LAUSR

As the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic began the first of its several crescendos in April 2020, our pathology department essentially cancelled our spring Grand Rounds program because of the restrictions precluding travel by the invited speakers. At the time, many of us had barely heard of Zoom. It is now a year later, and we have had several successful virtual Grand Rounds talks during the pandemic, whereas inperson visits have yet to resume. The virus will one day recede, but virtual presentations are rapidly becoming normative and seemingly preferable to inperson events. It is timely, therefore, to reflect on the past, and briefly consider the future, of Pathology Grand Rounds. Although there are exceptions, Grand Rounds is typically predicated on a 1hour PowerPoint talk given by a prominent pathologist from another institution who has traveled, often via plane, to visit the hosting department. Some potential advantages of virtual Grand Rounds for the “visiting” lecturer are evident. He or she avoids the need to travel, with its associated inconveniences, and is able to do much of a normal day’s work at the home institution, with the exception of time allocated for the lecture. Although the speaker is spared travel, members of the hosting department retain the opportunity to learn from an expert. Virtual Grand Rounds would seem then to be a “winwin” for speaker and host institution. However, the operative word here is “seem” because the essence of Grand Rounds is far more than an hourlong talk bookended by hours of travel time. Pathology Grand Rounds is a social as well as an academic event that entails personal interactions between the visitor and residents, departmental leadership, and faculty. Grand Rounds visits highlight the visitor as well as the hosting department, and each party gains an appreciation for the other via mutual engagement. For example, in addition to giving a major talk, the visitor commonly conducts a special teaching session devoted to the hosting department’s pathology residents. When the visitor is an anatomic pathologist, the session typically involves discussion of “unknown” glass slides provided by either the visitor or the residents and conducted at a multihead microscope. Spirited discussion ensues as the 2 parties literally and figuratively put their heads together at the scope over challenging cases. Following such gatherings, our chair, who values the benefits that the Grand Rounds program brings to department faculty and trainees, enjoys welcoming visitors via a private chat in her office. Then there are the scheduled “oneonone” halfhour meetings with those faculty who practice the speaker’s subspecialty; current problem cases or research projects are discussed, and on occasion, a collaboration or joint publication ultimately ensues. To be sure, these meetings could occur in a virtual visit, but the inperson encounters are likely to be more interactive, less awkward, and more intimate than in analogous Zoom sessions. A facet of a Grand Rounds visit that cannot occur virtually is dining together. At our medical center, in addition to their teaching session with the visitor, residents have the opportunity to interact with the invitee at a catered lunch. The gathering is for residents only, and both parties informally ask questions of each other.