Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Catherine Otto, PhD, MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM, SHCMDLMCM, ASCLS Patient Safety Committee Member Ethical clinical laboratory science practice improves patient safety. Ensuring and improving patient safety requires following ethical principles of practice in order to provide safe clinical laboratory services. Although the term, “patient safety,” was not used when our…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Sarah Bergbower, DCLS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor As a Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS), I am often interested in the medical laboratory science professional’s role in identifying and limiting pre-pre- and post-post-analytical errors. Defined by Laposata and Dighe, “pre-pre” analytical errors result from inappropriate test selection,…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Yanhuan (Grace) Renn, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Ascending Professionals Forum Member Patient safety is a central pillar of effective healthcare delivery. The stakes are particularly high in transfusion medicine, where the urgent demand for our products and services is often made in high-pressure situations. To ensure we can meet these…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Aditi Sarkar, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Developing Professionals Forum Chair In the realm of modern medicine, laboratory testing stands as a foundation for clinical decision making. These tests are potent tools guiding physicians in diagnoses, prognoses, and treatment strategies. While laboratory tests hold this pivotal role, they must be…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Beth Warning, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, AHI(AMT), ASCLS Board of Directors Moral distress is common in many health professions. It is well documented in nursing and among physicians and can be identified in nearly every healthcare profession. The fact that we can apply it to laboratory professionals doesn’t make us…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 How Do We Make the Hard Thing Easier to Do? K. Lindsey Davenport-Landry, DCLS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Board of Directors In the clinical laboratory we are required to utilize critical thinking and decision-making skills every day. Looking through the microscope, examining an organism growing on a plate, or reviewing…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Thao Vu, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor Creating a culture of quality patient care begins with the right lab environment. As medical laboratory professionals, we have a duty to produce reliable and accurate laboratory results for each patient. Learning should not cease when a diploma and certification…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Minh Kosfeld, PhD, MLT(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most diagnosed cancer in males worldwide and is first in the United States. Since 1994, an FDA-approved protocol for PCa screening for men aged 50 and older has used the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Victoria Roop, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor Phlebotomy handheld solutions (PHH) is an on-the-go technology that allows laboratory phlebotomists the ability to properly identify a patient, print labels at bedside, and provide a real-time list of specimens needing collection. Patient safety is always a number one concern within…
Volume 37 Number 6 | December 2023 Looking for Future Leaders At the ASCLS, AGT & SAFMLS Joint Annual Meeting in July 2024, ASCLS delegates will choose from the candidates who have indicated a willingness to serve in a leadership position for the coming year. This is one of the many benefits and responsibilities of…