ASCP’s Outstanding Education Initiatives Receive Prestigious Awards

W. Fraser Symmans, MD, a professor and director of research operations in the Department of Pathology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Chris Tormey, MD, FASCP

Two innovative ASCP education initiatives have received accolades from the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEhp). Leading Change in the Delivery of Immuno-Oncology (I-O) Biomarker Testing and Care, supported by Bristol Myers Squibb, received ACEhp’s Award for Outstanding CE Outcomes Assessment for 2023. In addition, Navigating the Emerging and Evolving Landscape of HER2-low Breast Cancer, supported by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., was recognized for Excellence in Educational Design.

“ASCP is thrilled to receive these awards,” says Chris Tormey, MD, FASCP, Chair of ASCP’s Commission for Continuing Professional Development. “The Alliance for Continuing Education in Health Professions is THE professional organization for medical educators. To win one of these awards is amazing, and to win two is extraordinary.”
For each award, ACEhp set forth a rigorous set of criteria that an organization must meet. ASCP had to demonstrate its intentionality in planning and assessing the education to ensure that learner needs were identified, appropriate education was developed to address those needs, and learner outcomes were measured.

The I-O project was recognized for demonstrating an array of outcomes, including individual knowledge gain, application to practice, and impact on patient health, resulting from education that involved a quality improvement collaborative called I-O ChangeMakers and two online modules designed to help pathologists and laboratory professionals improve I-O biomarker testing.

The HER2-low breast cancer project was recognized for its innovative use of peer-to-peer education and a variety of educational approaches designed to accommodate a variety of learner preferences. As a new HER2-low breast cancer therapy was making its way through clinical trials, ASCP sought to get the word out to the pathology and laboratory medicine community about changes that needed to be made in practice. Through the use of live virtual webinars, recorded webinars, You Tube, podcasts, Twitter chats, a downloadable slide set, a HER2-low implementation guide, and a learning collaborative called Pathology Trailblazers, ASCP was able to help prepare pathologists and laboratory professionals for change.

“What truly sets both educational approaches apart is the use of peer-to-peer education designed to help pathologists learn from their colleagues. In both initiatives, case studies and facilitated virtual discussions were used to help participants build leadership skills and support the dissemination and implementation of best practices through collaborative learning,” says Joe Kim, MD, of Q Synthesis, who collaborated with ASCP’s Learning and Educational Research staff to design the education in both projects. “Each learner also developed and implemented an action learning project to improve testing and reporting in their institutions. ASCP published summaries of these projects on their website to inspire others to undertake improvements in their institutions.”

ASCP’s other partner in the HER2-low breast cancer project, Clinical Care Options, helped to disseminate information about HER2-low to medical oncologists and other cancer clinicians. “Clinical Care Options has an extensive network of oncology care providers,” says ASCP Director of Learning Innovations Kellie Beumer. “They sent an article to their network about the fact that HER2-low breast cancer treatment is coming, urging oncologists to encourage their pathology colleagues to adhere to appropriate guidelines when testing patients. That article helped to build awareness about emerging research and ASCP’s education.”
“These awards convey that ASCP has a strong track record in improving knowledge, competence, and performance throughout its educational portfolio,” says Dr. Tormey. “In addition to these two awards, ASCP has been awarded with Accreditation with Commendation status by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)—the governing body for all continuing medical education—placing the organization in the top echelon of all continuing medical education providers. The outstanding reputation of ASCP’s education has been recognized by two significant organizations and that speaks volumes about our commitment to excellence in education for our members.”