---
title: 'Episode 226: Marissa Spencer – #PathAssistDay 2026: Reflection, Growth, And The Future Of PAs'
type: 'episode'
url: 'https://doc.social/episodes/episode-226-marissa-spencer-pathassistday-2026-reflection-growth-and-the-future-of-pas'
show: 'People of Pathology Podcast'
show_url: 'https://doc.social/podcasts/people-of-pathology-podcast'
published: '2026-04-13'
audio: 'https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/8yvs23ixdgeq8qk4/Marissa_Spencer_-_PA_Day_20269u7vp.mp3'
---

# Episode 226: Marissa Spencer – #PathAssistDay 2026: Reflection, Growth, And The Future Of PAs

Today my guest is Pathologists' Assistant Marissa Spencer for our 4th annual PA Day special episode What we discuss with Marissa: Why it's important to regularly reflect on your career and your development How the relationship between Patho…

## Summary

Today my guest is Pathologists' Assistant Marissa Spencer for our 4th annual PA Day special episode

What we discuss with Marissa:

- Why it's important to regularly reflect on your career and your development

- How the relationship between Pathologists and PAs is evolving

- Teaching the "why" instead of just teaching the "how"

- How this method creates foundational knowledge that is transferrable to other specimen types

- The future of PA education and why it might need to change

- Opportunities for PAs to be more patient-facing

- Advice for aspiring pathologists' assistants

Links for this episode:

[InVision from Cision Vision](https://demo.cisionvision.com/)

[The Path to PathA](http://www.thepathtopatha.com/)

[Pathologists' Assistant Shadowing Network](https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14605997/)

[Health Podcast Network](https://healthpodcastnetwork.com/)

[ LabVine Learning](http://bit.ly/labvine)

[Dress A Med scrubs](https://dressamed.com/?rfsn=5044297.cb03eb&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=5044297.cb03eb)

[Digital Pathology Club](https://digitalpathology.club/digital-pathology-beginners-guide-notification?am_id=dennis985)

People of Pathology Podcast:

[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/peopleofpath/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=87f3e0df-5864-418e-a5b3-5fdd260ba05b)