August 2021—No doubt about it, in-person meetings are coming back. I went from a record-long stretch at home because of the pandemic to attending events all over the country. I hasten to add that my entire family is fully vaccinated, and we were so at our first opportunity.
As I write this in July, I just returned from an in-person professional development meeting, and I am reminded that virtual meetings are nowhere near as effective as face-to-face meetings. That’s why I am pleased that CAP21 will be a hybrid meeting this year. It’s a step back to normal and will allow people to engage in the way that’s most comfortable for them as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in our country. It feels good to have the opportunity to come back together. I think one of the many reasons our country is so divided now is that we have been separated from each other for so long.
Dr. Godbey
At a recent CAP meeting I attended, there was a disagreement during one particular session. After it ended, everyone involved got together face to face, talked through the issue, and came to a good resolution. The consensus achieved in that process is good for the members of the CAP, and it could not have been done nearly as effectively virtually. This ability to get people together and get to the root of a problem is irreplaceable. Some people call it networking; I call it the best way to solve problems and come to an agreement.
I believe that hybrid meetings will be with us for quite some time. While many educational sessions can be handled effectively in a virtual conference, governance is better suited to in-person events. For CAP committee and council meetings, having the option for face-to-face engagement is critical to ensuring we reach the best decisions for our members.
Virtual and hybrid meetings are just one aspect of how COVID-19 has changed our lives. I am proud of how the CAP has responded to the pandemic and honored to be your leader during this tumultuous time. Making the transition to a fully virtual meeting last year was a huge accomplishment by our team, and shifting to a hybrid conference a year later represents another massive effort. There is a real difference between a hybrid meeting and a virtual one. With the former, you need to cater to two different groups; one is with you and the other isn’t.
I am also proud of how the CAP scrambled last year to make more than 60 CME courses available online at no cost for members, allowing us to continue our education when many had restricted access to our workplaces or the usual conferences where we would earn these credits. At the same time, the CAP created a daily lecture series for residents that reached thousands of pathologists in training.
The CAP also made remote sign-out possible during the pandemic, and I truly mean that: The CAP through its advocacy efforts was responsible for this policy change. I do not know if remote sign-out will continue after the pandemic—that is a different discussion—but we could not have served our patients as well as we did in the past year and a half without it.
The pandemic is not over, but things have shifted. At this point, the social/political aspects have become much more of an issue. Where we once struggled to address a dearth of vaccines, we are now struggling to convince people to take the vaccine. A significant part of this unfortunate outcome, yet again, is because of how politicized our country’s response to COVID-19 has been. I am proud that throughout this turmoil, the CAP has continued to let the science rule over the politics and urged others to do so as well.
Many of us have likened the pandemic to a war, and for good reason. The CAP went to war during COVID-19, battling for us so that we physicians, we pathologists, could better battle for our patients. I’m reminded of something Winston Churchill said: “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” The pandemic has not yet ended, but already we know something about who will be left. The CAP will be more than just left and, thanks in no small part to our dedicated work, the vast majority of our patients will be left as well.
Dr. Godbey welcomes communication from CAP members. Write to him at president@cap.org.