9 Activity Ideas for Your Pathology Interest Group

Pathology student interest groups (SIGs) offer a unique opportunity for medical students to delve into medical specialties and career tracks as early as day one of medical school. Being involved in a pathology SIG at your institution can foster a community for you and your peers, demonstrate an early interest in pathology, and fill in the gaps to educate fellow students about the field.

As the president of my pathology SIG, I worked alongside our advisor to create the schedule of meetings for the year. I know from experience that it can be hard to know where to begin and what the year's agenda should look like. So, here are some suggestions for topics, sessions, and hands-on activities:

• Introduction to Pathology: Provide a brief overview of anatomic and clinical pathology. Or recruit a panel of pathologists from your institution to speak on subspecialty areas. These types of sessions help define pathology as a medical field and showcase the variety of career paths.
• A Day in the Life of a Pathologist: Find a pathologist who can walk the group through their typical workflow via an interactive session where students can participate in "sign-out" and view a shared screen of slides or a dual-headed microscope.
• Trainee Q&A: Invite pathology residents and fellows to answer questions from their prospective peers. Provide insights and help medical students plan for their future in pathology.
• Guest Speakers: Learn about the various pathology subspecialties and what it's like to work in different practice settings—academic, community, industry, or private. Tapping into the Member Directory on MyCAP is a great way to connect with pathologists outside your home institution.
• Laboratory Tours: Visit departments within the laboratory and see pathologists at work. Learn about other laboratory staff roles, such as pathologists' assistants, cytotechnicians, and histotechnologists.
• Autopsy Observation: Attend a hospital autopsy and tour the morgue.
• Brain Cutting and Practice Grossing: Learn how to orient, ink, and cut specimens (or substitutes like hot dogs!), as well as cut a brain. For hands-on activities like this, it's a good idea to have a sign-up sheet to limit spots based on your advisor's preference.
• Post-Match Panel with Future Pathology Residents: Invite recently-matched medical students or first-year residents to share what it's like to apply to a pathology residency.
• Mock Interviews: Practice residency interviewing skills with other group members and faculty.

Need to find leadership? Check out this article for tips on finding an SIG advisor. Once your pathology interest group is up and running, the CAP has many great resources for medical students to get a firsthand look at the critical role of pathology in medicine.

Elizabeth Bozner, MD, is a pathology resident at Tulane University in New Orleans. Passionate about increasing exposure to pathology in medical student education, she served as president of her pathology interest group during medical school. As a panelist for the "Laying the Foundation with PathSIGS" session at the 2024 Spring Residents Forum Meeting, she encouraged medical students to become actively involved in the field of pathology and spoke about ways to start pathology SIGs at their own institutions. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans and Louisiana State University, where she received a degree in biological sciences.