Ah summer!

Greetings from the sunny Okanagan. So far, summer 2006 has been just beautiful. I've taken up bicycling; realizing that all of the hills around here make for a great workout, comparable in many ways to running, but better in that bicycling is so low-impact. I really have to get out more so that I can shed some pounds...so that it's not quite so difficult to climb those hills. I have ordered a kayak; I have been meaning to do so for over a year; it's about time! I am very much looking forward to finally getting out on the lake and maybe next year checking out the ocean that everyone says is so wonderful. With a little luck, I'll get a glimpse of some of the old-growth forests before the logging companies turn them into lumber.

Thanks to those who sent comments to my previous post. The PAs who work for the Interior Health Authority in BC are paid at the Lab Technologist III level (equivalent to 'Senior' in other provinces; mid-way between a General Duty Technologist and a Charge Technologist). To my way of thinking, this is an [almost] appropriate level of remuneration; depending upon the PA (not enough for some; too much for others).

Isn't it great that PAs have, for the first [official] time, been formally recognized? The CAP has voted in favour of creating a Pathologist Assistant section. In the era of cutbacks, busy schedules, tight budgets, etc. it is truly nice to have had one of these intangibles thrown our way. It doesn't come without strings however; Canadian PAs will be required to elect an executive, hold meetings, contribute to creating our portion of the CAP constitution, pay dues, attend annual meetings (next year's CAP is in Toronto), etc. Everyone pat yourself on the back; and thank the Pathologists for whom you work. PAs are finally getting a little reward for all of those hard years of work.

Other notable news...

One of our PAs has had a beautiful baby girl and is off until early 2007. To cover the parental leave, we have hired one of the first graduates of the PA training program in Winnipeg and things are working out just great; she's happy and so are we. Good work Larry!

We had the misfortune of having one of the PAs resign; and to do so before even starting work! We were really left in the lurch and as a result, that site has been without PA help for some time as we consider training a Technologist who can function both as a PA and as a Histotechnologist.

One of the four Pathologists in Kelowna has been granted a leave of absence. This position has thankfully been filled (the Pathologists have been very very busy for the last 1 1/2 years).

It may seem strange to those PAs who have practised in larger centres for a long time to learn that we are just beginning to put in place the first procedures for surgical pathology. Numerous factors, not the least of which was steadily increasing workload at the Kelowna site, prevented this very necessary advance. Having survived the first year at Kelowna myself, I realized early on that it needed more than one PA. Over 18,000 surgical pathology cases per annum is more than one person ought to be expected to handle without risking a diminished quality of the reports. It never ceases to amaze me how many Whipple's procedure specimens that we get in Kelowna; far higher proportionate number than at The Ottawa Hospital (whence I came). It would be interesting to learn what factors seem to contribute to what at first blush appears to be a high incidence of pancreatic or bile duct carcinoma in this region (actually the most recent Whipple's that I saw was performed for ascending cholangitis -- which had resulted in a bile duct stricture).

We are (like so many other areas of the hospital) looking for additional space so that we can install an new dissection bay (like the ones used by Calgary Lab Services; made in Calgary). That will give us two spaces; needed so that we can avoid using non-overlapping shifts (once we get another PA or once we begin to accept pathology Residents from UBC -- in a couple of years).

I apologize for the large gaps between posts. I'll try to put up more frequent posts in the future.