ASCP Represents Pathology Residents’ Voices at the National Level

Anne Chen, MD, and Melissa Straub Hogan, MD, received a bird’s eye view on how to affect healthcare policy when they attended the 2018 American Medical Association (AMA) Interim Meeting in November in National Harbor, MD.

Both pathology residents, Dr. Chen and Dr. Hogan attended as ASCP Resident Council delegates to the AMA Resident Fellow Section (RFS). Serving as delegates provides an opportunity for the ASCP Resident Council to submit concerns on behalf of residents. Resolutions presented at the RFS assembly included wide-ranging topics such as increasing rural rotations in residency, contraception for incarcerated women, and medical aid in dying.

In addition to attending RFS sessions, Dr. Chen served as a judge in the inaugural AMA Expo poster session. The two ASCP Resident Council delegates had many opportunities to network. They also attended dinner with ASCP delegates from the AMA’s main House of Delegates and the Young Physicians Section, as well as ASCP President Melissa P. Upton, MD, FASCP, and Jeff Jacobs, ASCP Chief Officer for Science, Technology and Public Policy.

“It was great to see so many dedicated to advancing our specialty at a national level,” Dr. Chen says, adding, “The general public is not as aware of what pathologists do. It’s important to attend the AMA meetings to increase our presence at the national level. As pathologists, as long as we communicate with our colleagues in other specialties and explain our point of view, we can participate and make impact on patient care.”