Pathology trainee manpower. Historical perspectives

Discussions of pathology manpower typically involve short-term projections. For example, the best current data indicate a significant shortage of community-hospital/private-laboratory pathologists over the 5-year period from 1988 through 1993. Even though such short-term predictions are important in the debate over strategic planning in pathology, they need to be placed in a broader historical context. Therefore, we present the long-term trends in pathology trainee manpower. These trends indicate why predictions of a shortage should not come as a surprise.