- College of American Pathologists

Real Stories

Each day, we as pathologists, affect people’s lives. We diagnose cancer, or declare a tumor benign. We do the blood workup on a patient to discover that it really was a heart attack. We listen carefully to each person’s life story from conception, through life’s chapters, and beyond.

Here are some stories from your colleagues that are little reminders of the important work we do each day. We hope these stories inspire you to transform our specialty.
Join in - Share your own story of transformation!

Melanie A. Osby, MD, FCAP	When in Doubt, Try Getting Out Melanie A. Osby, MD, FCAP, has been talking about the satisfaction of her work as Director of Microbiology in the Department of Pathology at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center where she completed her AP/CP residency and Surgical Pathology Fellowship. Read the full story
Manjula Balasubramanian, MD, FCAP	Transformational Pathologist as Medical Director of a Large Hospital Blood Bank The chief of clinical pathology and medical director of the blood bank at a large community hospital, Manjula Balasubramanian, MD, FCAP, is passionate about her work. She describes blood donation as “charity without expectation,” an honorable gesture equivalent to organ donation. “Donated blood is a precious resource, and it should be treated that way,” she says. “It saves lives.” Read the full story
C. Leilani Valdes, MD	Junior Member Transforms NewsPath® into an Experience for Residents to Get Involved Immediately “As chair of the NewsPath® Editorial Board (NEB) and as a current Junior Member myself, I know that Residents want to get involved immediately in the CAP. NewsPath is one vehicle. You will author a by-lined article and podcast published on www.cap.org/newspath. You will also work with a NEB mentor and a Scientific Advisor from a CAP Resource Committee. NewsPath is a bridge for Junior and Fellow Members to work together. Read the full story
David G. Hicks, MD, FCAP	Dr. Hicks Teams Up with Operating Room Staff to Speed Specimen Handling When David G. Hicks, MD, FCAP, a breast pathologist, joined the pathology group at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York in 2008, the average time from collection to fixation for most specimens was more than two hours. Read the full story
James R. Miller, MD, FCAP	Pathologist Builds Business Case—Progressive Hospital Board Embraces New Technology As a pathologist and medical director for Salem Township Hospital in Salem, Illinois, James R. Miller, MD, FCAP, recognized the need to embrace new PCR MRSA screening technology in order to have the information immediately available on admission. Today, it’s a best practice. Read the full story
Matthew Zarka, MD, FCAP	Dr. Zarka and the Village of a Thousand Voices Matt Zarka, MD, FCAP is a poster child for the transformative role of the pathologist in healthcare delivery—he’s there for patients in whatever ways he’s needed. Not only is he an eeesntial part of the patient care team, in some cases, he is the patient care team. Read the complete story.
Dennis D. Reinke, MD, FCAP	“Go-to” Pathologist Dedicated to Patient Care and Colleagues Each month, regardless of weather constraints, pathologist Dennis D. Reinke, MD, FCAP, travels to Bismarck, North Dakota, to oversee the HLA and Transfusion Service at Medcenter One, which operates an active kidney transplant service.Read the complete story.
Yvonne R. Hearn, MD, FCAP	Pathologist’s Trip to South Pacific Brings Child Accurate Diagnosis, Treatment to Ease Pain, and Consultation for Family’s Understanding of Daughter’s Disease “As a pathologist, I like to interact with the patient and family,” said Dr. Hearn. “Directing patient care, even on a small island, and working with the family to understand their child’s disease is transformative in that it reinforces my desire to pursue opportunities to interact with patients and their families.” Read the complete story or view photos from Dr. Hearn’s trip.
Richard A. Smith, MD, PhD, FCAP	Pathologist Protects and Advocates for Patients through Multidisciplinary Weekly Meetings “At our meeting, almost every week there is a ‘eureka’ moment when some unanticipated wrinkle is discovered,“ says Richard A. Smith, MD, PhD, FCAP. “Perhaps a palpable lesion that isn’t seen on mammogram; the biopsy that doesn’t explain the imaging findings; or an ultrasound image that isn’t completely reassuring” Read the complete story.
Brian E. Moore, MD, FCAP	Doctor Creates Neuropathology Blog—Now Read Around the World “The CAP Campaign for the Transformation of the Specialty of Pathology is about pathologists embracing the new and making it our own for the benefit of our patients and clinical colleagues,” said Brian E. Moore, MD, FCAP. “Neuropathology Blog is my own way of embracing the new communication technology to help transform the profession” Read the complete story. Dr. Moore writes Neuropathology Blog—a repository of things he learns in the course of his daily practice.
Bradley M. Linzie, MD, FCAP (far right).	Pathologist Treats Uninsured and Underserved Patients “As a pathologist, I try remove all barriers to early diagnosis and treatment of cervical and breast cancer for all women. Having the language translators on hand and the educational tools available helped the women better understand why receiving a Pap test regularly is important for early detection,” notes Bradley Linzie, MD, FCAP. Read the complete story. Dr. Linzie explains Pap testing to a patient and the Patient Advocate.
James Small, MD, Phd, FCAP (far right).	Build People, Not Houses “While working side-by-side with a local resident, I told the man that I was a doctor. The man said that I should come back to build people-not houses. This conversation sparked the idea of returning to the area to treat patients,” says James Small, MD, PhD, FCAP. Read the complete story. More pictures can scroll through at this link: http://www.missionsministries.com/
David O. Rice, Jr., retired fire lieutenant, registered nurse, husband, father, and prostate cancer survivor.	Pathologist Helps Firefighter Fight for His Life “Thanks to my pathologist’s quick and accurate diagnosis, I was able to begin treatment immediately. Early detection saved my life,” says Daivd Rice. Read the complete story. David O. Rice Jr., is a retired fire lieutenant, registered nurse, husband, father, and prostate cancer survivor credits his pathologist with diagnosing cancer accurately and quickly, even though he had no signs or symptoms.

Share your story. Please let us know how you are transforming the specialty, whether it’s embracing a new technology, interacting with patients, consulting with your clinicial colleagues, or implementing a new process within your institution. We want hear from you! Share your own story of transformation!