How the HemePath Hub at CorePath Bridges Pathologist Demand Through MedEd Innovation

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Sep 12, 2024, 11:30 ET

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The HemePath Hub at CorePath Laboratories (CorePath) is training the next generation of pathologists to address the widening global supply-demand gap.

The HemePath Hub at CorePath offers various pathology learning opportunities that comprehensively cover areas such as the lymph node, bone marrow, flow cytometry, cytogenetics, FISH, molecular genetics, wet heme, and bone marrow clinic. The pathologists at CorePath offer these rotations completely free of charge to students in honor of the mentors and teachers who taught them during their early pathology training. CorePath is located in the beautiful hill country of San Antonio, TX.

Filling this industry gap comes with challenges. The pathology shortage can be attributed to a number of factors, including an aging demographic and overall growing population (increasing the demand for pathology testing), the increasing complexity of lab tests (requiring more of pathologists' time to run the necessary assays for diagnosis and patient management), inadequate healthcare system funding (where backing and budgeting improvements are needed to train a greater number of pathologists), and retiring pathologists (now quickly outnumbering those entering the workforce).

With a typical requirement in the United States of 4 years of anatomic and clinical pathology training, only an estimated 2% of any medical school class (US-based or international medical graduates) enter the field of pathology (Source: NRMP). Of the 2%, approximately 60-70% of medical school graduates join private practices after residency with an estimated 20-30% self-identifying as international medical graduates that are working in academia or private settings (Source: AAMC). Even with the advent and benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital pathology, the need for pathologists is expected to continue rising, especially among those who can leverage the mentioned skills.

The HemePath Hub: A Lifeline to the Future of Pathology

As a private reference laboratory, CorePath has developed a free-of-charge education model offering various internship opportunities. The initiative is particularly attractive to international medical graduates (IMGs) who have difficulty gaining access to US academic centers due to numerous obstacles and offers electives for US medical students seeking to explore pathology as a career. The HemePath Hub at CorePath offers unique learning opportunities in a five-track structure across multiple levels of education and experience (see flyer for detailed program overview). A medical directorship track and bone marrow pathology program have been designed to fill a void in traditional pathology programs and spearhead medical education innovation efforts.

Track A: Hematopathology Fellows & Pathology Residents
Track B: Pathology Business/Medical Director Elective
Track C: Practicing Pathologists
Track D: Hematology-Oncology Fellows
Track E: International Residents, Fellows & Pathologists

Stories of Success

To date, over 60 students from national and international origin have completed a rotation in one of the CorePath HemePath Hub tracks. Students have represented 10 states (Texas, Arizona, California, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, and New Jersey) and 17 countries (Canada, Pakistan, Fiji, Nigeria, South Korea, India, China, Bangladesh, Iran, Guyana, Nepal, Poland, Cuba, Qatar, Turkey, Brazil and the United Kingdom). The program has also proven to be a robust example of gender diversity and influence with 72% of students self-reporting as female and over 75% of all accepted US medical students adopting pathology as a career. A substantial number of self-reporting IMGs have also cited success in matching with prestigious medical schools and pathology residency programs.

Dr. Shanyan Chen, an IMG from China who enrolled in HemePath Hub in the summer of 2023, an aspiring neuropathologist, matched into the Pathology Residency Program (Anatomic Pathology/Neuropathology combined track) at Vanderbilt University. Upon matching, Dr. Chen noted, "The mentorship, recommendations, and encouragement from the program were instrumental in deepening my passion for pathology. My experiences in the program not only prepared me for my residency but have also instilled in me the values of perseverance, empathy, and excellence in pathology."

The subsequent success of the HemePath Hub at CorePath has resulted in agreements with a number of teaching institutions such as the UT Health San Antonio, UT Southwestern, and MD Anderson Cancer Center, that have recognized the growing need for academic centers to lower barriers to pathology internships and encourage academic-and-private collaborations as an integral part of supporting the future of the pathology profession.

"When CorePath was first established, one of my goals was to grow the concept of a hybrid medical business model: A combined academic and private enterprise. The different aspects of both of these practice models have so much good to offer," says Dr. Aamir Ehsan, CEO and Medical Director of CorePath Laboratories and board-certified hematopathologist and molecular geneticist.

About CorePath & How to Apply to the HemePath Hub

CorePath Laboratories is a leader in cancer diagnostics and one of the few US-based laboratories with the ability to offer immunohistochemistry, cytogenetics, FISH, PCR, multicolor flow cytometry, and next generation sequencing at one location. CorePath is comprised of academically trained board-certified pathologists and clinical lab scientists helping providers care for their patients worldwide through expertise, innovation, collaboration and integration. CorePath is a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited laboratory headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information about the HemePath Hub at CorePath and to apply to the program, visit www.corepath.us or contact us at [email protected].

SOURCE CorePath Laboratories