September 23, 2026
Can AI Help Solve the Peer-Review Crisis? Here Are its Promises and Pitfalls | Science | AAAS
Transcript
Elizabeth McMahon
Coming up, a stark look at the barriers facing visa holders seeking their first pathology jobs. Plus, how labs can be smarter stewards of a costly and specialized test that analyzes abnormal blood counts. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Elizabeth McMahon. It's Wednesday, September 23rd. For years, graduates of U.S. medical schools who held visas have said they had more difficulties finding their first jobs than their U.S. citizen counterparts. A recent survey of more than 400 people provides fresh evidence of the barriers they encounter.
Dr. Bronwyn Bryant
They had to spend more money because they had maybe had lawyer fees around getting their visa status taken care of.
Elizabeth McMahon
That's Dr. Bronwyn Bryant, a member of the CAP Graduate Medical Education Committee and one of the study's authors. She said that given a persistent shortage of pathologists, the data can help employers better understand the steps they can take to hire qualified staff. For program directors prepping international residents and fellows for the market, Dr. Bryant says strategizing may be key.
Dr. Bronwyn Bryant
They are likely going to need to start a little earlier. And that if they are considering what specialty they should want to go into, we know that there is some more commonality in more frequency in seeing some of the ACGME accredited fellowships, um, such as heme path and cytopathology among this population of folks who were able to achieve jobs.
Elizabeth McMahon
Find the full study in the August issue of the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Last year, there were more than 8 million scientific paper submissions, double the amount just five years earlier. While AI is driving the surge in submissions, the skyrocketing load is overwhelming editors and delaying publications. Can robots also sub in as peer reviewers? A new article in the journal Science explores whether AI-assisted review can relieve the burden. Though AI has flaws, scientific journals and conferences are evaluating its use. Quote, I think the norms are shifting, said one deputy editor of NEJMAI, an affiliate of the New England Journal of Medicine. If a patient has an abnormal blood count, labs turn to flow cytometric testing, which counts subsets of cells in the blood. It's a widely available but costly test. It's also frequently misapplied and demands a high level of expertise. Knowing when and how to apply this test is important, says Dr. Megan Nakashima, a member of the CAP's Quality Practices Committee. She's the author of the CAP's testing module on peripheral blood flow cytometry.
Dr. Megan Nakashima
We have very experienced and subspecialized medical laboratory scientists running these assays. And that's part of why we really want to be stewards of this test, not because we just want to do fewer of them, but we want to reserve our capacity to do accurate and in-depth analyses for cases that really need it.
Elizabeth McMahon
The CAP's test ordering program provides examples, questions, and insights about the proper application of the test.
Dr. Megan Nakashima
And so those are great applications of the test.
Elizabeth McMahon
Peripheral blood flow cytometry is one of more than two dozen testing modules available for CAP customers. And finally, there's a lot going on on the first full day of CAP 26 in Las Vegas, but the Residents Forum is the place to be for trainees. Dr. Cullen Lilley is chair of the Residents Forum Executive Committee. He says the October 3rd meeting will center on habits trainees should develop to set themselves up for job success.
Dr. Cullen Lilley
Our theme is measure, reflect, improve. And so we're trying to find those things that you can reflect on and say, you know, these are areas that I want to improve on. How do you make those goals? How do you measure your success?
Elizabeth McMahon
The day-long event will include a luncheon with CAP House of Delegates members. That's all for today's Daily Edition. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Got a story you'd like to hear on the Daily Edition? Write to us at stories at Cap.org. We're back at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of the Daily Edition. I'm Elizabeth McMahon. Have a great day.