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.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Claude Rector, MA, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Region VII Director What do you do? We have all been asked that question. How do you answer that question? Is it an easy question to answer? Do you think the person who asked that question understood your answer? My first introduction to how one might answer that question was…

Roslyn McQueen

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Roslyn McQueen, PhD, CCRC, ASCLS President The education pillar in our strategic map is supported by strategies to expand continuing education, as well as promote professional development and ethical standards. As I write this article, June is right around the corner. How quickly time flies! At this time of year, most of our constituent societies…

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Nadine Fydryszewski, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Region II Director The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines people as “human beings making up a group or assembly or linked by a common interest,” and power as “the ability to act or produce an effect … possession of control, authority, or influence over others.” People and power—two very strong words that…

IMPLICATIONS OF DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER GENETIC TESTING

IMPROVING PATIENT AUTONOMY OR RISKING PATIENT SAFETY? Brandy D. Gunsolus, DCLS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Patient Safety Committee Member In traditional healthcare, all patients visit their physicians, receive a laboratory order for tests, results are sent to their physicians, and the physician would then notify the patient of the results. Times have changed. Now patients can go…

2019 LEGISLATIVE SYMPOSIUM

Linda Goossen, PhD, MT(ASCP), ASCLS Government Affairs Committee Nearly 120 clinical laboratory professionals from 38 states met in Washington, D.C., March 18-19 for the 31st Annual Legislative Symposium. Sponsored by six professional organizations—the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (ASCLS), the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA), the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the American…

RANDOLPH WORLD MINISTRIES, INC.: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Creating Stronger and Financially-Sustainable Clinics in Haiti Tim Randolph, PhD, MT(ASCP) Randolph World Ministries, Inc., is operated by Tim and Liz Randolph out of their home. They make two annual medical mission trips to Haiti with teams that have included laboratorians, physician assistants, physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, and health information managers. Randolph World Ministries, Inc.,…

MICROBIOLOGY CASE STUDY: NOCARDIAL BRAIN ABSCESS IN 70-YEAR-OLD PATIENT SECONDARY TO STEROID IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE THERAPY

Alison Rossdeutscher, MLS(ASCP)CM Case History A 70-year-old male was transported by EMSA to the hospital after falling in his home. The patient had an established diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS). This disease is an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system and often presents as brainstem lesions.…