Welcome to the October Bulletin. Summer seems to have lingered on a while with autumn landing with a thump. And with that, I will now say farewell after 4 years as the Bulletin Editor.
It has been an amazing experience. I have so many colleagues to thank across the pathology disciplines, who, despite busy lives, have provided excellent, thoughtful articles. I take my hat off to all of you.
It seems appropriate to end my term with some themed articles around pathology challenges and the way forward. We have superb examples, starting with our microbiology colleagues highlighting the monumental challenge of antimicrobial resistance (p. 950). The Serious Hazards of Transfusion haemovigilance scheme has had many successes, but continued efforts are needed towards patient safety with no room for complacency (p. 946). In the face of immense workforce pressures, we must take a coordinated approach to training and deploying the highly talented consultant scientists across pathology (p. 954).
The application of genomics provides immense potential across medicine and science – the implementation of fetal RhD typing towards targeted anti-D prophylaxis provides just a small example of how effective translation to supporting personalised patient care needs an ongoing, determined focus (p. 956). Last, but certainly not least, we have an insightful reflection and a timely reminder of the broad role of the College in supporting the many pathology disciplines across the regions (p. 958).
We welcome Dr Bernie Croal as the College’s President Elect – I am pleased to get an insight into Bernie’s background together with his motivation for taking on this role and his aspirations and aims as he steers the College forward within the current difficult NHS landscape (p. 962). He will be supported by many teams and individuals as we collectively face challenges and strive to maintain the exemplary standards needed in education and training and the delivery of high-quality care together with innovation in pathology. It is good to see the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Network going from strength to strength with a commitment to its transformative mission and a proactive approach towards driving change (p. 964).
Caroline Cartlidge highlights the socioeconomic disparities in the medical workforce with an interesting initiative encouraging sixth-form students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds to consider a career in pathology (p. 970). Penny Fletcher gives a summary of the amazing activities and interactive events undertaken by members as part of National Pathology Week in 2023 (p. 971). The College emphasis on public engagement is likely to be honed to a more patient-centred approach and we need to reconsider opportunities to continue to share our subjects more widely while also promoting interest in pathology careers.
The articles from the Working Smarter section are always of wide interest with lessons that could be shared. Rachel Smith, Panagiotis Pantelidis and Arthi Anand describe a novel working model of cross-department collaboration between H&I, infection and immunology services, improving the resilience of out-of-hours service provision supporting organ donation and transplantation (p. 984). Colleagues from NHS Lothian describe the Scottish-wide Patient Safety Programme and report on a recent project to improve transparency in clinical governance processes and promote learning from adverse events (p. 986). Mathew Hanks, a histopathology trainee, describes the valuable leadership experience gained from the Royal College of Physicians’ Chief Registrar Programme. He indicates that these development opportunities help set a strong foundation for the next generation of pathologists, driving high-quality patient care and promoting an understanding of the specialty within the wider hospital environment (p. 981).
Will Irving introduces the winner of the 2023 William Tong Prize, Michael Fu, who in turn summarises his research on ultra-sensitive hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA detection and risk prediction of occult HBV infection in blood donors in England (p. 991). It is good to see the many Trainee Research Medal Winners from 2022, across various disciplines, as recommended by the College’s Research Committee (p. 993). Josh Newmark reports on the UKMedLab23 conference, with an ambitious scientific programme exploring crosscutting themes (p. 996).
Throughout my time as Bulletin Editor, I have been delighted with the engagement and input from our trainees and I am pleased that this issue is no exception. On that positive note, it is now time for me to pass the baton into the capable hands of Professor Angharad Davies, my successor. I wish you all the very best.
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