Carla L. Ellis
Associate Professor of Pathology; Vice Chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Medical Director, Renal Pathology Service, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Treasurer of the Society of Black Pathology
Exciting developments and trends? One of the most exciting developments in pathology today is the integration of digital technology into our daily work experience. We look to a future of being “glassless” as pathologists and using more digital methods in the laboratory. While these techniques are exciting, and likely come naturally to our younger generations that have subsisted on digital technology since childhood, full integration of these techniques will involve a significant learning gap for those of us who came up “prior to” their development! While I look forward to a future of being able to work from home more often and possibly “saying goodbye” to the microscope in my daily practice, I think I will always keep one around for nostalgic purposes and also “back-up” in the event of technological failure!
Inspiring leader? I would love to use this platform as an opportunity to describe the qualities of the inspiring leaders that I continually aspire to and hope to fully embody in the future of my career: The ability to lead with confidence in a team, without a need to micromanage. Having a dedicated vision for future goals that is carefully balanced with building the infrastructure and talent required to achieve them. Always prioritizing transparency and clear communication.
Raising the profile? A critical topic in raising the profile of pathology is increased communication about our vital role in patient care. As laboratorians, we obviously know how important our role in patient care is and understand that the lab SAVES LIVES! However, many other specialties in medicine continue to see pathology and laboratory medicine as ancillary components to patient care, despite their critical need for our results to make patient care decisions. Complicating this is the lack of understanding of laboratory work flows that include quality care, assurance and improvement methods and numerous internal processes to ensure our results are as timely as possible but more importantly, accurate.
Raising the profile of pathology should include these topics and should be a mainstay of communication on the national level for the visibility of other medical specialties and to further appreciate and understand how crucially important our roles are.
