Day in the life - Chemical Pathology Prof Graham Jones Reader: Pathologists are indispensible to the operation of medical

l system. But who are they and what do they actually do. As a chemical pathologist doctor Graham Jones is a medically trained doctor, responsible for dealing with the entire range of disease. His work encompases detecting changes in a number of substances in blood and body fluids and he heads up a team of twenty. Dr Graham Jones: Really its a practical and legal responsibility for everything that happens in the lab. So that whether its the people, who are here the tests we offer, Interpretations for doctors, and the handling or at least supervising of the training the staff here, all of that within comes back to the pathologists in charge of the laboratory. The individual tests produce are about two million a year, out of this laboratory. About half of them for the general hospital and it is obviously multiple tests per patient per day and through here we h doing about 800 patients a day, Are their kidneys getting sick in response to dug? Are there is their cholesterol going down with the appropriate treatment? How about an oxygen in their blood after they had the heart transplant? All of those test are part of the chemical pathology repertoire. We have an IT system, which allows us to filter the results, depending on whether theyre likely to be have anything critical in there? So that the things where the results are all clearly normal? Anything if it is ill is reviewed by one of the scientists. They are all trained in that work out. We have working in this section maybe 20 scientists, and one pathologist. So they after the first filter and then the things that are more difficult they come through to me. The key for chemical pathologist is for them to help other doctors help patients and to help patients directly. Dr Graham Jones: Hello this is Graham Jones. Could I ask Dr Harley Spectator about one of his patient, please Id I like to speak to Dr Wohn i just like to speak to Dr Larry Lee. Communicating with doctors probably now is difficult so you can spindle afternoon on the time trying to get back and answer their various questions. Dr Davidson please, Dr Pack, Dr Bradley who we suit the interface of the laboratory donationing side and the clinical practice. Result that might be simple to interpret in one person might be very difficult, another person who is receiving multiple medications although there is other condition is going on. Whatever results we got for every study which has been looked at where pathologist have chemical pathologists have been involved in providing advice and support has shown that has been beneficial to the doctors ability to treat patient. Reader: To become a chemical pathologists doctor Jones studied for fifteen years following high school. First, he qualified as a medical practitioner, then undertook an internship followed by a year in general clinical residency in a hospital. He then did a PhD before starting training as a registrar in chemical pathology, a process that usually takes five more years before becoming a fully pledged pathologist.

Training as a pathologist is like an entrepreneurship, requiring hands on experience. So part of doctor Joness day to day role is also supervise the trainees in his department, as they complete their necessary steps to become a pathologist. The doctors cannot know. What we doing here. That is just not possible. They are obviously have a focus which, goes from the end of us through to the patients and we provide that link between the two. They can phone a mission.When they phone they want to speak to a person who can synthesize information and tell them things they do not know. While Doctor Jones is a chemical pathologist. Pathologist in general play much wider role in just diagnosing disease. They are actively involved in diagnosing more than seventy percent of disease and work across a range of different specialties. These include anatomical pathology the study of disease through tissue. Forensic pathology, which seeks to investigated and define the cause of unexpected death. Genetics, which looks chromosomes and DNA from cells to diagnose genetic diseases. Immunopathology, which looks at allergic reactions or auto-immune disorders such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid conditions. Microbiology, which deals with diseases, caused by infectious agents, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites and general pathology, which covers the profession as a whole. Treatment is diagnosis. If you dont know what is wrong with patient, you cannot treat them.