A monthly update on activities occurring on behalf of the members of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
Society News Now
A monthly update on activities occurring on behalf of the members of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
Issue 3 November 2014
In this Issue:
Liaison to IFBLS │ Membership Committee │ CCCLW │ Advocacy │ E & R Fund
Student News │ Product Development Committee │ Consumer Information Web Team
Liaison to IFBLS
Cathy Otto attended the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science 31st World Congress in Taipei, Taiwan October 3-7, 2014 and presented two posters on the ASCLS Patient Safety Education Tips and Competencies Needed by Laboratory Professionals. Cathy represented the U.S. at the General Assembly of Delegates, where Maria Nora Roald, Norway was elected President-elect, and Board members from United Kingdom, Cameroon, Croatia, Italy, and India were elected. The site for the 2015 Chief Delegate meeting will be Portugal. Brunei Darussalam, Namibia, and South Africa were admitted for membership in IFBLS. IFBLS will be working with the World Health Organization (WHO) on biosafety, biosecurity, core competencies, and quantitating the number of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists in the world.
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee encourages state leadership to conduct lapsed member campaigns. Hopefully the majority of our lapsed members have been contacted, and the value of their membership communicated personally. We are interested in learning the reasons that people are not renewing. Have you talked to someone in your workplace about membership? Communicating the value of membership can be difficult. Need help in answering the tough questions? The Membership resource page at www.ascls.org as a wonderful document to help –“What to Say When You Don’t Know What To Say”. Go to ASCLS website → Leadership → Committees → Membership Committee. Then go to the section entitled “Membership Recruitment Documents” and you will find this under “General Recruitment Documents”.
CCCLW
The Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce continues its mission of being a united voice of clinical laboratory organizations and stakeholders, focusing our collective efforts to:
• Increase the number of qualified clinical laboratory professionals.
• Increase healthcare and public awareness of our value in achieving positive patient outcomes.
• Enhance the image of clinical laboratory professionals.
Rick Panning is our current representative to the CCCLW this year, and Susan Morris will become Chair in January 2015.
Advocacy
The ASCLS Strategy Canvas has us striving to strengthen our government and legislative advocacy. ASCLS recently signed on to a letter from the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) urging the House and Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee leadership to provide full funding for Title VII and Title VIII programs in FY 2015. These federal programs focus on improving the supply, distribution, and diversity of the health professions workforce. By providing educational and training opportunities to aspiring and practicing health professionals, the programs also play a critical role in helping the workforce adapt to meet the nation’s changing health care needs.
E & R Fund
Did you know that the Silent Auction held at the Annual Meeting raised over $6000 for the Educational & Research Fund? The E & R Fund provides scholarships, research grants, and professional awards that assist in the growth of the Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science profession and enhance the essential services provided by laboratory professionals. Check out the different funding opportunities at https://www.ascls.org/about-us/education-and-research-fund
Student News
At the October 2014 G2 Laboratory Institute, Jazmen Myers, a CLS senior at Texas State University and the 2014-15 ASCLS Student Forum Vice Chair, was awarded the 2014 G2 Intelligence Scholarship Award. Jazmen was the sole winner of this nationally competitive $2500 scholarship, sponsored by McKesson Business Performance Services, which is awarded annually to help develop future leaders and qualified medical technology professionals. Congratulations to Jazmen and the Texas State program.
Don’t forget to help the Student Forum raise funds to support future activities and student scholarships for 2014-15. Check out the details in the recent ASCLS e-mail – it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Product Development Committee
The Product Development Committee has just released a Survey Monkey survey for members to determine which educational products ASCLS should concentrate on producing. Do you have some ideas? Be sure to take the survey and provide your input! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2015PDCSurvey
Consumer Information Web Team
As part of the ASCLS Strategic Canvas, we want to enhance our consumer advocacy role through outreach to patients and members of the healthcare team. Are you interested in helping patients understand their laboratory test results? The Web team continues to answer up to 75 questions a day from consumers and healthcare providers who ask questions over the internet, usually through the Lab Tests Online website. Susan Leclair who oversees this effort, is always looking for volunteers. You don’t need to be an expert in your discipline, and you will be trained and mentored. If you think this might be a way you can give back, contact Susan at SLeclair@umassd.edu
Past issues of Society News Now can now be found on the website under The ASCLS Connection.