Congress Recognizes Impact of Clinical Laboratories, Free Labucate Course, New Patient Safety Program, and more.
Renew Your Membership Today
ASCLS is currently renewing memberships for the 2022-23 Society year. For those of you who have not yet renewed, paper notices will arrive by mail in the next few weeks. Renew your membership by July 31 to ensure access to your membership benefits and to maintain your continued membership status.
Thank you for your support of ASCLS, and we look forward to another year of medical laboratory community and connections.
ASCLS Applauds Congress Move That Recognizes Impact of Clinical Laboratories
On Tuesday, June 14, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on S.4348, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Landmark Advancements (FDASLA) Act, and voted to move the bill to the full Senate for its consideration. This bill includes the current version of the Verifying Accurate, Leading-edge IVCT Development (VALID) Act.
VALID recognizes the enormous capacity for innovation laboratory professionals are capable of generating with the tools and expertise they have at their disposal and also recognizes the profound impact that those laboratory developed tests have on patients.
For more than a decade, ASCLS has advocated for common sense federal regulation of laboratory developed tests. On May 22, 2022, ASCLS informed the Senate HELP committee that the Society supports passage of this version of VALID.
As precision medicine expands demands on the capabilities of a now broadly distributed base of molecular testing throughout the clinical laboratory system, along with the flood of associated data, patients are best served by a framework for regulation that is predictable, reasonable, and focused.
VALID does that. Read more.
Free Labucate Course
Complementary Role of Cytology and Molecular Testing in Thyroid Nodule Management
This presentation provides an overview of the diagnostic evaluation of thyroid nodules from the perspective of a pathologist. Key topics discussed include the Bethesda Cytological Classification System and the role of molecular testing in thyroid nodule management.
Learning Objectives
- Illustrate the diagnostic evaluation of an identified thyroid nodule
- Describe the Bethesda Cytological Classification System for thyroid nodules
- Depict the role of molecular testing in thyroid nodule management
Speaker: Trisha M Shattuck, MD, PhD
Instruction Level: Intermediate
ASCLS is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
New ASCLS Patient Safety Program Coming Soon
Volunteers Will Be Needed
The ASCLS Patient Safety Committee will recruit volunteers to serve as members of an important pilot group to beta test a new program, “Patient Safety Benchmark Peer Reporting Program.”
The goals of this new program are:
- establish patient safety benchmarks;
- measure and track process improvements;
- allow peer comparisons; and
- collaborate with colleagues to improve patient safety and patient outcomes.
Selected members from some of the ASCLS Connect communities will receive an email invitation to participate in this pilot group in July.
Beta test participants are vital to the development of the program and will benefit their clinical laboratories by:
- receiving reports for their laboratory from the program before the program goes live;
- helping to improve our program’s processes; and
- ultimately assisting laboratories in improving their quality.
We request those receiving invitations in mid-July to respond promptly as we launch this important program.
If you are in a leadership position (i.e., director, manager, supervisor, consultant, quality) and would like to receive an invitation to participate in this pilot program, email the following information to benchmark@ascls.org: Name, ASCLS ID #, and email address.
Meet the Candidates 2022
The ASCLS Nominations Committee is pleased to present the following candidates for office in the 2022-23 Society year. Candidates selected by the House of Delegates will take office during the 2022 ASCLS, AGT & SAFMLS Joint Annual Meeting. Delegates will elect one president-elect; one secretary-treasurer; one director each for Regions I, VII, and VIII; one 5-year term member for the Judicial Committee; and two 2-year term members for the Nominations Committee. Read more.
2022 Joint Annual Meeting On Pace to Set Records
June 26-June 30 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
Over 800 people have already registered for the ASCLS, AGT & SAFMLS Joint Annual Meeting (JAM). Additionally the meeting will include about 50 industry partners—our highest number yet.
JAM is the premier gathering of medical laboratory professionals to share our knowledge, research, and best practices, as well as reconnect with friends and colleagues in the medical laboratory community. The educational program will provide you about 60 hours of P.A.C.E.®-approved continuing education.
The regular registration deadline has passed; late/onsite registration will open on June 23.
In-Person Attendance: JAM will be held at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition to the educational program, poster presentations, industry partner exhibits, and networking activities, you’ll also receive access to all recorded JAM educational sessions for 30 days after the event, providing you with about 60 hours of P.A.C.E.®-approved credit. JAM organizers and partners are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for conference attendees, utilizing best practices and guidance provided by the CDC and local health officials. In-person attendees will be required to adhere to posted policies related to preventing the spread of COVID-19 which include requiring proof of vaccination.
Virtual Attendance: You will have access to the nearly 60 educational sessions, either streamed live or recorded; industry partner virtual activities; virtual poster presentations; and virtual networking events. You will also have access to all recorded JAM educational sessions for 30 days after the event. You get to choose which sessions and events you want to attend live and which recordings you will view later when the time is right. Create a personalized JAM experience that fits your busy schedule.
CLEC 2022 Sessions Available On Demand
All educational sessions from the highly-rated CLEC 2022 were recorded and are now available to stream online via labucate.org. Individual sessions are $10 for ASCLS members/$15 for non-members.
You can purchase a Best of CLEC 2022 bundle, containing the top 11 sessions according to attendee ratings ($80 for ASCLS Members/$120 for non-members). Sessions included are:
- Any Program Can Implement a Simulated Clinical Rotation
- Case Study Scaffolding in Hematology Courses
- Educating High School Students: A Model to Ending the Workforce Shortage
- Garbage in Equals Garbage out Teaching the Importance of Specimen Quality and Integrity
- Managing Students In Clinical Rotations: How To Succeed With Flying Colors Using Alternative Options
- Professionalism, Practitioners, and Patient Care: Teaching Students to Put Patients First
- Program Director Survival Strategies 101
- Speed Learning 1 – Using Your LMS as an LIS and What’s in Your Toolbox
- Speed Learning 8 – The Positive Impact of Useful Repetition & Utilizing Reverse Case Studies
- Tending the Garden – Coaching Students to Cultivate Learning and Academic Success
- Using Open Education Resources Taking the Plunge without Drowning
For access to all 41 recorded sessions, purchase the All Access CLEC 2022 On Demand bundle ($250 for ASCLS members/$375 for non-members).
ASCLS is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
Save the Date for Upcoming Events
2022 Laboratory Legislative Symposium
September 26-27 | Alexandria, Virginia
The annual Laboratory Legislative Symposium gives you the chance to travel to Washington, DC, with medical laboratory professionals from seven laboratory organizations and make our concerns known inside Congress.
The Legislative Symposium provides a great education on the how-tos of lobbying. Attendees are coached on presentation techniques so they can effectively talk to their congressional representatives during their appointments. They are well received in the congressional offices. Attendees return home from Washington with first-hand knowledge of the political system in action and confidence that they make a difference.
This year’s event will be held September 26-27 at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. In-person and virtual attendee options will be available.
Emerging Laboratory Managers Collaborative Conference (ELMC2)
January 20-21, 2023 | Virtual
The Emerging Laboratory Managers Collaborative Conference (ELMC2) is designed specifically for laboratory professionals to help them transition into and thrive in management roles.
ELMC2 provides two days of virtual programming (live and streamed for up to 30 days after the live event), up to 20 hours of P.A.C.E.® credit, networking and social events, access to an attendees-only online community, and follow up programming expected to take place 6-12 weeks after the conclusion of the virtual conference, as well as special meet-ups at the Joint Annual Meeting in June.
New Episode of Off the Bench Podcast
Subscribe to the Off the Bench Podcast for discussions on scientific and not-to-scientific ideas in laboratory medicine. New episodes drop the last Friday of each month.
On the May 27 episode, hosts Galina Dronova and Justin Hanenberg discuss how we can transform laboratory medicine education, whether in the classroom or on the bench, from procedural knowledge to conceptual. With guest experts, Dr. Justin Kreuter and Theresa Malin, MEd, MLS(ASCP)CM, they flip the script from creating short term memory retention to a story of meaning.
Subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Voices Under 40
Spotlight: Stephanie Jacobson, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, Brookings, South Dakota
Stephanie is an MLS instructor at South Dakota State University (SDSU). At SDSU, Stephanie is responsible for teaching an MLT-MLS transition introductory course, as well as courses in hematology, clinical chemistry, and urinalysis and body fluids. Additionally, she also teaches the laboratory management and education course. She was recently awarded the MLS Faculty MVP Award for her contributions in converting their laboratory and lecture sessions online during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stephanie is also currently a DCLS student at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston where she is planning to graduate during the summer of 2022.
Stephanie has authored several papers, publications, and presentations. These include, “A Case of Injury Associated HELLP Syndrome in a Native American” from the Journal of Clinical Case Studies and “Alcohol Induced Diabetic Ketoacidosis by an Acute Respiratory Infection with Klebsiella pneumonia,” published in the Clinical Laboratory Science Journal. She’s edited several chapters of Bailey and Scott’s Diagnostic Microbiology and is currently editing several chapters of Clinical Chemistry: Principles, Techniques, and Correlations, while also serving as an expert content reviewer for International Journal of Biomedical Laboratory Science. Read more.
ASCLS Voices Under 40 honors ASCLS members who have shown exceptional commitment to the Society, the laboratory profession, and their community at large at a younger age in their professional career. Each month we spotlight one of the shining voices who were selected from many nominations across the country.
Welcome New Member
Mia Foust, Bozeman, Montana
Mia introduced herself in the #IamASCLS-Introduce Yourself Community in February: “I am excited to join ASCLS as a student that begins the final year of my program. I am a student at Montana State University and president of the only MLS club in Montana! I want to help engage our club members in the community and field.
“Interesting fact: I currently work as a specimen collector and processor and lately swab ~100 patients for covid a day!!
“I look forward to engaging in this community as a professional.” Connect with Mia.
Connect: The Community Conversations
ASCLS Connect is an invaluable way to ask questions, share feedback, and stay connected with your community of laboratorians. Here are some of the recent discussions you may have missed:
- The Membership Committee posts “Membership Mondays” questions each week to spur discussion and get to know fellow ASCLS members. Two recent questions were:
- In the Hematology/Hemostasis Scientific Assembly, members discussed how their laboratories flag heparin levels outside of therapeutic recommended ranges.
- ASCLS continues to share CDC alerts and updates for laboratories through the Open Forum.
Download the MemberCentric App on your mobile device to get the community conversations and more in the palm of your hand.
Key Dates
2022 Laboratory Legislative Symposium
September 26-27