Regarding Case Submission
Regarding Attendance:
Regarding Lecture Notes:
Alumni:
Regarding Case Submission:
When should I start working on my AIRP case submission?
Start as soon as your registration is confirmed for a course. Log in to the case submission system using your ACR login username and password.
When is my AIRP Online Case Submission due?
Cases must be submitted online in their entirety 30 days prior to the course start date.
When are my slides due?
Pathologic material such as glass slides, paraffin blocks, or DVD of virtual microscopy, will be collected at the course during the first two weeks as outlined below:
| Week 1: |
Monday -
Tuesday -
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday -
|
Registration, no pathologic specimens will be collected
All Pediatric except Musculoskeletal
All Musculoskeletal
Chest, Pulmonary, Cardiovascular, and Breast
Neuroradiology |
| Week 2: |
Monday -
Tuesday -
|
Genitourinary (including Retroperitoneum)
Gastrointestinal |
Does my case need to be rare?
It does not need to be a rare case, however, the case you submit should have all the components of a great radiologic-pathologic correlation case: good radiologic imaging, gross specimen images and actual histology slides from your pathology department.
Where can I find examples of the best cases from previous courses?
Best case presentations selected from past courses can be found on the Best Cases page of our website.
Where can I find the Verification/Consent Form that my pathologist needs to sign?
After you have completed the Case Data Entry section of the online case submission and have uploaded a pathology report in the Upload Documents section, the Verification/Consent Form may be printed by clicking PRINT in the Case Data Entry section. The form will automatically populate with the information you entered for your case. Several pages will print, all of which will need to be brought with the pathology slides to the course. The last page is the form for the pathologist to complete and sign.
Why are blank copies of the Verification/Consent Form not provided on your website?
Blank copies are not provided because the form is set up to automatically populate with the information you entered for your case. Therefore, the form for each case is unique. This is precisely the information that requires “verification” by your pathologist.
The pathologist who reported on my case is unavailable. Can another pathologist sign the Verification/Consent Form?
Yes. Any pathologist from your institution may sign the Verification/Consent Form.
My pathologist does not want to sign the Verification/Consent Form. What should I do?
We will accept a signed copy of the ORIGINAL pathology report with specimen ID number matching the slides in lieu of the signed Verification/Consent Form. Please be sure to bring the hard copy of the pathology report with the slides, and block-out all of the patient’s identifying information (name, medical record number, date of birth), leaving only the specimen ID number for verification.
My pathology department will not release the specimen ID number. What number should I enter for the specimen ID number?
Your pathologist may change the number on the slides, and record the new number on the pathology report. We only ask that the new number labeled on the slides appears on both the signed Verification/Consent Form and the uploaded pathology report. This will verify that the pathologic material you submit at the course belongs to the case you submitted online. The pathologist may want to keep a record of the new numbers assigned to AIRP cases, since we will be returning the slides to your institution after they have been reviewed.
My case does not have pathologic slides. What should I do?
You must email your case’s organ system section head to ask for a pathology waiver. This is a separate request from a gross image waiver. In the email, include your Case ID number, the course date you will be attending, and state the reason why your case does not have pathologic slides. The waiver cannot be recorded until you log in to begin a case submission. See Instructions by Organ System and click on the Organ System buttons at the bottom of the screen to obtain section head contact information.
I only have JPEG images of the histology. Are these acceptable in place of slides?
No. JPEG images do not fulfill the pathology requirement. Although JPEG images are recommended to enhance your case, they are limited in their display of pathologic features. If you do not have actual pathologic material to submit for your case, you must email your case’s organ system section head to ask for a pathology waiver. (See previous question.)
My institution has a virtual microscopy scanner which produces digital pathology slides. Can I bring these images instead of the actual slides?
Yes. Please submit the virtual pathology slides on a DVD labeled with your Case ID number, accompanied by a print-out of the Case Data Entry Form and the signed Verification/Consent Form.
My case does not have gross specimen images. What should I do?
You must email your case’s organ system section head to ask for a waiver for the gross specimen images. In the email, include your Case ID number, the course date you will be attending, and state the reason why your case does not have gross specimen images. This is a separate request from the pathology waiver. In cases where there is no surgery performed, please specify. You will need a waiver for the gross specimen images, the pathologic material, and the operative/procedural report. The waiver cannot be recorded until you log in to begin a case submission. See Instructions by Organ System and click on the Organ System buttons at the bottom of the screen to obtain section head contact information.
My case is going to be submitted for publication. Is this a problem?
No. In the Case Data Entry section of your case submission, you will see a section regarding publishing where you can report that you are planning to publish the case. Check “unsure” if your institution may be planning to publish the case later. By sending a case to the AIRP, you are allowing us to use the case for education and research as an anonymous case from our archive. You are not relinquishing your right to publish the case.
How will I know if my case has been accepted?
After clicking “Submit Case Package,” you will receive confirmation that your case has been successfully submitted. You will not receive further communication unless your case has a problem administratively, or the section head requires additional material. It is imperative that you provide an accurate, preferably personal, email address that is frequently checked. We will use this email to reach you from the time of registration throughout the duration of the course.
What are the most common administrative problems which would result in an email from AIRP asking me to resubmit my case?
The most common problem we contact students about is the presence of a specimen ID number on the gross specimen images. No JPEG images may have any sort of patient identifiers. Even the hospital name and randomly generated numbers on radiologic images must be cropped or removed. The second most common problem is that we DO need the specimen ID number to appear on top of the pathology report. If your pathology report does not have a specimen ID number on the PDF, you will need to add it to the top of the report before uploading. Thirdly, the patient’s name and all other identifiers must be removed from each page of the documents before uploading, or we will return the case to you.
I am traveling internationally and I am concerned about bringing pathologic slides through customs. What do you recommend?
The Verification/Consent Form states the purpose and intended use of the pathologic material, which may be helpful for those who are flying internationally. We recommend packing your pathologic material in your checked baggage and presenting the signed Verification/Consent Form if any questions arise.
Regarding Attendance:
I may need to miss one or more days of class while I am at AIRP. Is this a problem?
Missing a class is acceptable to us if your program is aware of your absence. Please keep in mind that we will notify your program of your attendance at the end of the course. If you miss a week, it will be reported that you attended three weeks of the course and missed one week. It should not be a problem if your program has approved your request. With such a large class size, we do not make exceptions to the reporting process.
Regarding Lecture Notes:
Can I get online access to the updated PDF version of a presented lecture?
The most current version we have available is the syllabus online in PDF format available through the AIRP E-Store. In the future, we will be releasing an iPad version of the syllabus. The iPad and PDF versions will be updated for each course, five times per year.
Alumni:
I am an AIRP alumnus looking for updates about AIRP. Where should I go?
You can stay up-to-date with the AIRP Luminary, the institute's quarterly newsletter. View past issues or subscribe.