As pathologists, we are responsible for increasingly intricate anatomic pathology and clinical laboratory services in a continually changing healthcare landscape that requires us to integrate emerging technologies for improved quality of medical care while also being hypervigilant to cost control and efficiency. Hospital systems working under managed care business models seek to expand their coverage networks and boost the number of patients served, and as such, it is going to be very critical for the next generation of pathologists to develop and implement the management skills and techniques necessary to effectively advocate for investment in their departments and meet such goals.
The problem, however, is that we are largely shielded from these issues during our undergraduate and even graduate medical education experiences. We focus, of course, on the basic sciences and clinical skills, which are undeniably important; however, we get significantly less instruction or discussion on functioning within our health care system, addressing quality issues, or general leadership training that is indispensable and highly valuable for practicing physicians.
Earlier in the summer, I saw a number of pathology folks on Twitter promoting and strongly encouraging residents to apply for the two-day “Just Say Know! From Mentoring to High Performance” program, formed through collaboration between ASCP and USCAP, on an approach to leadership, management, and business for pathology. I was highly intrigued and had a feeling this program was the sort of experience for which I had been looking. Traveling to Palm Springs in the middle of the Chicago winter was not a bad deal either!
Drs. Blair Holladay and David Kaminsky assembled an impressive collection of speakers for the weekend, which was divided into four focus areas: leadership, management, business and policy, and change. After an engaging introduction by Drs. Holladay and Kaminsky, current trainees Drs. Kabeer Shah and Melissa Hogan set the stage by highlighting the increasing importance of “management” and “leadership” as reflected in the ACGME milestones as well as recent literature suggesting expectations for newly-trained pathologists include these very skills (Post et al. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2017;141: 193-202).Above all, they encouraged all of the thirty residents and fellows in attendance to “be honest, be open, and be vulnerable,” and ask the tough questions of themselves to gain the most from the weekend.
Lotte Mulder from ASCP led an enlightening discussion on the differences between emotional intelligence (EI) and conventional IQ, as well as the critical need to be self-aware of how our emotions can affect our performance and to understand the extent of our own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Dr. Karen Kaul followed with a very timely overview of strategies for identifying mentors. She discussed how our mentorship needs will evolve over the course of our careers and that fulfilling the mentor role for another junior individual while having your own mentors is key to the professional development necessary in leadership positions.
After lunch, Dr. Dan Milner from ASCP took us through some very interesting global health case studies that forced our group to think critically about the role of pathology and the clinical laboratory in underserved settings as well as the major obstacles and economic disparities that must be considered. There were a number of important teaching points from Dr. Milner’s international cases that will be equally helpful for understanding the disparities we encounter right here in our backyard.
Dr .Yael Heher led off the afternoon management focus series with a really comprehensive look into how she has championed quality improvement and patient safety reviews at her institution to address root causes for laboratory errors, followed by a well-timed interactive session in which we divided into groups to use the six sigma methodology to work in concrete steps through a real-life laboratory error. It was a great opportunity to see people from different institutions and backgrounds bring unique perspectives to a common problem. The first day of the program concluded with a very unique session on art and leadership in which Dr. Kaminsky led us into Downtown Palm Springs to view the Palm Springs Babies art installation set up by David Cerny. Our powers of observation as pathologists were put to the test as we were asked to describe and interpret the meanings behind the exhibit in the same way that we often use visual evidence in our day-to-day work.
The second day of the program focused on business and policy with talks by Dr. Gary Procop on how pathologists can help integrate interventions into the laboratory to improve system-level metrics and by Khosrow Shotorbani on how laboratory data can be used to optimize laboratory services in the model of the rideshare service, Uber. The morning also included an interactive session on negotiation skills, in which each of us assumed the roles of departmental chair and owner of a private practice group negotiating with newly-hired pathologists. The weekend concluded with Dr. Nathan Johnson’s 18 steps to make change a part of an organizational culture, which was based on his experiences in academic research, military operational theory, and real-life lab experiences.
The weekend provided an incredibly impactful and high-yield array of discussions, so much so that I am already finding myself applying many of the strategies and techniques described over the weekend in my role as chief resident as well as to some of the changes and initiatives that I am hoping to bring to our department. Most important, though, were the opportunities to interact with my peers from around the country. We all face similar challenges as residents, and the opportunity to learn each other’s perspectives and approaches to similar issues was just as illuminating as the structured portions of the program. I hope that the ASCP and USCAP continue to offer the Just Say Know! Program and enthusiastically join all those pathology folks on social media promoting the program last summer with my own strong recommendation to challenge yourself and be open to new ways of learning by considering participating in this event!
-Imran Uraizee, MD, is currently chief resident and a third-year anatomic and clinical pathology resident at the University of Chicago. He also manages the Department of Pathology Twitter account, @UChicagoPath. He majored in Biology at Duke University before earning his MD at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Uraizee can be followed on Twitter at @IUraizee3MD.
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