CAPcasts

In vivo microscopy (IVM) is a key emerging field in the practice of pathology, representing a new role and opportunity for pathologists. Specifically, pathologists will be called on to partner with other physicians in clinical decision making and delivering patient care, according to Dr. Nicholas P Reder, a current clinical research fellow and co-chief resident at the University of Washington Medical Center’s Department of Pathology. In this CAPcast, Dr. Reder will discuss why IVM should be of interest to residents.

Dr. Benjamin Witt discusses the recent reclassification of what had been termed encapsulated (or non-invasive) follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma as a result of a landmark April 2016 article in JAMA Oncology: http://capatholo.gy/2rNnZWn.

In this CAPcast interview, Dr. Miriam Post, a member of CAP’s Graduate Medical Education Committee, discusses findings from a recent survey published earlier this year in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (http://capatholo.gy/2qVz6zd). She speaks about the survey's findings on attributes employers seek in applicants for entry level pathologist positions as well as why networking is so important when looking for a job.

Feedback in the laboratory provides pathologists with an opportunity to ensure improvement when necessary, to reinforce the positive, and to ensure that standards are met in a low stakes environment, translating to improved clinical outcomes, explains CAP member Dr. Sarah Bean in this CAPcast interview. In this interview, Dr. Bean discusses the importance of feedback and how to give and receive effective feedback. Dr. Bean will be leading a course on this topic at CAP17 on October 8th, along with Dr. Sara Jiang. Learn more about CAP17: http://capatholo.gy/2q9qphF.

ISO 15189, an international quality standard for medical laboratories, has the potential to improve the quality of anatomic pathology services, explains Dr. Frank Schneider, a pathologist with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California who chairs the CAP’s ISO 15189 Committee. Dr. Schneider is the co-author of a chapter on this topic in the new book, Quality Management in Anatomic Pathology, out now from CAP Press. For more information on ISO 15189, read this CAP FAQ document: http://capatholo.gy/2qx96Gi.

The FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorization for several diagnostic tests for Zika to assist in the public health response. In this CAPcast, Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, Stanford University Medical Center’s Director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory, discusses the types of testing available as well as the new Vector Bourne Disease Survey from the CAP, which is designed to provide an extra measure of quality assurance for laboratories performing molecular Zika testing.

A new book, The Healing Art of Pathology, brings together essays and artwork about pathology from the perspectives of doctors, patients, and family members. In this CAPcast, the book’s editors, Dr Marilyn Bui and Dr. Katherine Galagan, discuss how the book came about and its message about celebrating the courage of patients, the compassion of physicians, and the strength of the human spirit.

Ever since Dustin Bennett was a toddler, he had trouble keeping his balance, and as he grew older, he experienced rigid, jerking spasms that would appear and disappear. He also developed learning disabilities. Linda Bennett, who is Dustin’s adoptive mother, took him to several doctors to try to find the cause of his movement problems. But after years of tests, medications, and hospital stays, there was no clear diagnosis.

Then a physician suggested that Dustin, now 23, visit the Mayo Clinic’s campus in Jacksonville, Florida. There, specialists, including Dr. Zignew Zolek, recommended that Dustin undergo whole exome sequencing, using Dustin’s blood samples as well as his biological parents and sister. The testing lead to a diagnosis—episodic ataxia type 1, a rare condition. Dustin’s case was recently profiled in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in a paper authored by Dr. Zolek.

In this CAPcast, Linda discusses her experience with this genome sequencing, from a caregiver’s perspective, and the impact that the test results have had on Dustin’s life as well as on Linda and the rest of Dustin’s family.

Pathologist Dr. Carol Harris has been leading efforts to diagnose and care for HIV patients in Ethiopia since 2002 as director of Einstein College of Medicine's Institute of Global HIV Medicine. In 2012, she turned her attention to cancer, given the growing number of Ethiopians who are living with and dying from cancer. "As the major infectious diseases...come under control...one of the burgeoning epidemics are non-communicable diseases," explains Dr. Harris in this CAPcast interview. "Of course, cancer is one of these. It will become a prodigious healthcare burden and a source of horrific suffering for Ethiopians."

The quality of both a patient's biospecimen and the biorepository where it is stored is vital--or the patient can suffer harm, explains Dr. James Robb, who as a consulting pathologist, helped develop the National Cancer Institute’s Community Cancer Center Program (NCCCP)and the Cancer Human Biobank (caHUB). In this CAPcast, Dr. Robb outlines what is being done to ensure quality biospecimens and biorepositories.