There is national demand and an escalating occupational shortage within anatomical pathology (AP) that is also reflected on a global scale. 1,2 The recruitment, retention and training of AP registrars is crucial in the ongoing development of the pathology specialist workforce. A retrospective audit was performed on de-identified exit data previously collected from a total of 113 registrars who exited the NSW AP training program over 2021–2024, to gain insight into the reasons registrars leave training. The results found that 47 (42%) graduated, 13 (12%) relocated but remained in AP training, 9 (8%) left citing health or family reasons unrelated to AP training, and 44 (39%) left citing that AP training was ultimately not for them. In any given year, 16–20% of registrars exit the training program without graduating. 61% of non-graduating registrars who exit the program do so within the first year of training; these registrars are more likely to cite issues with the physical lab environment, whereas registrars exiting after ≥1 year of training are more likely to cite failure to progress, including in exams. These findings ultimately highlight the importance of strengthening recruitment strategies and providing robust education and support particularly for new first year AP registrars.
Nguyen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.