ASCLS Today is the membership newsletter of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

To submit an article for ASCLS Today, contact Editor Debra Rodahl.

Hassan Aziz

Patient Safety—Shifting the Blame

Volume 36 Number 4 | August 2022 Hassan Aziz, PhD, FACSs, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President, 2021-22 When I was a kid, my dad read me a story about a mouse family. Their names were, Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Anybody could…

Kim Von Ahsen

The Value of Roots, The Strength of Community

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…

Vancomycin Resistant C. difficile: Where Is the Concern?

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…

Alexander Shaw

Patient Safety Broken Down for New Laboratorians

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…

Brittney Craig

Patient Safety in the Laboratory

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…

Laura Link

The (Beveled) Edge of Patient Safety

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…

Ali Nussbaum

Lab Offers Voice to Patient Safety Event

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…

Carlo Ledesma

A Call for Action to Implement Gender-Inclusive Laboratory Medicine

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.…