The global pathology workforce

Wednesday 5 November, 09:45–14:35 (GMT) approximately

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Join us at our virtual conference as we celebrate the vital contributions of pathology professionals around the world. This year’s theme, ‘The global pathology workforce’, highlights the dedication and expertise of pathologists and laboratory scientists who are at the heart of healthcare systems across the world.

We are delighted to welcome Jim Campbell, Director of the Health Workforce Department at the World Health Organization (WHO), will open the event taking part in a conversation with Professor Peter Johnston, Vice President for Workforce and Corporate Services.

This special event, chaired by the President of the Royal College of Pathologists, Dr Bernie Croal, is sponsored and hosted in partnership with the British Society for Haematology (BSH) and Diagnexia.

The virtual conference will focus on the following areas:

• tackling the global pathology workforce shortage – strategies to address the declining number of pathology professionals worldwide, including workforce planning, training pipelines and international collaboration
   
• digital pathology as a scalable solution – exploring how digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) can help mitigate workforce shortages, alongside the ethical, regulatory and infrastructure considerations involved
   
• aligning qualifications and training across borders – enhancing the consistency of education and standards in diagnostic services, particularly when tests and reporting are performed internationally
   
• advancing patient care and global health equity – how shared service models and global collaboration in pathology can improve healthcare outcomes and access to diagnostics in the face of a changing demographic and reduction in workforce.

Roundtable discussion

The global pathology workforce: addressing emerging challenges and opportunities together

The global pathology workforce is facing a significant crisis, characterised by declining numbers of pathologists, reduced trainee numbers, changing demographics, retention challenges, burnout and increasing workload complexity. Forecasts indicate that, over the next 30 to 40 years, caseloads for individual pathologists could increase by up to 40%, intensifying existing pressures on healthcare systems worldwide.

This panel discussion will explore the multifaceted challenges facing the global pathology workforce, the current workforce situation and why we are here, the future and what we can do. The discussion will focus on the similarities, differences and difficulties experienced by low- and middle-income countries as well as high-income countries. While there may sometimes be a greater number of trained pathologists in low- and middle-income countries, these professionals often face training and infrastructure barriers. Conversely, high-income countries typically offer better remuneration and assets but are experiencing a decline in the number of practicing pathologists across all specialties.

The panel will elaborate on how a global approach can help improve the future landscape for pathology.

Poster competition

sponsored by Diagnexia

Celebrating the Impact of Pathology

Reflecting on this year’s International Pathology Day (IPD) overarching theme ‘the global pathology workforce’ we invite you to submit a poster focusing on Celebrating the Impact of Pathology.

Working individually or as a team from anywhere around the world and in any pathology speciality the poster should outline one of the following:

• Spotlight any pathology-related work you are especially proud of
• Showcase your laboratory work
• Highlight your innovative research

Posters can be submitted to [email protected] until midnight on Tuesday the 21 October (BST).

Prizes

Winning posters will be featured in our post-event blog, celebrating International Pathology Day 2025 and receive:

• First prize: £250
• Second prize: £100
• Third prize: complimentary tickets to attend the virtual conference for International Pathology Day 2026

All posters will be displayed digitally on the College website, and winners will be announced at the International Pathology Day conference on Wednesday 5 November.

Veiw entries from past years 2024, 2023 and 2022.

Terms and conditions

Each entry should be created using an IPD branded poster template, which can be downloaded from this page further down, and accompanied by the following information: 

• the corresponding author(s) name(s), and email address(es) and contact phone number(s). However, if it is a submission of work created by multiple authors, one person must be nominated to be the main point of contact and to take receipt of the prize should the entry win.
• the title of the poster
• A 2-3-minute selfie-style video describing:
  • What work is described in the poster
  • Why you undertook this work
  • What was special about this work
  • How the findings have influenced future practice.

Please read the poster competition's terms and conditions in full, they can be accessed below.

Further highlights to look forward to

• Inspiring talks from international speakers
• An engaging lunchtime activity.

Register now to secure your place and let us celebrate the global pathology workforce together!

Book here