Get to Know Dr. Antonio M. Hernandez, MD February Member Spotlight

Antonio M. Hernandez, MD
Orlando VA Medical Center
Orlando, Florida

What is your current role?
Staff Pathologist at the Orlando VA Medical Center in Lake Nona, Medical Director of Hematology Lab.

 What is the best part of your occupation? 
 I enjoy interacting working in close proximity to the lab personnel, including medical technologists, histotechnologists, and supervisors, and lab managers. It is very rewarding to see their commitment to education, patients, and to the integrity of the lab operations. Working with an experienced set of pathologists is very rewarding, be it the VA Hospital with its highly trained, expert and experienced Pathologists or Ameripath/Quest’s vast team of specialists. Interacting with oncologists and surgeons in this cooperative manner in the hospital setting brings patients as close as they can be to a pathologist. Another enjoyable element is teaching medical students and residents from UCF next door.

How did you become interested in pathology?
In middle school I got interested in blood, and I worked on a project highlighting homeostatic properties of blood and visited several hospitals to interview Pathologists in hematology labs.  I worked at Miami Children's Hospital in Miami one summer. Part of my job was organizing specimens in their warehouse, climbing tall wooden storage shelves to reach rare and dried out “educational” specimens.  The activity in the gross room fascinated me.

How did you become involved with the FSP?  
When I moved to Orlando, I met members of the FSP board while working for Ameripath, who encouraged me to join. 
 
Explain how you benefit from being a member of FSP.  
FSP makes the pathology world of Florida a smaller and more knowable entity.  We all know the problems facing pathology today, but we don’t know the solutions. FSP’s advocacy in Tallahassee informs pathologists and gives them hope and opportunity to achieve fairness.  Apart from the emphasis on lobbying, in the past 5 years there has been a greater emphasis on education, with highlighting of university programs such as USF and UM.  The biannual meetings are a happy occasion to greet old friends, coworkers, and company representatives, and meet new folks with common interests and goals. The educational programs bringing national and local experts to the stage are worth spending a weekend in a freezing hall.

What would you like to see occur in the field of pathology (i.e., scientific advances, greater awareness of the field, etc.) during your career? 
I would like to see improved and expanded integration of molecular studies and conventional histopathology and clinical pathology, along the lines of Microbiology and Hematopathology.  I would like to see more interest in Pathology careers from Medical Students and Medical Schools. I’d like to see Pathology stakeholders invest more in automation of anatomic pathology, and in new technologies such as AI and Telepathology.

What are your hobbies outside of the office? 
Traveling outside of Florida, particularly New York City and Broadway, reading literature, and watching collegiate and professional football.

What is something surprising that most people do not know about you?
When I was in Los Angeles, after I finished fellowship, and while working in Kaiser, I developed an interest in martial arts and practiced Yoshinkan Aikido.