The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is a medical society serving more than 18,000 physician members and the global laboratory community, since 1946. It’s the world’s largest association composed exclusively of board-certified pathologists and pathologists in training and is the worldwide leader in laboratory quality assurance. The CAP advocates accountable, high-quality, and cost-effective patient care.
The CAP’s Laboratory Improvement Programs, initiated 65 years ago, currently has customers in more than 100 countries, accrediting more than 7,700 laboratories and providing proficiency testing to 20,000 laboratories worldwide.
Student and Resident Programs
Recognizing that residents are pathology’s future, the CAP supports free membership for all pathology residents to promote knowledge sharing, career advancement, and the overall success of the profession. As CAP Junior Members, residents gain access to resources, including a large network of experienced colleagues for guidance and support. They can participate in the Residents Forum, which meets face-to-face twice yearly and ensures that younger members have a voice through representation on all CAP councils, committees, the House of Delegates, and the Board of Governors.
Other services for residents include the Online Career Center, the CAPconnect online community, exclusive peer-reviewed publishing opportunities, and regular receptions and fellowship fairs at the annual meeting.
Medical students can discover information about choosing pathology as a specialty on cap.org. In addition, the CAP works each year with the American Medical Association to promote the specialty.
CAP Foundation
The CAP Foundation champions patient-centered humanitarian roles for pathologists and it supports advanced leadership and training opportunities through grants for pathology residents. Since 1963, the CAP Foundation has proudly granted millions of dollars to support pathology education, research, and humanitarian programs. The CAP Foundation’s most significant humanitarian funding program, See, Test & Treat®, provides free breast and cervical cancer screenings, diagnoses, and follow-up care or treatment recommendations to women in medically underserved communities throughout the United States.
Member Services
The CAP offers leading edge education opportunities focused on emerging technologies, genomic medicine, informatics, laboratory management, and many other topics. Consensus conferences bring together CAP members with experts in other fields to study and develop consensus on scientific topics. The results of these may be published in Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, a scientific, peer-reviewed journal.
CAP publications, such as CAP TODAY and STATLINE, its electronic newsletter, help members stay informed about issues that affect the practice of pathology.
Together with staff in Washington, DC, CAP members actively advocate for favorable legislation and regulatory policies for pathologists and laboratory medicine. In an era of accountable and personalized medicine, pathologists play critical roles to enhance care coordination, support evidence-based outcomes research, and deliver greater efficiency for health care dollars. Pathologists who participate in the CAP’s grassroots network, PathNET, forge personal relationships with policy influencers, receive regular legislative updates, and host lawmakers for laboratory tours designed to highlight the important role pathologists play in their communities while providing context for the CAP’s advocacy efforts.
