Hospital CMO Dr Emily Volk sworn in as president of College of American Pathologists
Dr. Volk is the 37th president of the College of American Pathologists.
CHICAGO – Baptist Health Floyd Chief Medical Officer Emily Volk, MD, FCAP, was sworn in Saturday as the 37th president of the College of American Pathologists.
The CAP was founded in 1946 and has an estimated 18,000 members. It is the world’s largest organization of board-certified pathologists, physicians who specialize in diagnostic pathology and laboratory medicine, and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs.
“I am dedicated to provide leadership to drive successful execution of our core mission to serve patients, pathologists and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide,” said Volk, who is also an associate professor of pathology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. “I will work with our members to focus our CAP resources on practicing pathologists to support their daily practice.”
Volk has been involved in the organization since 1999 and has been a member of its board since 2013. She has served on many CAP committees, councils and task forces. Most notably, she served as president-elect on the CAP Board of Governors, chair of Ad Hoc committee for Pathologists Quality Registry and chair of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs.
“When my term is over in two years, I’d like to leave CAP in an even better place, fostering innovation for the profession and CAP services for pathologists to deliver to patients,” she said. “I’d also like to create more opportunities for pathologists of diverse backgrounds to move into leadership roles. If my role resonates with individuals in healthcare, such as women and minorities, who continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles in their field, and gives even one more person the courage to step into a leadership position, my efforts will have been worthwhile.”
She said 70 percent of all medical decisions are based on data from lab tests, adding pathologists are the “backbone” of modern medicine.
Volk received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts. She completed her residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and completed her fellowship in Cytopathology at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. Prior to coming to Baptist Health Floyd, she was senior vice president of clinical services at the University Health System in San Antonio and clinical assistant professor of pathology at the University of Texas Health Long School of Medicine.