Introduction

The Association of Clinical Pathologists of Nepal (ACPN) is a voluntary professional organization. It advances the interests of our profession and promotes high quality standards for patient care by providing national leadership and promoting excellence in pathology and laboratory medicine, education and research.

In the 1950’s, after the end of Rana regime, a few doctors were sent to United Kingdom for training in different fields of specialization like Internal medicine , Surgery , Pathology, ENT etc. Amongst the doctors who had gone to study Pathology, two of them earned Diplomas – one in Clinical Pathology and the other in Bacteriology. The first three doctors who received the Diploma awards in Clinical Pathology and Bacteriology were Dr. DN Vaidhya, Dr. DP Manandhar and Dr. L Poudel. Then, in the 1960s, another three pathologists, Dr. BB Baidya, Dr. VL Gurubacharya and Dr. VR Prasai, joined the above trio. Dr. BB Baidya established a Pathology laboratory in the military hospital. Dr. VR Prasai worked as the founding Director of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) and later became the Dean of Institute of Medicine.

In 1990, the need for an Association of Pathologists was identified. By developing and promoting laboratory services it was felt that high quality patient care, national leadership, education and research could be provided. Accordingly, at the first meeting, the Adhoc committee decided to form the ACPN. In April 1993, the ACPN was formally registered at the Chief District Officer Office of Kathmandu.

In 1996, the first post-graduation program in pathology was started at TUTH and later in other medical colleges in Nepal. By 2000 the number of pathologists had increased to thirty five.  To date, there are more than 100 members of the ACPN who have whole heartedly supported this cause. Dr. Yuji Kimula from Japan, Dr. Victor Lee from USA and Dr. Kim Solez from Canada were instrumental in the growth of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology in Nepal. With the increase in the number of pathologists in the country, a meeting point, for academic, research and education became essential. The previous constitution was amended for the first time in 2010 by the 7th executive body to reflect the growing needs of this association.