April 14 is the 11th annual Pathologists’ Assistant (PA) Day, a day of appreciation led by the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants. PAs are often responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the anatomic pathology service and play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare services in both surgical pathology and autopsy by determining patients’ pathologic diagnoses.
Today we are celebrating our five hardworking PAs: Joe Begany, Audrey Alexander Garcia, Jessica Doyle, Sidney Bushman and John Naughton.
In addition, we are excited to welcome a new PA student to the team, Jordan Wojciekofsky. Jordan was born and raised in Wappingers Falls, NY. In 2015 she attended the University of New Haven, where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Biology. While completing the curriculum, she took classes such as Microbiology and Diagnostic Pathology that piqued her interest in pathology and medicine. She then went on to work at a Cellular Neurophysiology laboratory at Yale University and a surgical pathology laboratory. These experiences helped her to decide to pursue a career as a Pathologists’ Assistant at Tulane University in 2023. She is currently rotating at UAB in the autopsy pathology division and will soon join the surgical pathology team. Her interests include neuropathology, GI pathology, and more specifically pancreatic cancer.
"On behalf of the AP division, I extend our heartfelt appreciation to PAs for their invaluable contributions each day," says Deepti Dhall, M.D., Interim Co-Division Director, Anatomic Pathology. "They serve as the meticulous minds behind every pathology diagnosis and play a pivotal role in resident education. Happy Pathologists' Assistants Day!"
Please join us in recognizing and celebrating our UAB Pathology PAs for all they do to reduce risk and improve patient care.