If somebody had told Jane Dahlstrom when she was a teenager she would grow up to be an academic and anatomical pathologist living in Canberra with six children she would have laughed.
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She never needed a blood test when she was growing up and didn't even know what a pathologist was but Professor Dahlstrom grew up to be a leader in the field.
"My journey and discovery of pathology actually happened as a result of meeting some pathologists while I was doing my PhD at the John Curtin School and talking to them I realised it was actually my dream job," Professor Dahlstrom said.
"Pathology was a job where I could combine my passion for research, my enjoyment of teaching and my desire to make a difference."
Professor Dahlstrom specialises in diagnosing diseases through a microscope. She has also conducted important research in perinatal pathology and placental pathology to help families who lose babies or have problems during pregnancy.
Professor Dahlstrom, who is a senior staff specialist in anatomical pathology at Canberra Health Services, said the profession had become better for women since she underwent training 30 years ago.
"During my training, in 1992, when I approached the then-director of pathology and asked about part-time training and I was pregnant with my third child, he actually said the place for new mothers is at home and the department isn't here for my convenience," she said.
"Fast forward to when I got to 2019, when I became executive director of pathology, we had more females training part-time than full-time ... they still find it tricky because childcare is really hard in the ACT but I think the community has become aware of how valuable it is to keep women in the workforce.
"It's been much better than what I experienced as a junior doctor."
Women represent 46 per cent of registered pathologists with the Medical Board of Australia, data from December 2021 showed.
Professor Dahlstrom, who is an ambassador for Pathology Awareness Australia, said while representation of women in pathology had improved, leadership positions were often dominated by men and this created a perception that it was a male-dominated job.
"If you look at the pathologists that are in leadership positions across the country they are predominantly men so that's why there is the perception that it's a more male dominated area," she said.
"However, it is really pleasing that women are choosing to enter pathology."
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The work of pathologists has particularly hit the limelight through the COVID-19 pandemic. But while COVID shone a spotlight on pathologists, their everyday work did not stop and they are faced with a very hectic workload.
Professor Dahlstrom was tasked with the responsibility of setting up COVID testing for Canberra Health Services when the pandemic hit almost two years ago.
The testing load for COVID still remained very high, but Professor Dahlstrom said it was important to highlight that "cancers didn't stop needing to be diagnosed during COVID".
"The lost story in all of COVID has been the fact that pathology laboratories have still had to continue to do business as usual," she said.
"We've still had to soldier on in the background to provide timely diagnosis of the different diseases that come through the door and people are still getting sick.
"Pathology has been really under the pump throughout COVID, not just related to COVID related illness but all the non-COVID related illnesses. They are the unsung heroes.
"People have become much more aware of our role in health care related to COVID but I think it's the other areas that we should promote more, but we're not particularly good at promoting ourselves."
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