Department of
Medical Education

Cara Randall, MD

Cara Randall, M.D.

Board Certification: Anatomic and Clinical Pathology; Hematopathology

Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA

Residency and Fellowship: University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC

Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor

Special Clinical/Research Interests: Malignant hematology, specifically myeloid neoplasms (acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative neoplasms)

Is there a particular population of students (e.g., ethnicity, spiritual, sexual orientation) that you would particularly like to advise?

No

What does a typical day in the life of a pathologist include?

Pathologists are at the front line of nearly all diagnoses in the hospital, as pathologists are intimately associated with all of the hospital laboratories and are responsible for providing accurate laboratory data and tissue diagnoses that clinicians use to diagnosis, treat and monitor their patients. A pathologist’s day varies greatly depending on their subspecialty. For example, a surgical pathologist spends the majority of their time looking at slides and making tissue diagnoses, a transfusion medicine specialist monitors blood product inventory, evaluates transfusion reactions and antibody workups, and works closely with clinical colleagues to provide patient transfusion support, and a hematopathologist bridges the anatomic and clinical sides of pathology, both looking at slides and interpreting laboratory studies such as flow cytometry.

What is the biggest challenge of being a pathologist?

Medicine is constantly evolving, and pathologists must stay abreast of the most recent diagnostic classifications, laboratory testing and emerging entities to be able to effectively support clinical care. As such, pathologists must be self-motivated and continuously learning, well beyond their training years.

How do you foresee pathology changing over the next 20 years?

Modern technology has allowed for digitization of many pathology services, allowing slides to be reviewed remotely. This will change the traditional “glass slide” review to a more flexible digital process that allows for much quicker collaborative review, machine learning capabilities, and research opportunity.

What advice would you give a student who is considering a pathology residency?

Pathology is a wonderful field for those who are detail-oriented and enjoy solving the “puzzle” of diagnosis. Although most pathologists do not directly interact with patients, we have very close working relationships with clinicians in our subspecialties and are a critical part of the patient care team, so effective communication skills with our colleagues is crucial. Because pathology residency covers a huge variety of anatomic and clinical practice areas, nearly all pathology residents will complete at least one fellowship to subspecialize, and some will pursue more.