Abstract
Background and aim: The objective of this paper is to evaluate the workload of staff in anatomic pathology (AP) laboratories in Korea. Methods: A survey was conducted at 197 AP laboratories in South Korea, these were categorized as 37 free standing laboratories, 14 laboratories in non-training hospitals (without residents), 79 in training hospitals (with residents), and 67 in university hospitals. The workloads of the staff were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation of the number of cases. Results: In total, there were 512 pathologists, 806 technicians and 205 cytopathology screeners. In a year, they processed a total of 3,150,261 histopathology cases and 4,115,420 cytopathology cases. The numbers of histopathology cases per pathologist or technician in one laboratory were 6,950 ± 6,748 and 4,074 ± 3,630, respectively. There were 109 laboratories that employed 205 cytoscreeners in addition to the 308 pathologists, where a cytoscreener read 14,780 ± 13,110 cases of cytopathology. However, in 88 laboratories, there were 132 pathologists who were not assisted by cytoscreeners, where a pathologist was reading 4,277 ± 3,033 cases of cytopathology. Conclusion: We propose a mean plus a standard deviation as a recommended guideline for staff workload at each laboratory setting to be used for a quality assurance program.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 111-117 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Basic and Applied Pathology |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 Dec 1 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Healthcare
- Pathology
- Quality assurance
- Surgical
- Workload
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
How overworked are pathologists? An assessment of cases for histopathology and cytopathology services. / Yoon, Hye Kyoung; Diwa, Michele H.; Lee, Youn Soo; Kim, Gwangil; Song, Sang Yong; Lee, Kyoung Bun; Kim, Han Kyeom; Han, Woon Sup; Seo, Jeong Wook.
In: Basic and Applied Pathology, Vol. 2, No. 4, 01.12.2009, p. 111-117.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - How overworked are pathologists? An assessment of cases for histopathology and cytopathology services
AU - Yoon, Hye Kyoung
AU - Diwa, Michele H.
AU - Lee, Youn Soo
AU - Kim, Gwangil
AU - Song, Sang Yong
AU - Lee, Kyoung Bun
AU - Kim, Han Kyeom
AU - Han, Woon Sup
AU - Seo, Jeong Wook
PY - 2009/12/1
Y1 - 2009/12/1
N2 - Background and aim: The objective of this paper is to evaluate the workload of staff in anatomic pathology (AP) laboratories in Korea. Methods: A survey was conducted at 197 AP laboratories in South Korea, these were categorized as 37 free standing laboratories, 14 laboratories in non-training hospitals (without residents), 79 in training hospitals (with residents), and 67 in university hospitals. The workloads of the staff were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation of the number of cases. Results: In total, there were 512 pathologists, 806 technicians and 205 cytopathology screeners. In a year, they processed a total of 3,150,261 histopathology cases and 4,115,420 cytopathology cases. The numbers of histopathology cases per pathologist or technician in one laboratory were 6,950 ± 6,748 and 4,074 ± 3,630, respectively. There were 109 laboratories that employed 205 cytoscreeners in addition to the 308 pathologists, where a cytoscreener read 14,780 ± 13,110 cases of cytopathology. However, in 88 laboratories, there were 132 pathologists who were not assisted by cytoscreeners, where a pathologist was reading 4,277 ± 3,033 cases of cytopathology. Conclusion: We propose a mean plus a standard deviation as a recommended guideline for staff workload at each laboratory setting to be used for a quality assurance program.
AB - Background and aim: The objective of this paper is to evaluate the workload of staff in anatomic pathology (AP) laboratories in Korea. Methods: A survey was conducted at 197 AP laboratories in South Korea, these were categorized as 37 free standing laboratories, 14 laboratories in non-training hospitals (without residents), 79 in training hospitals (with residents), and 67 in university hospitals. The workloads of the staff were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation of the number of cases. Results: In total, there were 512 pathologists, 806 technicians and 205 cytopathology screeners. In a year, they processed a total of 3,150,261 histopathology cases and 4,115,420 cytopathology cases. The numbers of histopathology cases per pathologist or technician in one laboratory were 6,950 ± 6,748 and 4,074 ± 3,630, respectively. There were 109 laboratories that employed 205 cytoscreeners in addition to the 308 pathologists, where a cytoscreener read 14,780 ± 13,110 cases of cytopathology. However, in 88 laboratories, there were 132 pathologists who were not assisted by cytoscreeners, where a pathologist was reading 4,277 ± 3,033 cases of cytopathology. Conclusion: We propose a mean plus a standard deviation as a recommended guideline for staff workload at each laboratory setting to be used for a quality assurance program.
KW - Healthcare
KW - Pathology
KW - Quality assurance
KW - Surgical
KW - Workload
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=73649103101&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=73649103101&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1755-9294.2009.01058.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1755-9294.2009.01058.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:73649103101
VL - 2
SP - 111
EP - 117
JO - Basic and Applied Pathology
JF - Basic and Applied Pathology
SN - 1755-9294
IS - 4
ER -