Cindy Johnson, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President Life-long learning is critical to laboratory professionals maintaining their expertise and advancing in their careers, as well as advancing the profession. ASCLS develops and delivers educational programming to assure that laboratory professionals acquire that knowledge by utilizing a variety of modes, including virtual and live meetings. In this month’s…
Beth Warning, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Region IV Director Congratulations! You may have just celebrated 40 years as a medical lab professional and are looking forward to retirement. You may be known as the coagulation guru, the “pee queen,” or the key operator for one of the analyzers. You remember running lithium testing on the flame…
Christal Lane, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM Maya Angelou reciting her poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,” at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993. One of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I’ve had this quote posted on mirrors, in lockers,…
Brandy Gunsolus, DCLS, MLS(ASCP)CM Medical laboratories are continuously faced with more obstacles. However, the theme is inherently the same: do more with less. I have seen laboratories pinch pennies in an effort to make budget when supplies, shipping costs, and labor costs continue to increase. Some of the more creative efforts include utilizing a sterilization…
W. Jon Windsor, MLS(ASCP)CM Figure 1: A map of endemic areas (in yellow) for A. americanum Imagine all of your absolute favorite foods. Now, what if every time you enjoyed one of those foods, several hours later you were plagued with vomiting, stomach cramps, dizziness, and other symptoms closely resembling anaphylactic shock.1 This is the…
PATIENT SAFETY AND HAND-OFF COMMUNICATION Courtney Shrader, MLS(ASCP)CM From 1995-2004 the Joint Commission estimated about 65 percent of 2,966 adverse events were due to communication issues. In 2005, that percentage grew to 70, and half of the events occurred during patient handoffs.2 Due to these startling statistics, in 2006 the Joint Commission created a national…
Maddie Josephs, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President-Elect ASCLS, our grassroots professional organization, relies on the collective action of our members—and most importantly our member volunteers—to make our voices heard and to make a positive impact in healthcare. Indeed, the strength of our Society lies in our volunteers. Whether you can make a long-term or short-term commitment,…
Suzanne Butch, MA, MLS(ASCP)CMSBBCMCLMCM The 2019-20 ASCLS Leadership Academy class met for two days before the ASCLS-AGT Joint Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, last June. The group got to know each other while enthusiastically performing group activities, listening to presentations, and participating in active discussions. This year’s class of 11 participants represents nine states…
Karrie Hovis, MHS, MLS(ASCP)CM, CMP, CQIA The 2021 Tri-State Meeting will be held April 5-8 in New Orleans and will host ASCLS-Mississippi, the Louisiana Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, and the Texas Association for Clinical Laboratory Science. Photo credit: Eric Gross https://www.flickr.com/photos/hozho/15975312841 The ASCLS-Mississippi and Louisiana Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (LSCLS) constituent societies have been…
Nearly 700 laboratory professionals and colleagues came together in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of the first Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) of ASCLS and the Association of Genetic Technologists (AGT). This partnership between ASCLS and AGT resulted in expanded educational and industry engagement opportunities for both organizations, as well as others in the laboratory community.…