CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
One of the proudest moments for our lab team at Methodist Hospital in Omaha occurred when results of the biennial physician satisfaction survey were shared with the medical staff. Our fellow physicians were asked why they chose to admit their patients to Methodist. The first driver was quality of nursing care (no argument there!). The second was access to high-tech radiology. And the third was accuracy of pathology diagnoses. Let’s hear it for the CAP Surveys and laboratory accreditation!
As pathologists, we are members of many communities whose members count on us for guidance they can trust. So we volunteer for laboratory-related tasks, educating the staff about blood conservation and transfusion medicine. We give countless tumor board presentations. We volunteer for the Physician Hospital Organization board. We organize multispecialty teams to examine possible test overutilization. We do these things, and we should do more of them, because we need to be a presence—not only in our laboratories but in our hospitals, county medical societies, communities, and states. We need to be visible. Let me tell you how I know.
Ruth is a breast cancer patient who taught me an important lesson. I am her pathologist.
Ruth’s intraoperative pathology had looked benign, but the postsurgical sentinel lymph node examination had revealed more cancer cells. An axillary lymph node dissection was indicated. When she came into the breast center for a consult with one of our nurse practitioners, Ruth confided that she was very disappointed.
Because we have excellent relationships with the members of our breast center team, the nurse practitioner was able to describe what my followup examination had involved and explain that not all of her cancer would have been discovered without it. Ruth’s second surgery was successful and she is now cancer free. She is a cancer survivor.
I didn’t know that Ruth was my patient when we met at a community event some time later, but she remembered my name from the pathology report. “You’re my pathologist!” she said, when we were introduced. I was surprised and impressed.
I invited Ruth to visit our laboratory and she took me up on it. I showed her exactly how her cancer had been diagnosed—the accessioning table, the grossing table, the cassettes, the slides, the microscope—the whole nine yards. And the very next day, I received a thank-you note that I will never discard.
“You have a great story to tell,” she wrote. “Why aren’t you telling it? The complexity of your examination. The process you go through to get an accurate diagnosis. I had no idea. You need to tell your story!”
I had learned early on about being intentional, reliable, and attentive, but I learned something new from Ruth that day. It is not enough that our patients receive the very best care from their pathologists. They have to know they are receiving it and how they are receiving it.
By becoming more visible, we can achieve greater clinical integration and the cultural integration that goes with it. Cultural integration will enable us to share our story, not only with our patients but also with the many publics we serve.n
Dr. Herbek welcomes communication from CAP members. Send your letters to him at president@cap.org.