Trainee Professional Involvement
Professional Societies of Interest to Residents and Fellows
College of American Pathologists
The
College of American Pathologists, the leading organization of board-certified pathologists, serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine. Membership application as a resident (Junior Member) is free with a letter from the program director and allows for a year's subscription to both CAP Today and Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Staff pathologist Rob Najarian is a member of the CAP
Spokesperson's Network and can answer further questions about resident involvement in the College.
Serving as a
Junior Member in one of CAP's many Resource Committees is an outstanding resident experience and highly recommended. Residents will gain in depth experience in a particular subspecialty, learn about proficiency testing and laboratory accreditation issues, and meet pathologists who practice in a wide variety of settings. Residents are encouraged to apply. Applications for next year's positions will be available this spring and will be sent to Junior CAP Members by electronic CAP newsletters circa April. Also check the CAP website.
United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP)
"The Academy is dedicated to the advancement of Pathology. To achieve the objectives and purposes for which the Academy is organized, it shall disseminate knowledge relevant to human, veterinary and comparative pathology by means of educational programs and publications; promote research in pathology; publish information dealing with pathology and related disciplines; convene meetings and congresses for the exchange of scientific information and ideas; and organize symposia, workshops, seminars, courses, conferences and other forums to serve the educational needs of pathologists." (ref. USCAP website). Membership as a resident is $25 per year and can be submitted as a book fund expense. A subscription to Modern Pathology or Laboratory Investigation is included in this cost. The annual USCAP meeting is the most well-attended professional conference with regard to the residents and attending staff in our Department. The upcoming annual meeting is in Baltimore, Maryland from March 2-8, 2013. For additional information about the society, see their website at
www.uscap.org.
Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists
This is the major academic society for laboratory medicine. Resident membership is highly encouraged and is free. Of note, the annual meeting is a hotbed for recruitment of future faculty members. The annual meetings are held in June. See their
website for updates on meeting time and location. The academy publishes the American Journal of Clinical Pathology in concert with ASCP.
American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP)
"The mission of the American Society for Clinical Pathology is to provide excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists, and laboratory professionals." Membership as a resident is also free and provides online access to the
American Journal of Clinical Pathology and
Lab Medicine. Our current resident representatives are Felicia Allard and Lauren Gilmore. See their website at
www.ascp.org for more information.
New England Society of Pathologists (NESP)
This Massachusetts-based society disseminates advances in surgical pathology and hosts leading diagnosticians at their meetings in Boston which occur approximately five times per academic year. Our chairman, Dr. Jeffrey Saffitz, is a past President of the organization, and Dr. Jonathan Hecht is the Treasurer. Further information can be obtained from their website:
www.nespath.org.
American Board of Pathology
Establishes criteria for board and subspecialty board certification in pathology. See
www.abpath.org
ACGME
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education credentials all residency and fellowship programs. Common Program Requirements and other information of more general interest to trainees are outlined in their
website.
Additional Professional Societies
Additional societies serve the interests of specific areas of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and may be of interest. Websites for some of them are provided below:
American Association of Blood Banks (AABB):
www.aabb.org
American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC):
www.aacc.org
American Society of Microbiology (ASM):
www.asm.org
American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics
Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP)
Award Announcements for Residents and Fellows
The College of American Pathologists sponsors a number of awards for junior members ranging from support for travel grants to meetings,
leadership development awards,
pathology Informatics, and
training grants. See their
website for award descriptions and application deadlines.
Funding Opportunities
Extended Research Experience
Early during the course of research fellowship training we will help residents in the physician scientist pathway develop a successful
K08 or
K23 award proposal and introduce them to other opportunities to further their physician scientist credentials; for example, through the National Cancer Institute
Clinical Investigator Development Program, the BIDMC-based
Clinical Investigator Training Program, and the KL2 Merit Award for Young Investigators through the Harvard Clinical/Translational Science Center (
www.catalyst.harvard.edu).
Pathology Department T32 Training Grant in Angiogenesis, Immunology, and Cancer
CAP Foundation Grants
Pfizer Grants
Award for Resident and Fellow Attendance at Meetings
To promote the academic development of residents, we also defray the costs of attendance and presentation of research results at national meetings for up to $1500 per year.