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.

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM THREATENED WITH CLOSURE

HOW ASCLS-HAWAII MOBILIZED TO SAVE IT Sheri Gon, MPH, MLS(ASCP)CM; Claire Muranaka, MLT(ASCP), ASCLS-Hawaii President; and Kristen Croom, MLS(ASCP)CMMB(ASCP), ASCLS Region X Director The University of Hawaii at Manoa Budget Committee initially recommended eliminating the Medical Technology Program to save money during the COVID-19 induced recession. A distinguishing feature of ASCLS is that it serves…

THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: OUR TIME TO SHINE

Phyllis Ingham, EdD, MLS(ASCP)CM, AHI(AMT), ASCLS Virtual Learning Steering Committee Chair, ASCLS-Georgia President “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” – Charles R. Swindoll What we choose to do with the great opportunities and impossible situations gives us our Golden Opportunity. Way before COVID, headlines about growing…

VIRTUAL CLEC 2021 DESIGNED TO INSPIRE EDUCATORS

Terry Kotrla, MS, MT(ASCP)BB, CLEC Steering Committee Chair; DeAnne Maxwell, CLEC Steering Committee Vice Chair; and Dana Powell Baker, MBA, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, CLEC Steering Committee Past Chair CLEC 2021 attendees will have access to more than 40 educational sessions, including all session recordings for 30 days after the event. We are elated to serve as…

ADVOCACY: AN INNATE ABILITY?

Stephanie Mihane, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Region VIII Director Author Stephanie Mihane advocates for the profession by participating in career fairs. I have decided to take a slightly different approach to advocacy, which is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “public support for an idea, plan, or way of doing something.” I believe being an advocate is…

HOW I BECAME A LABVOCATE

(AND WHY YOU SHOULD BE ONE, TOO) Marianne T. Downes, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS-Pennsylvania President I am no one special. I did not spend my entire life planning to work in a hospital laboratory. I did not even know the field existed until someone informed me of the appropriate education and credentials needed to successfully enter…

Choosing Wisely logo

ASCLS CHOOSING WISELY COMMITTEE HITS ITS STRIDE

George A. Fritsma, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM In the June 2020 issue of ASCLS Today, we wrote of the origins and development of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation’s 2012 Choosing Wisely initiative. We likewise described the progress of the ASCLS Choosing Wisely Committee that culminated in five recommendations published by ABIM Foundation in June 2020.…

CHALLENGES AND CELEBRATIONS IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Maddie Josephs, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS President Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the word, virtual, likely had a different connotation to many. I thought of virtual in the context of virtual reality—something that does not physically exist but occurs because of some software program to provide the same experience. Since the middle of March 2020, the term…

BEING A CHALLENGER (OR TYPE 8) IN THE LAB

Cheyenne Reyes, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Ascending Professionals Forum Vice Chair Realizing you are in a momentous time in history brings forth a unique sense of self-awareness. Like many others, 2020 has made me question nearly every aspect of my life. Am I actually more extroverted than I realized? My time with people means a lot more…