Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Scholarship Forum

The Residency Program Directors Section (PRODS) of AAPath is pleased to welcome submissions for the second annual Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) Scholarship Forum. The Forum was established in 2023 to further residents’ and fellows’ participation and success in scholarship, while raising awareness among programs to the many ways that quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) values are being learned and applied. All accepted abstracts will be published in Academic Pathology. Selected abstracts will be presented in a virtual forum that will be held in April 2026. The virtual forum will be free and open to all pathology residents, fellows, program directors, and coordinators. This is an outstanding opportunity for residents and fellows to build their scholarship portfolios and showcase their work in QIPS to other trainees and programs. Click here to see the 2025 AAPath QIPS Scholarship Forum Abstracts.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday, December 1, 2025.

About the Call for Abstracts: There is no limit on the number of abstracts per submitter. The first author must be a resident or fellow at the time of abstract submission. Abstracts should be written with the intent of improving patient safety and/or quality in the clinical environment. The Abstract Review Committee will review submissions and select abstracts via the criteria listed below.

Abstract Submission Criteria 

• Abstract content submitted to the AAPath QIPS Scholarship Forum must not have been previously presented, submitted or accepted in publications that do not hold a Creative Commons license. Publication of an abstract in Academic Pathology does not preclude publication in another journal, consistent with CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
• The abstract must be related to Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, evaluated rigorously with scientific methods, and should not contain previously published or commonly known information.
• Abstract titles must be clear, concise, and accurately reflect content.
• Abstract structure must clearly summarize the presentation:
• Objectives: Clear statement of the challenge / problem / hypothesis
• Methods: Sound and coherent details of how the study was performed
• Results: Analysis of the data
• Conclusions: Summary of the data's implications on the challenge / problem / hypothesis
• References: Resources or other literature used to formulate the hypothesis and study
• Institutions and personal or institutional identifiers must not be referenced in the abstract. 
• All financial relationships in the past 24 months must be disclosed at the time of abstract submission and must not introduce bias in the study design. AAPath may query authors to resolve conflicts of interest, which must be mitigated by the authors prior to the abstract being accepted for publication or presentation.
• The content must be free of grammatical and spelling errors.

 Abstract Submission Instructions 

• Abstracts must be submitted online using the submission portal (see link below). Emailed abstracts will not be accepted.

• Abstract content must be related to Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) and not a specific proprietary business or financial interest.

• Abstract text must not exceed 400 words, excluding references (if applicable).

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  Abstract submissions should not contain figures or tables.

• By submitting an abstract, you agree to present your abstract at the virtual forum, if selected for presentation.

• Please review your submission thoroughly before submission to avoid typographical errors. Corrections will not be permitted after submission.

• Late submissions will not be accepted.

Abstract Evaluation Criteria

• Abstracts will be reviewed and selected for presentation and publication based on the following criteria:

• Adherence to instructions and completeness

• Degree of impact (department < institution < region)

• Applicability to clinical practice and other institutions

• Novelty

• Quality of outcome measures, including direct patient safety impact (error reduction, reduction in turn-around-time, etc.), reduction in workload, increased efficiency, decreased cost, etc.

  
  

Abstract Selection Process

• The Abstract Review Committee will review all submissions using the above criteria and select abstracts for both publication and presentation.  Up to six (6) abstracts will be chosen for presentation.  Ten (10) minutes will be allotted for presentations, with additional time allotted for follow-up audience questions or comments. Detailed presentation instructions will be included in the notification email, if your abstract is selected for presentation. 

Timeline

• Abstract submission period open until December 1, 2025
• Abstract Review Committee reviews submissions from December 2, 2025 to January 15, 2026
• Notifications sent to all abstract submitters by February 1, 2026
• AAPath QIPS Scholarship Forum held virtually in April 2026 (date TBD)

Please note that all articles prepared by trainees are eligible for Society of ’67 Open Access Awards, which cover the cost of publishing in Academic Pathology, AAPath's official journal published by Elsevier. Training on how to develop a manuscript based on a QIPS Scholarship Forum abstract will be provided in a virtual consultation session with Editor-in-Chief James Crawford, MD, PhD. All accepted abstract authors will be invited to a consultation session to learn more about expanding their abstracts into articles.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday, December 1, 2025.

NOTIFICATION PROCESS: Applicants will be notified by February 1, 2026 via email of acceptance as an abstract, acceptance as a presentation, or rejection for failure to meet criteria. 

SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT

QUESTIONS? Contact info@academicpathology.org.

ACGME PDPQ Pathology Core Team Leaders:
John Childs, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Priscilla Markwood, Association for Academic Pathology

QIPS Abstract Review Committee:
Zachary Hoffer, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Shih-Hon Li, University of Michigan Medical School
David Manthei, University of Michigan Medical School
Vinita Parkash, Yale School of Medicine
Von Samedi, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Kristie White, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine