Answering some questions

I have been asked many times since passing the exam "what does that mean for me?"
I will go from an on the job paid Pathologist Assistant to a certified Pathologist Assistant. This step means a pay increase and that I am now marketable anywhere. OJT pa's are being phased out as far as certification goes; so that means to become a pa you must go to a school (all of the schools are on the East coast). Also, there is word that if you are OJT you might not be able to work in hospitals as they are wanting only certified people working with tissue and doing autopsies. I got in right in time. With this new requirement pa's are harder to come by so as of right now we are "in demand". This was the one and only test I had to take and now I just keep up my certification by going to the conferences. I have completed a few autopsies on my own, which is a huge accomplishment. Doing the autopsies also gives me a leg up; the docs really don't want to do them and out of the five pa's we have Mike and I are the only ones that can do an autopsy. Really what this all means is that I absolutely love my job and the people I work for and with. We do not plan to move so this just seals in my position with my company. I hope this gives you all a better understanding of what this means for me and I am happy to answer any other questions.