Med student’s health blog recognized on Fox News

By Ben Hyatt

Trent McBride, a third-year pathologist resident at UK, and fellow pathologists made the spotlight when Fox News’ Health home page recognized their educational Web site as Best Health Blog.

“I had written a blog before that received some small attention, but I never thought it would make national news,” McBride said.

The blog, Pathtalk.org, started in early October as an educational tool for pathologists. Now it has 30 consistent followers and has become a small media center for McBride.

Dr. Greg Davis, senior training director of pathology, said the blog has filled a badly needed niche. There was not enough information about the practice of pathology, he said.

“Trent is doing an outstanding job, and I don’t see this project going anywhere but up,” Davis said.

As a full-time resident, McBride works 40 to 60 hours a week completing hands-on experiences with lab work that will teach him about situations he might face once he becomes a certified pathologist.

“I’m the guy in the back that no one sees,” McBride said. “I dissect tumors and look at things under the microscope. I basically help the doctor find out what is wrong with a patient without having to ever meet the patient.”

With such a heavy workload, McBride finds it hard at times to keep the site updated, especially since each post takes one to two hours to document. Even though McBride is pressed for time, he said he still finds those hours at night to keep the site going.

“We try to make at least two updates per day,” he said. “If one of us sees an interesting case, then we simply document it on our Web site.”

McBride said he wants to continue the blog not for his own fame, but as a source of information to anyone who wants to learn about pathology.

McBride said he will be satisfied whether his site gains more recognition or simply remains a local student reference.

“The site is still in its infancy,” he said. “Until we get more writers and more time to devote to the site, I see it staying the same.”