Career Info: Hematologist
Activities
According to the American Society of Hematology, “a hematologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and/or investigation of disorders of the hematopoietic, hemostatic, and lymphatic systems, and disorders of the interaction between blood and blood vessel wall.”
Outlook
Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income
The median income for physicians and surgeons in 2005 was $143,500 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics Survey, U.S. Dept of Labor
Work Context & Conditions
According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “many physicians—primarily general and family practitioners, general internists, pediatricians, ob/gyns, and psychiatrists—work in small private offices or clinics, often assisted by a small staff of nurses and other administrative personnel. ”
Minimum Education Requirements
M.D.
Skills
Learning Strategies, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Instructing, Active Listening, Writing, Time Management, Active Learning, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Science
Abilities
Oral Expression, Deductive Reasoning, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Inductive Reasoning, Written Expression, Oral Comprehension
Job Category
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical
Job Description
According to the American Society of Hematology, “a hematologist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and/or investigation of disorders of the hematopoietic, hemostatic, and lymphatic systems, and disorders of the interaction between blood and blood vessel wall. An American hematologist has trained in a subspecialty program approved by the American Board of Internal Medicine or the American Board of Pediatrics, or has acquired a comparable education in the field by alternate means, and is Board Certified (or eligible) in the subspecialty of hematology.
Diagnostic Expertise of a Hematologist: A hematologist is expert in the investigation, diagnosis, and management of disorders of the aforementioned organ systems through the use of the medical history, physical findings, specialized clinical laboratory tests, and evaluation of tissue or cytological specimens. Clinical entities considered specific to the specialty of hematology include disorders of the structure, function, and physiology of red and white blood cells and platelets, disorders of hemostatic system regulation or function, and benign and malignant disorders of the bone marrow and lymphoreticular system. Hematologists also evaluate and manage systemic disorders and other poorly understood diseases that clinically present as abnormalities of the aforementioned organ systems.
Therapeutic Expertise of a Hematologist: In addition to therapeutic measures common to all medical specialists, therapies in the following areas are considered specific to the expertise of a hematologist:
—-Blood products and derivatives
—-Blood processing
—-Hematinics
—-Immunosuppressives
—-Chemotherapy and other anti-tumor agents
—-Supportive care (including pain management)
—-Anticoagulants and antithrombotic agents
—-Progenitor cell therapies (including stem cell therapies)
Investigative/Educational/Administrative Expertise of a Hematologist: Training in hematology equips the hematologist to focus efforts on clinical investigative, epidemiological, or research aboratory-based approaches to issues and processes that bear directly or indirectly on disorders and therapies referred to above. In addition, the expertise of the hematologist provides the basis for medical or administrative leadership of clinical laboratory organizations related to the above (e.g. clinical and special hematology laboratories, coagulation laboratories, blood banks, or related entities). Hematologists are especially qualified to conduct or participate in educational programs related to their areas of expertise for physicians, students, and other health care workers.”
Working Conditions
According to ASH, ” hematologists work in clinics, hospitals, labs, and universities around the world.”
Salary Range
Biology, Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Physics
Postsecondary Instructional Programs
English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology
Certification and Licensing
According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “M.D.s and D.O.s seeking board certification in a specialty may spend up to 7 years in residency training, depending on the specialty. A final examination immediately after residency or after 1 or 2 years of practice also is necessary for certification by the American Board of Medical Specialists or the American Osteopathic Association. There are 24 specialty boards, ranging from allergy and immunology to urology. For certification in a subspecialty, physicians usually need another 1 to 2 years of residency.”
According to the American Board of Internal Medicine, the Hematology Certification Exam: “is designed to evaluate the extent of the candidate’s knowledge and clinical judgment in those areas in which a consultant in hematology should possess a high level of competence. Some questions require interpretation of pictorial material such as physical findings and radiographic studies, as well as histopathologic and other laboratory specimens. The content areas that will be covered and their proportions on the exam are as follows:
Primary Content Areas and Relative Proportions: Hematologic neoplasms 26.0%; disorders of hemostasis and thrombosis
20.5%; red blood cell disorders 18.0%; hematopoietic stem cell transplantation 16.0%; clinical transfusion medicine 13.0%; white blood cell disorders 6.5%; Total100%
Topics covered within the above content areas may include the following: Normal red cell and white cell physiology and metabolism and normal hemostasis ; treatment regimens and methods; genetic disorders; immunohematology; hematologic manifestations of disorders that are not primarily hematologic, such as infectious diseases and solid tumors; general internal medicine as encountered in the practice of hematology, such as the common nonhematopoietic neoplasms.”
Interest Area
Investigative – Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values
Social Status – Looked up to by others in their company and their community.
Achievement – Get a feeling of accomplishment.
Variety – Do something different every day.
Creativity – Try out your own ideas.
Employment – Have steady employment.
Ability Utilization – Make use of individual abilities.
Working Conditions – Good working conditions.
Activity – Busy all the time.
Autonomy – Plan work with little supervision.
Recognition - Receive recognition for the work you do.
Compensation – Get paid well in comparison with other workers.
Responsibility- Make decisions on your own.
Skills 
Learning Strategies – Use multiple approaches when learning or teaching new things.
Monitoring – Assess how well someone is doing when learning or doing something.
Critical Thinking – Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
Instructing – Teach others how to do something.
Active Listening – Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate.
Writing – Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience.
Time Management – Manage one’s own time and the time of others.
Active Learning – Work with new material or information to grasp its implications.
Complex Problem Solving – Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Judgment and Decision Making – Be able to weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action.
Coordination – Adjust actions in relation to others’ actions.
Reading Comprehension – Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking – Talk to others to effectively convey information.
Science – Use scientific methods to solve problems.
Abilities
Oral Expression – Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning – Able to apply general rules to specific problems to come up with logical answers, including deciding whether an answer makes sense.
Problem Sensitivity – Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn’t involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem.
Written Comprehension – Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Near Vision – Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Speech Clarity – Able to speak clearly so listeners understand.
Inductive Reasoning – Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together.
Written Expression – Able to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension – Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
More Information
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Job Outlook
According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow faster than average for all occupations through the year 2018 due to continued expansion of health care industries. The growing and aging population will drive overall growth in the demand for physician services, as consumers continue to demand high levels of care using the latest technologies, diagnostic tests, and therapies. In addition to employment growth, job openings will result from the need to replace physicians and surgeons who retire over the 2008-18 period..”
More Information
American Medical Association, American Society of Hematology, American Board of Internal Medicine
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.s. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition, Physicians and Surgeons, on the internet at
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos074.htm
American Society of Hematology @ http://www.hematology.org/about/defining.cfm and http://www.hematology.org/education/training/timeline.cfm
American Board of Internal Medicine @ http://www.abim.org/cert/sshema.shtm
O*NET Online, on the internet at
http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/19-1042.00
http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/29-1069.99
Source: NIH