ASCP News - April 2020

Registration Now Open for ASCP 2020 Annual Meeting

Join your peers in Austin, Texas, from Sept. 9-11 for world-class education at the ASCP 2020 Annual Meeting. Gain practical knowledge and advance your laboratory to improve outcomes, become more cost efficient, and enhance patient care. At the Annual Meeting, you’ll discover how to move appropriate test utilization from principles to practice and convey your expertise to the clinical care team through sessions led by knowledgeable, world-class faculty and respected, premier leaders. Learn from the foremost experts in the field, fulfill your Continuing Certification (CC; formerly MOC) and Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) requirements, and form valuable relationships that will last throughout your career and lifetime! Watch for more details at www.ascp.org/2020.  

ASCP Selected to Host 2021 World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Boston, MA, October 2021

ASCP has been selected to host the 2021 World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Boston, MA, in October 2021. The prestigious, invitation-only event—organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC)—annually brings together key decision-makers including prime ministers, ministers of health, city and industry leaders, senior executives and other influential players from around the world to facilitate debates about emerging issues related to cancer control. More than 400 global influencers and leaders in cancer control and public health from across governments, United Nations agencies, academia, nonprofit organizations and the private sector are expected to make their way to Boston in October 2021. The Summit will occur the day before the ASCP 2021 Annual Meeting, to be held Oct. 27-29, in Boston.

“ASCP is honored to be chosen by the UICC in this highly competitive selection process,” said E. Blair Holladay, PhD, MASCP, SCT(ASCP)^CM, Chief Executive Officer of ASCP.
“It underscores the vital role that pathology and laboratory medicine play in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We are excited to be the voice of our profession in this endeavor to develop a coordinated and effective response to the global cancer epidemic.”  

For the WCLS in 2021, in addition to a strong partnership with the City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 17 U.S.-based organizations are supporting the event including Partners Healthcare, Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners in Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, UCSF Helen Diller Cancer Center, The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, American Cancer Society, American Society for Clinical Oncology, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Global Oncology, Oncology Nursing Society, International Society of Nurses Cancer Care, RTI International, The Max Foundation and Project ECHO. 

“The overwhelming support from some of our key collaborators has been amazing, and ASCP is truly excited to expand our umbrella of collaboration to include other cancer organizations around the world as we strive to provide the best possible meeting in which all voices are represented,” said ASCP President Gene P. Siegal, MD, PhD, FASCP.

New Initiative Empowers Women and Minorities in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Why are pathology/laboratory medicine not representative of the communities they serve? With the high percentage of women in pathology and laboratory medicine, why do so few hold leadership roles?  

ASCP has launched an initiative focusing on diversity and empowering women and minorities in the medical laboratory. The Society is working to advance diversity, inclusion and empowerment of women and underrepresented minorities by developing related strategies in the areas of awareness, recruitment, talent development, and encouraging inclusive and equitable workplaces.

Women hold fewer than 20 percent of healthcare leadership roles. Within the pathology profession, 2.1 percent are African American and 4.4 percent are Latin American of the workforce. Meanwhile, in the laboratory profession, African Americans make up 7.6 percent of the workforce, followed by 6.1 percent of Latin Americans and .7 percent Native Americans.¹

The Society plans to address this through a multi-pronged strategy that includes: 

• Build awareness around pathology and laboratory medicine as career opportunities, leveraging ASCP Career and Pathology Ambassador volunteer networks.
• Establish partnerships with programs and other associations to promote and advance this strategic initiative.
• Create mentorship opportunities to provide support, learning and development.
• Develop educational content and training solutions that address such issues as implicit bias and cultural competency.
• Assemble a workgroup to ensure lasting change and sustainability.

“As we address the workforce pipeline issue—increasing the number of qualified individuals entering the profession—it is essential and critical that we target underrepresented minorities,” says ASCP President Gene P. Siegal, MD, PhD, FASCP. “In doing so, we all grow and succeed, and we support laboratories in reflecting the communities they serve. Having a diverse workforce not only allows staff to learn more about patients’ cultures, but also teaches us how to practice cultural competency.” Learn more about ASCP’s diversity and inclusion initiative at www.ascp.org/diversity.

Lab Professionals and Pathologists: It’s Your Moment to Shine During Lab Week, April 19-25!

Medical laboratory professionals and pathologists possess a wealth of knowledge and are an invaluable part of the pathology and laboratory medicine healthcare team. Most are rarely seen by patients. Yet each and every pathologist and laboratory professional has an enormous impact every day on the delivery of quality patient care. 

This year, ASCP is celebrating Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (Lab Week), April 19-25, with the theme, “Fellowship of the Lab: One Team to Diagnose Them All!” Be sure to share your passion for the profession by entering the ASCP 2020 Fellowship of the Lab Photo and Video Contest by Friday, April 3. As you plan your Lab Week festivities, check out Lab Week-related apparel and other items to purchase at www.jimcolemanstore.com/lab.

“Getting involved in Lab Week is a way for medical laboratory professionals and pathologists to showcase their ‘work family’ and how all of you, as a team, contribute to patient care,” says Jesse McCoy, PA(ASCP)^CM. “If you look at the photos or videos that laboratories have submitted to the ASCP Lab Week contest in previous years, you see that everyone comes up with something creative.”

The public will have an opportunity to take part in Round One of voting on the ASCP 2020 Fellowship of the Lab Photo and Video Contest on April 10. The five entries in each category, photo or video, receiving the highest number of votes will pass on to Round Two of voting from April 13-16. Winners will be announced on April 22, and will receive fun prizes to celebrate Lab Week.

Learn more about contest details by visiting www.ascp.org/labweek.

Advancing the Leadership Role of Pathologists and Laboratory Professionals on the IO Cancer Care Team

ASCP has taken a leadership role in developing education so pathologists and laboratory professionals are current in the rapidly exploding area of immuno-oncology (IO) to treat cancer patients. Since 2016, ASCP has partnered with Q Synthesis to implement its IO education through a series of innovative quality improvement projects in community hospitals nationwide.

The ASCP IO Work Group has developed a Virtual Cancer Committee education module to demonstrate to pathologists and laboratory professionals how they can play a role in their own institution’s cancer committee. The module touches on practical issues that a community-based cancer center might encounter, ranging from topics affecting the clinical and administrative perspectives to focusing on identification and management of immune-related adverse events.

“The first content area examines biomarker testing from clinical and administrative perspectives,” explains Joseph Kim, MD, of Q Synthesis. “The second content area focuses on treatment-related adverse events so that, when patients are treated with the different drugs, pathologists and laboratory professionals are aware of all the possible reactions that could occur,” he adds.

Through this process, participants assess how different interventions may lead to improved patient care. They will also assess the role for process changes, systems-level quality improvement projects, clinical education or other team-based interventions. 

Learn more about the Virtual Cancer Committee on the ASCP web site at www.ascp.org/immuno-oncology.