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Every year, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) presents the Pathology Ambassador Award to outstanding individuals who go above and beyond to educate medical students and their communities about the importance of pathology in patient care. Today, when there’s a critical shortage of laboratory professionals, advocacy is more important than ever. 

Breann Zeches, MD, Neuropathology Fellow, Vanderbilt Medical Center, is the chair of the Pathology Ambassador Award subcommittee. Ambassadors, she said, play a vital role in advocating for the profession at the grassroots level.  

“A great Pathology Ambassador, and potential award winner, is someone who truly puts in the effort to engage with students, colleagues, and the community,” she says. “They leave a lasting impact on how people see the role of lab professionals in healthcare, making a real difference in how our profession is understood.” 

Planting the seeds of pathology awareness 

Alex McGeough, MD, PGY-4 Resident, Department of Pathology, University of Cincinnati, received the Pathology Ambassador Award in 2023. Fostering pathology awareness is vital, he says, so the profession can attract bright students with new ideas that will drive improvements in patient care. 

“At the University of Cincinnati, we created a Pathology Interest Group for medical students, primarily aimed at first- and second-year students to drive engagement early in the process,” Dr. McGeough says.  

Without an interest group reaching out to medical students early in the education, many people may not consider pathology until it’s almost too late. 

“We saw great attendance with our resident Q&A panel and informal meet and greets,” he says. “We also host United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) study sessions for the pathology topics to stay connected. One successful endeavor we did involved collaborating with other specialty interest groups like ENTs, where they practiced FNAs on chicken livers and we made cytology slides to see the results in real-time.” 

Demystifying a hidden specialty 

Christina Narakorn, MHS, PA(ASCP)^CM, Manager of Laboratory Staff Education and Development at the Mayo Clinic, received the Pathology Ambassador Award in 2023. She says that because pathologists typically work behind-the-scenes, increasing the profession’s visibility helps demystify the field and attract more talent.  

“Some effective outreach strategies I have used include organizing interactive workshops and seminars, collaborating with schools and universities to provide hands-on experiences, and leveraging social media platforms to share engaging content about the field of pathology,” Ms. Narakorn says. “Another example is our visitor observation program, which has allowed me to schedule unique observation experiences for medical students and other professionals interested in pathology. These experiences showcase the diverse roles of pathologists, their collaborative teamwork, and provide opportunities for one-on-one mentoring sessions.” 

If a professional is interested in advocating for the field as a Pathology Ambassador, Ms. Narakorn suggests seeking opportunities to mentor others, whether it’s by volunteering at local career events or connecting with university alumni.  

“Opportunities come in all shapes and sizes,” she says.  

Discovering pathology just in time 

Justin T. Kelley, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Hematopathology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, says he’s passionate about pathology awareness because he didn’t realize pathology was its own unique specialty until a month before his residency applications. The 2022 Pathology Ambassador Award winner found out about the specialty when he took an AAMC quiz and learned he was a 92% match for the profession.  

“I remember being upset with the high pathology result I got on that AAMC quiz as a medical student because I did not understand pathology,” Dr. Kelley says. “I deeply cared about patient care, accurate diagnoses, and healthcare resources. However, pathology directly contributes to the best patient care and completely changed my perspective on the specialty. I feel that simply teaching people we exist, who is part of our team, what quality is embedded in testing and the steps involved in the ultimate results can increase interest in pathology, like it did with me.” 

Dr. Kelley received the Ambassador Award for his work in facilitating pathology introduction sessions for medical students.  

“The medical school where I did my residency and fellowship had changed their curriculum requiring all students to have a week of pathology introduction in their surgery rotation,” he says. “During the week, they are exposed to anatomic and clinical pathology, including the laboratory, histology, grossing, and microscopy, and the residents facilitated the grossing session. In the sessions, the students were introduced to specimen fixation, grossing, processing and staining.”