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Good Job Prospects for Head and Neck Pathologists in Canada and the USA
Thomas Shi*
Horizon Health NB, Canada
Submission: August 30, 2023; Published: October 27, 2023
*Corresponding author: Thomas Shi, MD, FRCPC, DABP, Horizon Health NB, Canada
How to cite this article: Thomas S. Good Job Prospects for Head and Neck Pathologists in Canada and the USA. Glob J Oto, 2023; 26(2): 556184. DOI: 10.19080/GJO.2023.26.556184
Abstract
The pathologist job market in Canada and USA has seen an uptick for the last 2 years after the onset of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Head and Neck pathology was a rather “niche” area occupying a relatively small proportion of the overall pathologist demand. While the proportion of Head and Neck pathology jobs has not changed much, due to the overall “hot” job market, the absolute number of job postings has increased.
Keywords: Head and Neck pathology; Pathologist; Job market, PathologyOutlines.com; Specimen volumes
Abbreviations: PO: Pathologyoutlines.com; CAPACP: Canadian Association of Pathologists Association Canadienne des Pathologists; ENTP: Head and Neck Pathology/Pathologist
Introduction
The number of job ads for pathologists in Canada and USA has seen an “explosion” since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic [1]. Most of the jobs in these 2 countries are either advertised on PathologyOutlines.com (abbreviated PO from now on, mainly USA) or CAPACP.org (abbreviated CAPACP from now on, mainly Canada). PO has been running job market summaries for a number of years. Using the statistics from 2020 Q1, there were 214 job ads on PO [2]. Whereas in Q2 of 2023, there were 364 job ads on PO, representing a 70% increase [3]. Head and Neck pathology (abbreviated ENTP from now on) is a relative “niche” subspecialty of pathology according to data from PO [4]. In 2017, there were 1079 instances where subspecialty training was mentioned as a job requirement, and ENTP was mentioned only 23 times (3.5%). A similar trend was seen in 2018 (44 out of 1539, 5.2%), and first quarter of 2020 (7 of 214, 3.3%).
How has the ENTP job market changed since the pandemic? In 2020, the proportion of ENTP was similar to previous years (42 out of 763, 5.5%). But in 2021, the proportion slightly inched upwards (85 out of 1359, 6.3%). In 2022, this was better, with 114 of 1522 (7.5%) ads for ENTP. In the latest Q2 of 2023, the number was similar, with 26 of 364 ads (7.1%) for ENTP. For the CAPACP, as of August 30, 2023, there are 28 ads, of which 3 mentioned ENTP (11%) [5]. There is no previous Canadian data for comparison purposes. Has there been major changes in the demand for subspecialties in pathology? When comparing data on PO, the top 3 in demand subspecialties (cytopathology, hematopathology, GI/liver) are the same in 2020 and Q2 of 2023. Therefore, this would suggest a stable trend. Therefore, the increased demand for ENTP is uncertain. Perhaps this could be related to low supply, such as reduced interest in ENT fellowships, or increased ENT specimen volumes. Future studies assessing specimen volume by anatomical location would be helpful in this regard.
Conclusion
The pathology job market is robust in Canada and USA. The demand for ENTP has been inching upwards in recent years. This data would be useful for senior residents deciding on which fellowship to apply to.
Acknowledgement
The author would like to thank Dr. N. Pernick for his PO work on the job market.
