As my last workday is fast approaching, it is time to say “Farewell!” to the place where I invested more than 11 years of my life. I am now ready to move on and am looking forward to a new chapter in my life and personal development, with its new excitement, ups, and inevitable downs (which I hope won’t be lengthy). “The glass is now half full” is a very true statement for someone who soon will be in his 55th, and I am looking for a new way to top it up.
I was originally trained as an MD Pediatrician at Far-Eastern State Medical University in my remote hometown, Khabarovsk, though I chose pathology early and moved to the National Cancer Center in the Russian capital for my first residency and PhD, related to pediatric bone and soft tissue cancers. When major forces brought me to Canada in 2001, I re-started as a pediatric cancer researcher at BC Children’s but soon was “translocated” to Vancouver General, where I spent three years in breast cancer pathology research at the Genetic Pathology Evaluation centre.
I joined Providence and, subsequently, UBC, as a clinical faculty member in 2011 after three years of academic pathology practice at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, where I was also re-trained in anatomical pathology, supplemented by a year-long UICC Breast Cancer Fellowship at Cambridge University, UK.
While with Providence and UBC, I immediately took on the role of a breast pathology consultant and was proud to call myself “a catalyzer” of multi-disciplinary teamwork with the radiologists and surgeons from the MSJ Providence Breast Center, while serving as a general anatomical pathologist in our department full time. I enjoyed our family-like atmosphere and saw my role as a driver of change and and soon found myself engaged (sometimes also “enraged”) into few regional projects aiming to advance the efficiency and accuracy of diagnostic breast pathology services at large.
Authored/co-authored 65 publications, accumulated a wealth of 1650+ citations… Signed out dozens of thousands of cases…
In 2011-2014, I completed a MSc at Oxford University in Evidence-based Medicine, where we developed an analytical, evidence-based approach to quality assurance in breast biomarker testing by modelling Canadian Immunohistochemistry Quality Control data, aiming to develop a fair and analytically sound algorithm for comparing performance of breast cancer biomarker testing across the nation.
I served on the BC Cancer Synoptic Reporting Board, representing Providence for 10 years, and was directly involved in the development and implementation of synoptic reporting in BC. Concurrently, I was a moderator and “agile author” of breast cancer synoptic reports and took lots of heat because of that! I am happy to see that the synoptic reporting system is performing in stable fashion and getting better, thanks to the constructive criticism and contributions of many pathologists across BC.
I saw myself as a messenger of evidence-based medicine gospel to pathologists coast to coast and taught a diagnostic accuracy in pathology course at the Canadian Association of Pathologists for a number of years. I had the privilege of being an invited speaker to U of Saskatchewan, U of Manitoba, McGill and my dear alma mater Memorial University of Newfoundland, with which I kept connection over the years as an adjunct professor of Pathology (and even kept a parcel of land with a lake in Newfoundland!)
After years of “catalysis”, in 2016, we implemented the first tissue scientist position at Providence, having obtained support from leading BC breast cancer chair Dr. Samuel Aparicio from BCCA. This enabled him to procure hundreds of high-quality clinical breast cancer samples for large scale genomic research projects, and, last but not least, to bring our pre-analytical quality procedures to the highest standard of the day. We now enjoy having two full time tissue scientists, thanks to a full cooperation between medical and technical pathology team leadership at Providence. We are acutely aware that there is a great need for these kinds of pathology professionals in each pathology department in the province - the work project for future regional leaders and UBC pathology leadership.
In 2018, I was humbled as a recipient of a Clinical Service Award by the UBC Department of Pathology, of which I humbly take as the highest recognition of my services in the region.
In 2019, I obtained a second sub-specialty qualification at McGill by completing an Area of Focused Competency (AFC) Diploma in cytopathology and was proud to become a first Royal College certified AFC cytopathologist in the region and Royal College AFC committee member for Cytopathology. This enabled me to solidify my clinical skills and provide more support to my many colleagues in the department.
At the end of my career with Providence, I served short-term as your medical lead in anatomical pathology during challenging pandemics time and aimed to foster our clinical stability and unity, while working cooperatively with the other driving forces in the region.
Since I came to Canada in 2001, I have been lucky and privileged to be trained by and work with the prominent pathologists, oncologists, and cancer researchers of our time – Vancouverites Drs Paul Sorensen, Blake Gilks, David Huntsman, Malcolm Hayes, UK-Cambridge Carlos Caldas, Paul Pharoah, Elena Provenzano, Oxons Amanda Burls and Susan Mallett, Newfoundlander Beverley Carter, Montrealer Manon Auger and my many other great colleagues to whom I am indebted with all the whit and insight into breast cancer and other pathology problems.
I also wish to acknowledge my persisting sadness and grief, and want to commemorate my colleagues, mentors and superiors who passed away, from whom I learned how to become a better person and doctor – Dr. Desmond Rob from Memorial, Dr. Omar Shokeir, Dr. Enid Edwards and Dr. Selvi Nanthakumar from St. Paul’s. Let peace be with them.
While I am moving away, I have a great yet light feeling of an accomplished personal mission. I wish the department all the best and even greater success in cooperation with the other groups in the region, while advancing the delivery of top-notch pathology diagnostics to our patients.
I am now planning to focus on my personal development, giving more time to my music studies, as I am aiming to advance in my Royal Conservatory grade levels (I have just passed grade 9 in Harmony, Grade 8 in classical voice, and Grade 6 in Winds/Brass, for which I received a National Gold medal), while I continue to help my colleagues in more remote and/or underserved locations in Canada by doing periodic pathology locums. Perhaps you will see me as a locum pathologist stranger in BC or elsewhere, whenever there is a need.
Thank you, Nick