Learn in the Morning, Recharge in the Afternoon

It’s no secret that like all physicians, pathologists often find it challenging to balance their professional and personal responsibilities. According to the 2024 Medscape Physician Burnout and Depression Report, over half of physicians report feeling burned out.

While we all know finding good work-life harmony is essential to maintaining a healthy mental outlook, a recent Washington Post article stated that nearly 62% of Americans don’t use all their paid time off, and 5.5% of employees didn’t take ANY days off last year. The author then goes on to explain “The real consequences for organizations and for workers around not taking time off. Higher burnout rates. Reduced retention. Greater turnover costs. Lower morale. Poor quality work.”

So, what can you do to prevent burnout? 

By integrating personal and professional endeavors, you can have your cake and eat it too. The CAP has a unique CME event where families are invited along to enjoy the resort. The sessions are limited to half day to allow adequate time to engage in activities with your loved ones. Pathology on the Coast is a rare opportunity to learn about current pathology topics in the morning and enjoy leisure and relaxation in the afternoon. 

The event is taking place June 9-12 in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and promises both wonderful educational courses and a great family vacation.

Why Pathology on the Coast?

Having personally participated in two of the CAP’s similar programs, I can attest that like most past participants, I appreciated the balance of sharpening my diagnostic skills and networking with colleagues while focusing on relaxation, family bonding, and my mental health.

We know vacation time is a precious commodity for any medical professional, but this is a way to stay productive and take that summer vacation with your family at the same time. As one participant from last year notes, their favorite part of program was, “spending time with family making memories while learning up-to-date pathology practices.”

What will you learn?

This year’s courses will focus on breast, gynecologic, and lung/mediastinal pathology, providing expert insight on topics you’re likely to encounter in everyday practice. After the conference participants will be able to:

1. Identify, assess, and diagnose neoplastic and non-neoplastic entities and their mimickers in breast, gynecologic, and lung/mediastinal pathology.
2. Synthesize subspecialty-specific, clinically relevant molecular data, and present it in a concise, easily understandable format.
3. Recognize diagnostic pitfalls encountered by expert faculty and peers in everyday practice.
4. Manage common diagnostic challenges, enhance surgical pathologists' diagnostic skills and decision-making processes.
5. Apply recent evidence-based guidelines and developments in ancillary testing to their day-to-day work.
6. Demonstrate their own knowledge and comprehension via activities and audience participation.

Courses will be taught by expert faculty: Brooke Howitt, MD; Olga Ioffe, MD; Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, MD, FCAP; and Popi Siziopikou, MD, PhD, FCAP.

How will you recharge?

Recharging looks different for everyone. I like to listen to a good book while knitting on the beach, but some people need adventure to take them away from everyday pressures, while others may like to do yoga or meditate. 

As participants will be staying at the Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort, there should be plenty of options to meet your own personal interests. The resort offers a range of activities including pools, beach rentals, bike rentals, tennis courts, a spa, and golf.

My hope for better work-life harmony

Whatever you decide to do this summer, I hope you heed the experts’ warnings and take time to recharge. You, your family, and your patients will all benefit from you taking a break!

Dr. Riddle is a shareholder pathologist for Ruffolo, Hooper, and Associates, providing services at Tampa General Hospital, the academic cancer center for the University of South Florida (USF) Health Morsani College of Medicine, where she is also the associate pathology residency site director. There, she does general anatomic pathology with a focus in bone and soft tissue, neuropathology, and gastrointestinal pathology. She is also associate professor, associate residency program director, and program research liaison for the USF Health Department of Pathology and Cell Biology.

Heavily involved in organized medicine, Dr. Riddle is active with several national medical and pathology specific organizations add well as her state pathology and medical societies. She has a special interest in high reliability medicine and creating a culture of quality and patient safety. Dr. Riddle was selected for the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s 2018 40 under Forty “Top Five” and Pathologist Magazine’s “Power List.” In 2021 she was honored with the CAP Resident Advocate Award. And most recently finished a masters in health informatics and passed the clinical informatics boards.