1. Direct interaction with an expert can provide the pathologist with additional insight into more effective ways to handle the issue. For example, grading of breast and prostate biopsies, the interpretation of panels of immunohistochemical stains for the diagnosis of malignancy, the role of prognostic markers for the assessment of the clinical behavior in certain tumors, the role of some of the newer molecular and genetic tests and translocations for diagnosing specific conditions, and the morphologic criteria for the classification of certain types of neoplasms.
2. Lectures addressing some of these topics help to bridge the practice gap for our faculty members in areas in which they want information and for which we don’t have as much experience as the consultants.  The speakers and their lecture topics are selected for the value of the information to our faculty members, be it in terms of national trends in problem areas identified in the literature or national specialty meetings, or in new areas of research that are of immediate relevance to our daily practice.
3. Topics treated during this educational activity are checked against the pathology literature and the level of understanding of the problem by the individual participant is checked against that of the other members of the session during the discussions of cases.
4. Other external sources utilized are formal recommendations for best practices issued by national pathology organizations, such as the guidelines for the reporting of tumors issued by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology (ADASP).
5. Another tool used during these sessions is the review of study sets produced by professional national organizations, such as the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) Check Sample series in Anatomic Pathology, or the College of American Pathologists (CAP) PIP (Professional Improvement Program) series.  In both these enterprises, the participants are able to compare their performance and level of comprehension of the problems under discussion against the performance of a national audience registered to participate in these respective programs.

The Medical College of Wisconsin is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Medical College of Wisconsin designates this Live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Hours of  Participation for Allied Health Professionals The Medical College of Wisconsin designates this activity for up to 1.0 hours of participation for continuing education for allied health professionals.