The ASCP Pathologist Council plays an important role in connecting ASCP with its pathologist members and ensuring that their voices help shape the society’s priorities and initiatives. Through this work, the council supports the profession by strengthening communication, advancing strategies for pathologist recruitment and retention, and championing advocacy on issues that affect pathology practice and the broader healthcare landscape.
The Council also helps identify programs, services, and resources that meet the evolving needs of pathologists. Finally, it serves as a representative voice for ASCP among pathologists, partner organizations, and the public, helping to strengthen the visibility, value, and impact of the pathology profession.
On behalf of the ASCP Pathologist Council, I am delighted to share some of our specific initiatives we have been working on.
Unpacking issues
Workforce attrition remains one of the most pressing challenges facing pathology today, and many pathologists are experiencing the strain of staffing shortages firsthand in daily practice. To better understand how these pressures are affecting well-being, burnout, and job satisfaction across the profession, we are partnering with ASCP research analysts, led by Edna Garcia, to develop a new survey.
This effort will provide an important opportunity to compare current findings with ASCP’s earlier study, published just before the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, we hope to identify not only the challenges that have persisted, but also the ways the professional landscape has shifted and the new trends that are shaping pathology today.
Shaping the future
Another exciting Council initiative is a collaboration with the ASCP Resident Council and the ASCP Commission on Continuing Professional Development to create dynamic educational content for both trainees and practicing pathologists. By embracing social media as a modern teaching tool, we are developing reels, carousel posts, and story-based content centered on high-yield pathology topics that are relevant to both board preparation and everyday practice.
The aim is to deliver concise, engaging, and effective educational content that sparks interest, reinforces learning, and raises awareness of essential pathology concepts. We are enthusiastic about launching pilot posts ahead of the next ASCP Annual Meeting in November.
Increasing confidence
A third initiative centers on creating dedicated content for early-career pathologists in their first five years of practice. By drawing from ASCP’s robust educational library, we are assembling a self-paced “survival guide” to help new-in-practice pathologists navigate the transition from training to the realities of professional practice with greater confidence.
This curated resource will include modules on essential topics such as laboratory directorship, pathology reporting, billing and coding, financial literacy, promotion strategies, leveraging artificial intelligence, risk mitigation, quality improvement, and health equity and cultural competence. Just as importantly, the guide will address critical professional skills that are often less formally taught, including workload management, mentorship, effective communication, feedback, leadership development, burnout prevention, boundary setting, contract negotiation, and more.
Together, these resources are intended to offer junior pathologists a practical foundation for building successful, sustainable, and fulfilling careers.
Strengthening our foundations
These initiatives demonstrate the ASCP Pathologist Council’s commitment to supporting pathologists at every stage of their careers while addressing some of the profession’s most pressing challenges. From workforce well-being to innovative education and practical resources for early-career pathologists, our goal is to strengthen both the profession and the community it serves. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this work and to support pathology’s enduring value in patient care.
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