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.

Alex Shaw

Advocacy from a Student’s Perspective

Volume 35 Number 6 | December 2021 Alex Shaw, ASCLS Developing Professionals Forum Councilor-at-Large As an MLS student and active ASCLS member, I have become more and more aware of the issues that plague the clinical laboratory. There are many laboratory personnel getting closer to retirement, not enough new graduates ready to fill those openings,…

Catherine Otto

Advocacy to Improve Patient Safety

Volume 35 Number 6 | December 2021 Patient Safety Corner Catherine Otto, PhD, MBA, MLS(ASCP)CMSHCMDLMCM, ASCLS Patient Safety Committee We often think of advocacy within the context of lobbying for personnel licensure in our state legislatures or meeting with our Congressional representatives and senators to share our points of view regarding pending legislation or the…

Angela Tomei Robinson

Laboratory Advocacy: The Art of Professionalism

Volume 35 Number 6 | December 2021 Angela Tomei Robinson, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM Laboratory professionals are the medical laboratory scientists, laboratory technologists, and technicians who perform and manage the complex laboratory methodology techniques and sophisticated state of the art instrumentation with automation and computer interfacing to aid in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. Clinical…

Hassan Aziz

Professional Growth

Volume 35 Number 5 | October 2021 Hassan Aziz, PhD, FACSs, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President This year’s Joint Annual Meeting, Lab JAM 2021, with a hybrid combination of in-person and remote plenary and break-out educational sessions, was a huge success. Thanks to the many presenters and participants who converged in Louisville, Kentucky, and those who joined…

ASCLS Board of Directors in shower

We Are Family

Volume 35 Number 5 | October 2021 Claude Rector, MA, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Region VII Director In 1979 the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series over the Baltimore Orioles. During their championship season, the Pirates had a team motto: “We Are Family.” The motto was borrowed from a song of the same title recorded by the…

Racheal Nassimbwa

Developing Professionals Forum: Experiencing Professional Growth

Volume 35 Number 5 | October 2021 Racheal Nassimbwa, ASCLS Developing Professionals Forum Chair, and Amanda Clapie, ASCLS Developing Professionals Forum Secretary The Developing Professionals Forum (DPF) professionally educates students of medical laboratory science as expressed by the organization’s philosophies, policies, and procedures. The forum maintains a structure for student members to communicate their concerns…

Joanna Ellis

The Gift of Lab Gab

Volume 35 Number 5 | October 2021 Effectively Communicate Lab Science for Understanding and Appreciation Joanna R. Ellis, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, CHWI Laboratory professionals’ voices are infrequently heard in public health conversations. Science skepticism and mistrust can influence health behaviors such as vaccination rates, diagnostic lab testing uptake, and appropriate treatment adherence. In 2019, the Pew…

Heather Kobza

Growing into Infection Control

Volume 35 Number 5 | October 2021 Exploring New Career Opportunities in Public Health Heather Kobza, MLS(ASCP)CMMBCM As a student I was always fascinated by infectious diseases. I would find myself reading books like Hot Zone or watching documentaries about interesting new diseases. Becoming a medical laboratory scientist has only cemented my desire to learn…