Every year, pathologists come together as friends and colleagues at the College of American Pathologists' annual meeting, but this year will be different due to the pandemic. The CAP has announced that CAP20 will be held virtually.
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CAP Annual Meeting Going Virtual
"COVID-19 forced seismic changes in our lives, practices, and institutions," the CAP says on its annual meeting webpage. "And the ongoing health and well-being of our members, faculty, and business partners became the top priority. After thoughtful deliberation, we have decided to transition CAP20 from an in-person gathering in Las Vegas, to a virtual meeting starting on October 10."
The original event was to be held at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada from October 10-13.
There are still details to be finalized, but the CAP says it remains committed to providing high-quality educational opportunities and the social experience that fosters the timely exchange of ideas and some much-needed fellowship with pathology colleagues.
Remembering Dr. Gene Herbek
Former CAP President Gene N. Herbek, MD, FCAP, passed away June 4 at the age of 70. Named as the CAP’s 2016 Pathologist of the Year, Dr. Herbek served as the CAP president from 2013–2015.
"It is our collective honor to have known and worked with such a wonderful man," says current CAP president Dr. Patrick Godbey. "We have lost an extraordinary leader and a dedicated, caring physician... For those of us who had the privilege of knowing and working with Gene, it was life changing for us as well. We became better pathologists and better people from that experience. I am honored to be able to say that Dr. Herbek was my friend, and I learned a great deal from him."
Dr. Herbek founded the CAP Foundation's signature program, See, Test & Treat, which has provided free breast and cervical cancer screening to thousands of women across the U.S. since Dr. Herbek hosted the first event at Standing Rock Indian Reservation nearly 20 years ago.
Dr. Herbek at a See, Test & Treat event. Image courtesy of the CAP Foundation.
According to the CAP Foundation, at the time, Native American women had the highest rate of cervical cancer in America and one of the lowest survival rates. Seeing that urgent need, Dr. Herbek worked to develop a welcoming environment to provide free high-quality care to the patients who needed it most.
Grossing Video Volunteers Needed
Students in the medical field currently face unprecedented challenges as a result of COVID-19. Most programs are scheduled to begin clinical rotations in the upcoming months with students who have been unable to participate in wet labs or receive in-person teaching for over two months.
The American Association of Pathologists' Assistants (AAPA) and the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) accredited Pathologists’ Assistant training programs are spearheading a joint effort to create a central repository of resources for students that aims to lessen the impact of missing wet labs and the beginning of the clinical experience.
This virtual arena will allow the programs to share resources with each other, but also to equally benefit from community submitted videos, lectures, and materials. The programs have created a “wish list” of the types of educational material that would be most impactful. The most sought-after resource is the recording of specimen examination, especially “introductory” specimens being grossed by trained PAs.
"The classes of 2020 and 2021 will be our colleagues and friends," the AAPA says on its website. "We have the opportunity right now to make a real difference in their training and in the training of future generations of PAs. We can build a collection of educational materials as a proactive measure should a situation like this arise again. We are a community of educators."
To learn more about submitting a grossing video or volunteering, visit the AAPA website.
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