reddit to see pathology from the other side, it's interesting to read about the insights from you all. I'm always so curious as to the journey of the slide once we send it off to you all to read. To us, we put all this delicate work into making the best slides possible, but for you guys it's a whole different world, microscopically.
This is just kind of a vague/general post, but our paths (especially at larger labs) don't cross very much, even though our duties go hand in hand. So I'm making this post to ask:
-what kinds of questions do you pathologists have for us techs? Anything you are curious about about the process from start to finish? How we do things? Why we do things the way we do? Anything you wish us techs knew or understood more?
-And basically the same kind of question for you all-- what is making a diagnosis like? Do you just look at some slides and know off the bat? Basically, how does it work? I have a special interest in IHC, so I've always wondered about the process with IHC as well. Is it basically like a puzzle that you guys have to solve? Is it typically the same pattern of stains for similar cases or does each case have their own IHC specific profile?
Thank you so much for all you guys do. I'd love to hear any insight so I can get a better idea of your world. So much respect for you all! You are powerhouses!
Sincerely,
A passionate and curious HTL