Previous National Pathology Weeks
Read more about some of our previous National Pathology Weeks, and be inspired to run some of your own this year.
National Pathology Week 2016
As a pathology department, we decided to do something that we have never done before: publicly share our love of pathology. NPW 2016 provided us with the perfect opportunity to spread awareness of the central role of pathology in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, not only to our colleagues but also to members of the public.
Sarah Haigh Blood Sciences Training Lead, Broomfield Hospital
Last year, we centred the College public engagement events in Newcastle, as well as running events in London, our usual competitions, and supporting member events across the UK and internationally. There were over 200 events in total – here are just a flavour of the range of activities across the UK and further afield that our members organised.
Virtual autopsies, Newcastle-style
Suzy Lishman broke even her own record by conducting no fewer than four virtual autopsies in a week: one at the Old Operating Theatre at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, followed by three in Newcastle. The audience were enraptured and brought many questions to the refreshment session that followed.
The resources to do a virtual autopsy are on our website, so do think about using this piece of educational theatre to draw people to your event this year at #NPW2017.
Meet the scientist: It’s what’s on the inside that counts
In this College event, we captured the attention of visitors with fake poo samples that they could test for signs of ‘blood’, salad spinners that imitated blood grouping, and eye-catching images of kidney and muscle cells displayed in a large monitor for visitors to draw. Many visitors found it fascinating to learn that the brain weighs the same as a melon, and the liver is as heavy as a butternut squash.
Recreate this event this year with our online organ resource, giving you the ready-made activity to go and share with your local community!
The art of pathology
Scientist-turned-artist Dr Lizzie Burns, with the help of pathologists, spent NPW engaging and inspiring secondary and primary students in Newcastle and London about the relevance and beauty of pathology.
Get arty this NPW with our Art of Pathology competition, or by creating your own artistic event that we can support you with.
The Patient’s Voice
The team at Barts Health NHS Trust & NHS Blood and Transplant created this patient-focused event, where those living with sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassaemia shared their perspectives and talked about the impact of transfusion on their lives. Healthcare professionals working ‘behind the scene’ spoke about the ‘safe journey of blood’ and steps to improve the blood supply. This was followed by a lively discussion on how better to reach different ethnic minorities to encourage the donation of rare blood units essential for these patients who develop red cell antibodies.
This style of activity can be replicated in any location and is a very effective way of engaging with people – please get in contact if you think this is something you’d like to do and we can help you make it happen.
Step back in time with previous pathology weeks
We have been running National Pathology Weeks since 2008. During those times, we have explored using audio to describe how our weeks have gone and to give further rescources to educate and inspire the public on all matters pathology!