June 2016—Even though I had a good idea of what would be in the CAP16 program, my heart raced when the final curriculum arrived. Perhaps because of my role as CAP president, I found myself taking a slightly different perspective than in the past and thinking about just how ambitious an undertaking it is. A program this complex involves serious choreography. Those who construct it must be thoughtful, forward-looking, and sensitive to many compelling needs and interests competing for limited time and space. It’s a big job.
Richard C. Friedberg, MD, PhD
CAP Curriculum Committee chair Sarah M. Bean, MD, describes the planning process as a creative mix of the pragmatic and the visionary. Dr. Bean, an associate professor of pathology and medical director of the clinical research unit, Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, says that while the quality of education may be the best reason to attend, it’s not the only reason. There’s a palpable, visceral energy in 1,200-some pathologists moving from one groundbreaking talk to another. The value goes beyond academics.
Dr. Bean’s committee and the CAP Learning staff must strike a careful balance among many good choices. What pathologists need to know and want to learn are intersecting domains in constant flux. In Las Vegas from Sept. 25 to 28, we will see exactly what that means.
There are 96 educational opportunities (54 percent completely new), including 33 with associated self-assessment modules, or SAMs, and quite a few that incorporate practical informatics content. A total of 141 distinguished faculty members will present that week. The authors of more than 800 selected scientific abstracts will talk one-on-one at focused poster presentations; the 20 “best of the best” will give proffered papers.
Observing the natural give-and-take of a poster session makes it clear that a stellar curriculum is only one element of durable learning. Content may be the infrastructure, but it is the personal interaction that puts meat on the bones. That’s why networking is the second best reason to join us, and it’s one reason the CAP16 faculty has been asked to incorporate into their presentations interactive learning tools, such as role-play and small-group problem solving. Dr. Bean, for example, will team up with Xiaoyin (Sara) Jiang, MD, in a laboratory management session titled “Can You Hear Me Now? Giving and Receiving Feedback Effectively.” (That one should be a huge draw for laboratory medical directors and pathologists with teenagers.)
Two premeeting programs—the House of Delegates and Residents Forum meetings—will take place on Saturday, Sept. 24. Members of the CAP leadership will report to the House of Delegates that morning. Voting delegates who are present will elect the 2016–18 steering committee and consider electronic voting proposals.
At the Residents Forum meeting, attendees will shuttle from mock job interviews to encounters with potential employers organized by the rapidly growing Career Connections program. They’ll break out into small groups to discuss topics of interest while interacting with senior CAP members and hear a talk by American Board of Pathology CEO Rebecca Johnson, MD. A networking hub sponsored by the Residents Forum Sunday through Thursday afternoons will offer more opportunities to connect. And all CAP16 registrants are welcome to attend the Sunday morning CAP Fellowship Fair, where they can meet with representatives of fellowship training programs.
The Sunday morning scientific plenary will officially launch CAP16, a high-energy mélange of anatomic and clinical pathology education with integrated and standalone molecular diagnostics and laboratory management components. The plenary will focus on the role of PD-L1 for immunotherapy, a topic well suited to the CAP16 theme, Advancing Diagnostic Medicine. The speakers, pathologist Lynette Sholl, MD, and oncologist Christopher Lathan, MD, MS, MPH, will be joined by a patient who will describe his experience. Dr. Sholl and Dr. Lathan will present the basics of immunotherapy and immune checkpoints and highlight controversial areas, all in a practical way that incorporates a patient perspective.
Last month, I mentioned Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, an oncologist and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, which delves into the challenges of cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment and the historical importance of pathology in that pursuit. Dr. Mukherjee will give the keynote address at the Spotlight event on Sunday night. This year’s winner of the CAP Foundation Jean and Gene Herbek Humanitarian Award will be announced at the Spotlight reception.
After the keynote, some 90 industry partners will be on hand in the exhibit hall to introduce you to the latest diagnostic and practice tools. Don’t miss your opportunity to examine new tools for our practices and talk with these experts. The PathPAC reception will also be held that night. All CAP members who are PathPAC donors are welcome to attend, and you can donate at the door. As I’ve said before, we need a strong PathPAC to accomplish our mission. Please get involved.
This focus on our communication skills is the third best reason to come to CAP16: As the specialists charged with explaining just about everything to just about everyone, we need one another to nourish our communication and mentoring skills. With the increasing scientific complexity of medicine and pathology coupled with the decreasing scientific experience of those at the bedside, advancing diagnostic medicine is no longer exclusively about those with experience advising those coming on board. More than ever, all of us are teachers and learners.
Pathology draws people who understand this instinctively, which is why I expect a standing-room-only crowd on Tuesday morning, when a pathology educator, two pathologist employers (one community based, one academic), and a new-in-practice pathologist will present “Launching the Young Pathologist: A Forum on the Transition from Pathology Trainee to Effective Pathology Practitioner.” The Association of Pathology Chairs is cosponsoring the forum and APC president Donald Karcher, MD, will moderate. Dr. Karcher and I have talked about their plans; expect a robust exchange of ideas.
The Tuesday evening plenary, “Lymphoma Diagnosis and Classification: My Search for the Holy Grail,” featuring Steven H. Swerdlow, MD, is another event not to be missed. A professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, an internationally recognized hematopatholgist, and lead editor of the WHO monograph on tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues, Dr. Swerdlow is a wonderful speaker with rare insight; you will be grateful, once again, to have chosen pathology.
If you’re able to join us, please do.
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Dr. Friedberg welcomes communication from CAP members. Write to him at president@cap.org.