Mike Biggs

Name : Mike Biggs
Employer : University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
University : Dundee Medical School
Subject : MBChB
Graduated : 2001

I initially trained as a surgeon, completing a basic surgical training rotation after my house jobs. I passed my MRCS exams and went on to train in cardiac surgery. My switch to histopathology came about when it became apparent to me that cardiac surgery trainees could face an uncertain future over the next few years. Pathology had interested me from an early age – at primary school I was hooked on a television programme about a forensic pathologist. On applying to medical school my intention had been to train as a pathologist. When I decided to leave surgery, I followed my original career plan. My interest in the specialty had also been reinforced by the pathology of the various surgical specialties during my surgical rotation.

Working life

I work Monday to Friday, nine to five and I don’t work weekends, nights or evenings! This is not the only reason for choosing histopathology, but it certainly makes an enjoyable and rewarding work/life balance achievable.

Key skills

You have to be able to cut things with a knife, use a microscope and be able to read books. The first two skills are easy to pick up in the first weeks of training. Pathologists also need to be effective communicators and good teamworkers.

The realities of pathology

Many doctors assume that pathology is boring because of their experience of the specialty at medical school. Once you immerse yourself in the fascinating subject of medicine, without the distracting chores of being a ward doctor, it becomes very interesting. Some are put off by the post-mortems, but you don’t necessarily have to do them. There is a lot of information to take in but pathologists have the perfect environment in which to learn: constant one-to-one consultant supervision, plenty of interesting material, all the books you could ever wish for and the time in which to read them without distractions.