Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Kim Von Ahsen, MHA, MLS(ASCP)CM, SLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President, 2022-23 I couldn’t have imagined that 18 years ago when I searched the internet for “Iowa + laboratory + professional + organization” that a search result of the Iowa Association of Clinical Laboratory Science (now ASCLS-Iowa) would lead me to…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Patient Safety Corner Rose Hanna, DCLS, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, Patient Safety Committee In 2016, Clostridium difficile went through a genus name change based on genotypic and phylogenetic information to Clostridioides difficile.1 C. difficile is a spore-forming gram positive bacillus that is commonly found in water, soil, human and animal…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Developing Professionals Forum Alex Shaw, MLS(ASCP)CM, Developing Professionals Forum Councilor-at-Large Laboratorians play a vital role in patient safety. While direct patient contact is limited for laboratorians, we are just as important in being patient safety stewards as those in direct contact with patients every day. It is estimated…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Developing Professionals Forum Brittney Craig, MHS, ASCLS Developing Professionals Forum The work delivered by laboratory professionals each day is heavily centered around patient safety. Laboratory professionals dedicate countless numbers of hours verifying, analyzing, and performing tests on each specimen received in the laboratory. They perform several tasks to…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Laura R. Link, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Diversity Advocacy Council Councilor The patient had been feeling “blah” for a few days, with a slight fever (or was it just the June heat?), joint pain (or was it just arthritis?), and a rash (or was it something from weeding the…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Ali Nussbaum, MA, MLS(ASCP)CM Recently my lab had the opportunity to participate in feedback following the aftermath of an incident that would improve our mission of patient safety for all. A very skilled phlebotomist took a young female adult into a seated phlebotomy area for a routine blood…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Tara C. Moon, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, Clinical Laboratory Science Journal Research and Reports Editor and ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Committee Amber N. Vaughn, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM Maternal mortality is a significant healthcare concern in the United States.1 We are at the top of the list for highest maternal mortality in industrialized countries1…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Carlo Ledesma, MS, MLS(ASCP)CMSHCM, QLSCM, DLMCM, MT(AMT) Magnum Hirschfield, hailed as the father of transgender medicine, pioneered gender studies in the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute of Sex Research) in Germany, where he cared for transgender individuals and performed gender-affirming treatments, including psychotherapies, hormone treatments, and gender reassignment surgeries.…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Jean Bauer, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Region V Director The Greek physician Hippocrates is credited with the saying, “First, do no harm.” While this is not actually a part of the Hippocratic Oath, it is a statement that everyone in medicine needs to keep in mind when working with patients.…
Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Stacie Lansink, MS, MT(ASCP) The conversation started just like every other conversation between clinical sites and programs: “How do we attract new MLS graduates?” This time, the conversation ended with a $40,000 sponsorship between Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, partnering with…