National Pathology Week is our annual celebration of pathology, when we highlight the important contribution pathologists make to healthcare. Working in partnership with pathologists and laboratory scientists across the UK, our programme of events and activities aims to engage people of all ages, and improve public awareness and understanding of how pathologists and scientists diagnose disease.

This year’s National Pathology Week (NPW) will run from 5 – 11 November #pathologyweek

As 2018 marks the 10^th birthday of National Pathology Week and the 70^th Anniversary of the NHS, we are launching lots of exciting new resources to support our members and supporters to run their own events and activities. You can keep up to date with everything NPW by following #pathologyweek on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Getting involved is easy

• Tell us your #Secretsofthelab for your chance to win a £100 gift card: Using the hashtag #Secretsofthelab, share fascinating facts about your specialty on Twitter or Instagram, together with a creative picture or video. Make your post unusual, interesting and easy for the public to understand. Our judging panel of secondary school students will decide which post deserves the prize of a £100 restaurant gift card! And don’t forget to include #Secretsofthelab.

• Run your own event: Check out our range of free support resources to help you run events and activities for National Pathology Week – whether it’s a small stand in your hospital or an activity for families at your local library. Our free activity resources are guides to running quick and simple activities using cheap everyday materials - see our new resources below. 

• Visit a school or college: Running hands-on activities, or a careers talk, at a school or college near you is a simple and enjoyable way to take part in NPW. Check out our new careers resources with a downloadable careers presentation; videos of interviews with consultants will be released during the week of National Pathology Week.

Our new resources

Living Autopsy How-To Guide

To learn how to run your own Living Autopsy, and for the full event guide go to the Living Autopsy page. 

Your Body Your Consent How-To Guide

If you're thinking of putting on an event that will engage with sixth formers, visit the Your Body Your Consent page for the full event guide.

• Watch this space for a new 10^th anniversary NPW resource pack; ‘Pathology for Life’, which is packed full of easy hands-on activity ideas to help you explore prevention, diagnosis and treatment in fun and engaging ways with diverse audiences.

Download our new logo

Please share our new logo widely, including making your profile picture and cover photo National Pathology Week themed when you can!

Let us know what you’re up to!

Check out our current resource library and, once you’ve decided what event you would like to organise, please register it for your chance to win a prize. This is so we can help you promote your event to public audiences, send you promotional materials, and, where appropriate, help you invite your local MP or councillor. Don't forget to tag us in your social media posts about your events and use #pathologyweek.

Involving local media 

You may want to consider inviting local media to cover your event. Contact your Trust or organisation's communications or press office who can advise you about the best way to get local media to cover your event. We've also created some resources below to help you involve local media. If you would like any information or advice, you can also contact the College's press office. E: samantha.jayaram@rcpath.org. Tel 020 7451 6752. 

College-led events

The College will deliver two centrally-run events this year:

• Careers and Ideas: Integrating medicine and scientific research, a day of talks and networking for medical and biomedical undergraduates will take place on 7^th November in Nottingham
• A free-to-attend public lecture event with Professor John Oxford on 8^th November. Professor Oxford is an eminent Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, working in virology. He will give a lecture on flu pandemics of WW1. Further details on the venue and how to book will be available soon. Keep an eye on @RCPath and #pathologyweek for more information.

This year’s National Pathology Week marks the 10^th anniversary from the first NPW in 2008. Keep up to date with what the College is doing live on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, and let us know what you’ll be doing with #PathologyWeek. We look forward to hearing how you’ll be celebrating.