For medical students interested in exploring a future career in pathology, undergraduate membership of the College offers valuable opportunities to learn more about the specialty, get involved in a wide range of pathology-related events and activities and join an active community dedicated to pursuing excellence in pathology. 

One of the highlights of the undergraduate calendar is the annual RCPath Pathology Summer School, which takes place every August. Here, students can gain a deeper insight into pathology, network with professionals and fellow students, and discover the many career paths available within the field. The deadline to apply to this year’s Summer School is Friday 29 May. 

We highly value our undergraduate members for the enthusiasm and passion they bring to the College. In this month’s volunteer spotlight, we wanted to shine a light on one of our most active undergraduate members, Rosie Walsh. Rosie has been instrumental in helping the College to run our careers webinar series as well as arranging visits for university students to the College and Bart’s Museum of Pathology. Rosie is on the organising committee for this year’s National Undergraduate Oncology Conference, which the College has co-badged. 

We interviewed Rosie to find out more about her passion for pathology, and what she has gained from the RCPath Pathology Summer School, volunteering with the College and wider undergraduate membership. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in pathology? Are you interested in any specialties in particular?  

My interest in how the human body works started in primary school and developed gradually when I started to learn more through high school biology lessons. When my school encouraged us to start thinking about future careers, my research led me to pathology and an application to medical school.  

Medical school gave me the opportunity to experience pathology labs and mortuaries, as well as speak with the staff working there, which only increased my interest. I am currently particularly drawn to a career in forensic pathology, and over the next few years I hope to gain more insight and experience to support this major decision.  

You attended the College's annual Pathology Summer School in your first year of university. How did you find out about this opportunity, and what did you gain from it? 

When my interest in pathology began, I started following RCPath on social media and signed up to its mailing list to keep up with the latest news and events. The Summer School was advertised and I signed up. 

I am living and studying in the North, so a trip to London was a great opportunity to meet with other students from different universities. During the Summer School I met Professor Mike Osborn, who was RCPath President at the time. He was kind enough to stay in touch, which resulted in a fantastic chance to attend my first postmortem with him shortly after the trip. Professor Osborn very kindly contacted some Manchester histopathologists about my interest in pathology, and my network and experience has grown exponentially from there. 

Attending events and meeting people has created many of my opportunities throughout medical school. My RCPath undergraduate membership has been instrumental in facilitating this by keeping me informed about upcoming activities so I don’t miss out. 

As an undergraduate member of the College, you support the Public Engagement team in various activities to promote pathology as a career option to other medical students. Can you tell us more about how you got involved and what this role entails? 

It began with my creation of a new University of Manchester (UoM) Pathology Society 3 years ago, which has remained a great point of communication with other pathology organisations. We were emailed by RCPath to promote the new pathology careers webinar series with UCL Pathology Society. I asked if we could join in and host some of the webinars, to which the College generously agreed. The College staff were great to work with on the webinars, and the team were all very encouraging. The UoM Pathology Society and I have worked closely with them since.  

The role involves a lot of communication with various members of the RCPath Public Engagement team and other volunteer members, including Penny Fletcher (Corporate and Public Engagement Manager), Demelza Barker (Corporate and Public Engagement Administrator) and Matt Clarke (RCPath Undergraduate and Foundation Lead), who have been incredibly supportive with everything. We also liaise with pathology student societies nationally, as well as consultants, trainees and other specialists.  

Through regular emails, phone calls and video meetings, we have successfully organised a wide range of well-attended and enthusiastically received pathology-focused events. This includes careers webinars, conferences and even a trip to London for students to explore pathology.  

How do you feel these activities, as well as undergraduate membership of the College, are useful to medical students? 

Attending events and meeting people has created many of my opportunities throughout medical school. My RCPath undergraduate membership has been instrumental in facilitating this by keeping me informed about upcoming activities so I don’t miss out. 

Volunteering with the College and attending its events has greatly improved my confidence, especially when talking to consultants and specialists. Getting involved also helps you to gain a deeper insight into the specialty, helping you make more informed decisions when it comes to speciality applications or further research opportunities. 

What have been the positives of volunteering with the College, and what advice would you give to other members interested in getting involved? 

The main positive has been the many amazing, helpful and knowledgeable people I have met along the way. Everyone has been so supportive and happy to offer guidance, which made getting involved so much easier.  

My advice to others interested in getting involved is definitely do it. Two approaches that have worked well for me are being proactive and consistently showing up. 

Attending RCPath events, like the careers webinars and the Summer School, are great ways to meet people and ask questions about how to get more involved. It does help to join a more local society as well, or, as I did, create your own. 

You're now in the final year of your medical degree. What's been your experience of studying medicine so far, and how would you like the College to support undergraduates moving forward? 

Studying medicine has its ups and downs but, overall, it has been so rewarding and fun. You meet some wonderful people, and I believe it is a privilege to be able to see the things we see during our studies. Patients are incredibly understanding and often keen to help us learn. 

I would like to see the continuation of the College's online and in-person events because these are very accessible to students, especially topics like careers and those dreaded portfolio points.  

The annual essay and communication competitions are excellent for student engagement and offer some great prizes.  

I would welcome more networking-focused events for students who might not be able to attend the in-person events or travel. Creating opportunities to connect with local pathologists who are happy to be contacted would be very beneficial, whether for asking questions or organising shadowing.  

Where do you hope to go next? 

I am hoping to start work as a Foundation Year 1 Doctor in August of this year. I currently know I will be in the Northwest, but I am hoping to move to a big city within the deanery.  

I am also hoping to continue my involvement with RCPath, helping to inform people about pathology and providing support to the next committee for the UoM Pathology Society when they start in September. 

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We hope you enjoyed this blog. You can apply for this year’s Pathology Summer School before Friday 29 May, or find out more information about undergraduate membership.  

If you know any medical students, university societies or networks who may be interested in the Pathology Summer School or wider undergraduate membership, please share this blog and help spread the word.  

If you want to get involved in the College’s public engagement activities, please get in touch. 

If you have any questions on this work, or have an idea for a blog, please contact the Member Engagement and Support team – we'd love to hear from you.