Tips for Finding a Pathologist Advisor for Your Student Interest Group

So, you want to start a pathology student interest group at your school? Great! But you need to find a pathologist to serve as your faculty advisor? Uh oh!

Finding the right advisor is essential for medical students looking to launch or re-establish their student interest group. Not only do they provide valuable insights and guidance, but they can also connect you with a wider professional network.

Reaching out to a faculty member you don’t know can feel intimidating, even though it shouldn't be more than sending a couple of emails. For some, this is a very easy task. However, if you're someone like me who has "email anxiety," sending that first email can be daunting. (If I'm being completely honest, I made a friend press "send" for me after staring at the email I'd written for about two weeks.) The good news is that once the email was sent, I found a pathologist who was more than willing to help sponsor our student interest group.

It can be hard to get started, so I recommend the following steps to find a pathologist to sponsor your group.

1. Determine who to email

Every medical school has different requirements for a faculty sponsor, such as needing to be affiliated with the school. Check your school's requirements before you contact anyone.

In my case, this was easy: the pathology interest group at my school already had a faculty sponsor; the group had simply been inactive for several years. If there isn't already a sponsor, try to reach out to pathology faculty who have given lectures. They might not be the best fit or may not have time, but they'll likely point you in the right direction. If you haven't had a pathology lecturer yet, search your program's pathology department site.
Pro tip: This is also how I set up my first shadowing experience post-COVID-19. I emailed a random pathologist off the faculty webpage, and she put me in contact with the proper people.

If you're in a program without a pathology department, you can contact a pathologist in your local community or even via social media. You can also use the Member Directory in the MyCAP app to search for pathologists by location.

2. Come up with a Plan B

If you're struggling to find a pathologist advisor, ask a non-pathology faculty member to sponsor the group. Or invite unaffiliated pathologists to speak to and engage with your group. Social media can significantly bolster your efforts. Many enthusiastic pathologists are on social media and will go out of their way to help your group. A couple great places to look are:

• PathSIG
• Virtual Path Elective
• CAP's social media accounts: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

3. Draft your request

Start your email request by introducing yourself and sharing your expectations for their role and level of involvement. Most importantly, share your enthusiasm for pathology. Pathology is a small but passionate community, and your enthusiasm for the specialty will help make a difference. You can read a version of the email introduction I sent below.

4. Hit send!

At the end of the day, finding a faculty sponsor for a pathology student interest group is much easier in practice than in theory. Most pathologists I've met have gone out of their way to help any student interested in pathology.

Once your pathology interest group has a faculty advisor, the CAP has many great resources for medical students to get a firsthand look at the critical role of pathology.

Sample Email:

Dear Dr. _____,

My name is ______ and I am a current MS_ at _________ interested in pursuing pathology. I am looking to start a Pathology Interest Group at ____ and was wondering if you would be interested in serving as the faculty sponsor?

The school has interest groups for many different specialties and activities, but pathology is not currently adequately represented. My goal for establishing this group is to cultivate interest in pathology as a potential career and expose members to various subjects and advancements related to pathology. Many of my classmates have not been afforded the opportunity to learn about pathology as a career or witness the enthralling mix of inductive and deductive reasoning that leads a pathologist to the diagnosis.

My plan for this group is to reach out to a few pathologists I have met through school and shadowing to set up some monthly lunch and learn events, both virtually and in person. I would also like to be able to bring students to the department for an informal mixer with the faculty and residents if feasible. This would be a low time commitment endeavor for you, but your contribution would greatly benefit all students.

If you’re willing to serve as faculty sponsor, I would love to be able to meet with you sometime to discuss your level of involvement and perhaps brainstorm more ideas. If you don’t think that this opportunity is something you can assist me in, would you be so kind as to help introduce me to a pathologist colleague who may be able to help our group?

Thank you for your consideration,
X

Mackenzie Dent, MD, is a pathology resident at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. She graduated from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY with a BA in Biochemistry in 2019 before earning her MD with Distinction in Medical Education at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2024. While attending medical school Mackenzie took on several leadership roles, including restarting and serving as President of the Pathology Interest Group in addition to co-founding the Clinical Forensic Medicine Interest Group. Outside of her professional pursuits, Mackenzie enjoys traveling, coaching lacrosse, and doting on her cat, Dipsy, with whom she shares a birthday.