A pathologist’s work will necessarily revolve around working to diagnose diseases in patients and experimenting to gain insights on illnesses that are currently not well-understood. These specialists conduct experiments that seek to use human fluid and tissue samples to treat problematic diseases in replicable ways across different communities. As such, your candidate will need to be both comfortable handling human fluids and able to follow a strict set of protocols necessary to keep samples from getting contaminated.

What to look for in an answer:

• Examples of past lab experience
• Explanation of protocols for keeping samples uncontaminated
• Capability of undertaking detail-oriented work

Within the different focuses available in the medical field, pathology is one that requires candidates to focus more on lab work and research than some other careers do. In fact, many pathologists do not need to work in direct patient care at all if they so choose. Therefore, it is important that your candidate is one who is more interested in the research side of medicine and is not keen on working regularly with people.

What to look for in an answer:

• Clear reason for choosing to study pathology
• Enjoys research and lab work
• Ability to synthesize data and medical knowledge

Since your pathologist will be working on complex and detailed experiments on a daily basis, it is likely that they will come across situations when certain protocols do not translate into results as was previously expected. Your candidate will need to be able to correctly handle expensive equipment to ensure that the data produced is not contaminated. They will also become an expert in troubleshooting operating procedures to ensure that their experiments are replicable by others in the medical community, a key factor in passing academic peer-review standards.

What to look for in an answer:

• Has a clear process for troubleshooting experiments
• Comfortable handling expensive and delicate machines
• Detail-oriented and methodical disposition

Most of your pathologist’s lab work will be focused on small samples of human tissue or fluids. Since most diseases attack at the cell level, your candidate will need to be skilled in using microscopes and pipettes to conduct precise experiments. The level of focus necessary to complete these experiments successfully is extremely high, so you should screen for applicants who are able to sit still and work quietly for long periods of time.

What to look for in an answer:

• Experience working with microscopic techniques
• Ability to focus for long periods of time
• Inquisitive nature

A lot of the work that your pathologist will be conducting will revolve around minute experimentation with microscopic organisms. Since microbial and bacterial colonies take time to grow and can easily become contaminated or die if conditions are not exact, your candidate should be aware of the possible missteps that might occur when working with these types of experiments. Furthermore, they should know how to troubleshoot in case something does go wrong with their microbe samples.

What to look for in an answer:

• Experience working with microbial or bacterial samples
• Knowledge of how to troubleshoot experiments
• Detail-oriented personality

Pathology requires candidates to focus on research, lab duties and data analysis. This question can help you better understand a candidate's passion for their job and their desire to work to find answers. A candidate focused on pathology can work well individually and is often research-driven.

The candidate's response should emphasize:

• Focus on research aspects of medicine
• Ability to find information and analyze data
• Clear rationale for choosing pathology

A response to this question may look like this: