This document discusses the important interfaces that pathology leaders must navigate, including with clinicians, medical staff, hospital administration, laboratory staff, and their own pathology group. It emphasizes the need for pathologists to understand different perspectives, communicate effectively, provide high quality service, and get involved in various hospital committees and activities to strengthen relationships across specialties and improve patient care. Key competencies for pathologists include medical knowledge, lifelong learning, collaboration, and recognizing how pathology fits within the larger healthcare system.

1. Interfaces for Pathology Leaders
AP Residents’ Management Mini-Series
Sandip SenGupta, MD
January 27, 2016

2. Overview of this Session
• Competencies of the “Involved Pathologist”
• Interfacing with Clinicians
• Interfacing with the Medical Staff
• Interfacing with Hospital Administration
• Interfacing with the Laboratory Staff
• Interfacing with the Pathology Group
• Interfaces beyond the Hospital
• Strategies for Improving Interfaces

3. General Competencies for Pathologists
• Patient Care
• Medical Knowledge
• Practice‐Based Learning and Improvement
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• Professionalism
• Systems‐Based Practice

4. General Competencies for Pathologists
• Patient Care
– Compassionate
– Appropriate
– Effective for the promotion of health, prevention
of illness, treatment of health problems, and care
at the end of life.

5. General Competencies for Pathologists
• Medical Knowledge
– Of established and evolving biomedical, clinical,
epidemiologic, and social‐behavioural sciences
– Application of this knowledge to patient care and
the education of others

6. General Competencies for Pathologists
• Practice‐Based Learning and Improvement
– Review and evaluate one’s patient care and
laboratory practices
– Appraise and assimilate scientific evidence
– Continuously improve patient care and laboratory
practices by constant self‐evaluation and life‐long
learning
– Demonstrate the skills and develop habits necessary
to achieve goals for themselves and their laboratories.

7. General Competencies for Pathologists
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
– That enable them to establish and maintain
professional relationships with patients, patients’
families, and other members of the health care
teams

8. General Competencies for Pathologists
• Professionalism
– behaviour that reflects a commitment to
continuous professional development and ethical
practice
– An understanding and sensitivity to the diversity
of the patient population
– A responsible attitude towards their patients,
their profession, and society.

9. General Competencies for Pathologists
• Systems‐Based Practice
– Demonstrate an awareness and responsiveness to
the larger context and system of health care
– Able to call effectively on other resources in the
system to provide optimal health care

10. Interfacing with Clinicians
• Pathologists need to understand and respect
clinicians’ perspectives, which are often
different!
– eg. more concerned with patients’ reactions to their
diseases than the scientific basis of the diseases
– Clinicians are more “psychological”, and less
“molecular”
• Handle questions with empathy and humility
– Staging the communication as one between
colleagues

11. “Triple A” Concept
• Accuracy
• Availability
– Open‐door policy
– Reply to all queries promptly
• Affability
– Attend medical staff social and administrative functions
Richard J. Hausner, MD
Houston

12. Interfacing with the Medical Staff
• Interact daily with other health care professionals.
• Provide clinical knowledge, eg. “curbside
consultations”
• Volunteer for medical staff committees
– Eg. Infection Control, Transfusion
– Utilization review, peer review, outcomes research
– Medical staff social events
• Complaint management
– “Thank you for bringing this to my attention”
• Conflict resolution

17. Interfacing with Hospital Administration
• Reporting structure: CEO, CMO, COO, CNO, CIO (or President, Vice Presidents)
• Awareness of critical economic and regulatory issues facing hospitals
• Understand what administration expects:
– Only the bottom line? Clinician complaints?
– Do they value excellence and the science that pathology brings to the
hospital?
• Meetings with VP, at least monthly, to discuss:
– Workload and productivity statistics
– Budget and financial performance
– Human resource issues
– Professional accomplishments (eg. awards, results of inspections, complaints,
incidents)
– New or emerging plans for the institution
• Chief Nursing Officer : identifying whether lab services are satisfactory
• Chief Information Officer: LIS, automation, interfaces, etc.

18. Interfacing with the Laboratory Staff
• Most important interface due to dependencies.
• Understand the categories of technical and
managerial personnel: MLA, MLT, senior &
charge MLT’s, manager.
• Ph.D. Laboratory Scientists: clinical biochemists,
microbiologists, cytogeneticist …
• Hierarchical organizational charts (functional
structure)

20. Interfacing with the Pathology Group
• The professional practice group provides the framework for
one’s professional, financial, and emotional satisfaction, or
discontent.
• Group members: pathology peers, doctoral scientists
• Prime prerequisites for group success:
– Excellent Pathologists
– Respect for one another
– Leaders and followers who are comfortable in their
respective roles.
– All members are good communicators.

21. Other Prerequisites for Pathology Group Success
• A formal organizational plan describing domains, authority,
reporting relationships
• A designated director with a written job description for all
members
• A formal decision‐making process that defines directorship,
hierarchies, domain leadership, development of P&P
• A formal, written mechanism for preparing budgets,
establishing salary schedule, monitoring contracts
• A shared sense of participation in group decision making
• Consistency and fairness in group operations.
• Consensus on mission statements and strategic plan

22. Interfaces Beyond the Hospital
• University appointment for intellectual
pursuits: teaching, research
• Involvement in medical professional
organizations: OAP, OMA, CAP, etc.
• Extramural: Royal College, CCO, grant review
panels,
• Fundraising activities – community
involvement

23. Strategies for Improving
Interfaces • Come out from behind the “black box” (VISIBILITY!)
• Become more involved in clinical care: eg.
interpretation of test results for clinicians
• Participate in multidisciplinary teams (eg. tumour
boards, collaborative care plans)
• Provide continuing medical education (eg. rounds,
seminars, workshops)
• Don’t be afraid to directly identify with the patient.