Presented at the 2000 APIII Conference                        Return to 2000 Abstract Index

USE OF THE INTERNET TO PRESERVE A VALUABLE ASSOCIATION (IN WITH THE NEW, TO IMPROVE THE OLD)

Jefferson Hospital-South Hills Health System
Department of Pathology
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Michael A. Berman MD

Fang He1, Debbie Faesel2, Michael A. Berman, MD3

1University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2Pennsylvania Association of Pathologists (PAP), Harrisburg, PA
3Jefferson Hospital, South Hills Health System, Pittsburgh, PA

Background: For over 50 years, the Pennsylvania Association of Pathologists (PAP) has fulfilled its mission by providing professional and educational support for its members in a social and collegial manner. Today's milieu poses a daunting challenge to PAP's future. Continuing medical education is readily available from other organizations. PAP also faces increasing expenses and decreasing membership involvement. PAP, therefore, was faced with the most basic of questions; should the association continue to exist or had its time passed? It was concluded that there were certain professional, political, and financial issues that could only be addressed by a state-level society. With a reaffirmed mission, a website was developed. PAP's belief is that the Internet can directly address and alleviate many of the above issues and enables PAP to provide the functions that its members desire.

Design: The PAP Web site was designed with its mission in mind. For use as an educational tool, pages were developed which display:

  1. upcoming meetings and events
  2. links to pathology-related websites
  3. links to major search engines
  4. pertinent pending state legislation
  5. PAP newsletters, and
  6. PAP committees.

A bulletin board to post questions/comments related to the practice of pathology is planned for the future. To address social and networking functions, the website includes:

  1. a membership directory
  2. a jobs listing area, and
  3. personal member news including promotions, honors/awards, re-locations, and obituaries.

The web site is also proud to support "women in pathology" and "regional Pennsylvania pathology societies" by dedicating webpages to both. The PAP website also includes:

  1. a membership application
  2. a narrative description of PAP, and
  3. a list of PAP officers.

The ability to conduct online membership surveys and voting is a planned future goal. Obviously no Website is complete without giving the user a chance to leave feedback. It is through such feedback that our site will continue to be improved.

Conclusion: Although the PAP website continues as a work-in-progress, its value to the association is unquestioned. It serves as an example that old dogs CAN learn new tricks. Pathologists are urged to avail themselves of new technological advances and to become the informatic leaders of the medical field.