Participate in #StopLabCuts Advocacy, New ASCLS Choosing Wisely Recommendations, Registration Open for 2023 Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference in New Orleans, Education & Research Fund Holiday Silent Auction, Free Webinar for ASCLS Members, Upcoming Events, and More.
Participate in #StopLabCuts Advocacy Efforts
Get Support for Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA)
Congress has come back for its “lame duck” session and key committees are actively considering the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) (S.4449/H.R.8188). It would replace the draconian reimbursement cuts and reporting requirements of PAMA and has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
For most of this year, ASCLS and other laboratory groups have been working with members of Congress to come up with and advocate for SALSA. Your colleagues successfully secured a number of co-sponsors during the 2022 Laboratory Legislative Symposium in September. Now it’s your turn to take action and contribute to the effort.
Visit stoplabcuts.org and contact your representative and two senators. If you aren’t sure who they are, the system will automatically choose them for you under the “Take Action” tab. Follow that up with a phone call to both your representative and two senators and ask them to communicate with their caucus leadership that they are supporting passage of SALSA.
For a detailed summary on the background of The Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) and The Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA), read Clinical Laboratory Reimbursement in the United States.
If you think someone should do something about this, you are that someone. There are tons of great resources available to use. Share this with your colleagues. We need all 350,000 laboratory professionals participating.
New ASCLS Choosing Wisely Recommendations Published
10 New Recommendations the Result of a Collaboration with ASCP and ASM
ABIM Foundation published new Choosing Wisely recommendations that were the result of a collaborative effort between the ASCLS Choosing Wisely Committee, American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), and American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Review the full recommendations here:
Congratulations to the ASCLS Choosing Wisely Committee members for their important contributions to this effort.
Registration Open for 2023 Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference in New Orleans
Save your seat for the 2023 Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference (CLEC), which will be held March 2-4 in New Orleans. A discounted early bird registration rate is available through January 6.
CLEC is the event of the year for faculty, administrators, directors, advisers, and anyone in medical laboratory education. See old friends, make new friends, and learn from educators with the same goal to provide excellent medical laboratory education. Browse a preview of the educational sessions that will be offered at CLEC 2023.
To provide you flexibility to participate in CLEC in the format that best fits your personal circumstances, you have the option to attend CLEC either in-person at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans or virtually through the streaming device of your choice, wherever you are.
All educational sessions will be streamed live and recorded. Both in-person and virtual registrants will have access to all session recordings for 30 days after the event—about 40 hours of P.A.C.E.®-approved credit—as well as additional virtual content provided in the conference app. 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. Design a CLEC schedule that fits your work and personal life.
ASCLS Education & Research Fund Handmade for the Holidays Silent Auction
Place Your Bids November 18 – December 2
Raise money for medical laboratory science scholarships and research grants and start your holiday shopping with the ASCLS E&R Fund’s 2022 Handmade for the Holidays Silent Auction. Win unique and lab-themed items while raising money for an important cause.
All money raised through the silent auction goes to the ASCLS Education & Research Fund, which provides scholarships, research grants, and professional awards that assist in the growth of the medical laboratory science profession and enhances the essential services provided by laboratory professionals. Thank you for your support!
Giving Tuesday is November 29
This #GivingTuesday you can help build a strong future for clinical laboratory science. By donating to the ASCLS E&R Fund, you will support clinical laboratory science students at the associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral levels; fund critical research in laboratory science; and raise the visibility of the profession.
You can donate directly to the E&R Fund through the Handmade for the Holidays Silent Auction by using the “Donate” button.
Free Webinar for ASCLS Members
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Microbiology: Methods, Breakpoints, and Beyond
December 20, 1 pm Eastern
This session will review core concepts of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) in the microbiology lab, including methods of testing, how interpretive criteria (breakpoints) are determined and updated, and how AST plays a role in public health.
Speaker: Andrea Prinzi, PhD, MPH, SM(ASCP)
Learning Objectives
- Describe at least two different types of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) performed in the microbiology lab.
- Explain the process for AST breakpoint determination and updates.
- Communicate the role AST plays in public health and antimicrobial resistance prevention and control.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
This P.A.C.E.®-accredited webinar is free for ASCLS members ($10 for non-members). Preregistration is required. If you can’t attend live, register anyway—those who pre-register will receive access to the webinar recording.
ASCLS is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
Upcoming Events
Virtual Book Club: Sitting Pretty
November 19, 2 pm ET | Virtual
The ASCLS Diversity Advocacy Council (DAC) kicked off this year’s book club on October 15 with a first discussion of Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body, by Rebekah Taussig. In the book, Dr. Taussig frankly discusses her life experiences as an individual reliant on a wheelchair for mobility. She takes her readers through her childhood, high school, and into adulthood, navigating a built environment designed for able-bodied.
There’s still time to join the DAC in opening your mind to the hidden struggles of the disabled, in ways that will make you reflect on your past approaches to the disabled and appreciate a new perspective.
The book club will meet virtually in Zoom on Saturday afternoons at 2 pm ET on November 19, and December 10. Sign up for the book club today.
The next discussion on November 19 will focus on content in chapters four through six, including how society assigns each of us a “role,” as if we are each an actor on a stage; the media (mis)representation of disabled individuals; and that disabled people are not all the same, with needs and desires greatly impacted by intersectionality.
Mid-Year ASCLS House of Delegates Meeting
January 15, 2023 | Virtual
ASCLS will hold its third annual mid-year virtual meeting of the House of Delegates on Sunday, January 15. The ASCLS House of Delegates convenes at the Annual Meeting of the Society, and has authority within the Society regarding the:
- election of the officers and members of the Board of Directors and of elective committees;
- adoption and amendment of the Bylaws and the Articles of Incorporation according to the laws of the state of incorporation; and
- approval of professional practice standards, position papers and the scope and direction for the Society and the profession.
Delegates who began their term with the first session of the 2022-2023 House of Delegates on June 30 will receive information about how to attend the mid-year meeting.
PRISM: Pride · Respect · Inclusion · Support · Momentum
January 16-18, 2023 | Virtual
The ASCLS Diversity Advocacy Council (DAC) invites you to participate in the third annual PRISM: Pride · Respect · Inclusion · Support · Momentum. Join medical laboratory friends and colleagues as we celebrate and ignite discussions regarding diversity in the profession and the inequities in our healthcare system.
As leaders and members, we understand that the most uncomfortable conversations can be the most educational, productive, and inspiring. With this in mind, the DAC organized PRISM, a series of virtual activities that culminates with a candid conversation with a featured guest. All events are held virtually through Zoom and are free to attend.
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.
8th Annual ASCLS Lab Week Run
Step out of your labs and into your communities to help spread the word about the medical laboratory profession by participating in the ASCLS Lab Week Virtual Run.
This virtual race can be run at any time during Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (April 23-29, 2023) and can be run anywhere. Participants can walk, use a treadmill, run outside, or even ride a bike to complete the 5K distance (or 3.1 miles).
Race packets will go on sale January 1 with Early Bird Pricing available through February 15. All proceeds go to grants and scholarships that help medical laboratory professionals attend ASCLS meetings, lobby representatives for the profession, and become future leaders in the field.
Race organizers are currently looking for sponsors. If you or someone you know is interested in reaching thousands of laboratory professionals, please contact info@labweekrun.com.
New Episode of Off the Bench Podcast
Subscribe to the Off the Bench Podcast for discussions on scientific and not-so-scientific ideas in laboratory medicine. New episodes drop the last Friday of each month.
On the October 28 episode, host Sophia Chandrasekar and guest Danielle Adank, MS, graduate student at Vanderbilt University, discuss the differences and similarities of a medical research laboratory compared to a medical/clinical laboratory.
Subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Voices Under 40
Spotlight: Constantine Kanakis, MD, MSc, MLS(ASCP), Chicago, Illinois
Constantine is a resident physician at Loyola University Medical Center in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. His job responsibilities consist of various services in anatomic and clinical pathology, as well as well as teaching medical students and junior residents. He is also is a guest lecturer for the in-house MLS Master of Science students.
Constantine greatly appreciates being involved with many different professional societies. He continues to be an active member in ASCLS because it was the first organization he joined back in MLS graduate school, and it represents the foundation for all of his work in the field since. He hopes to stay rooted in this foundation and remain connected to the people and the experience he is involved with today. 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.
Have you checked out the new and improved ASCLS Connect yet? The updated platform gives you 24/7 access to all of the discussions, blogs, events, and resources that fellow ASCLS members are posting and sharing. Take a two-minute tour to see what’s available to members.
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. Recent questions were:
- The Clinical Laboratory Educators Forum (formerly the Education Scientific Assembly) members shared experiences using the Randox Misano.
- In the Hematology/Hemostasis Scientific Assembly, members gave advice on how to prepare for the SH(ASCP) exam.
- In the Open Forum, Jessica Lawless shares weekly The Lawless 5 videos, which give you a five-minute break to breathe.
- ASCLS continues to share CDC alerts and updates for laboratories through the Open Forum.
Key Dates
Handmade for the Holidays E&R Fund Silent Auction
November 18 – December 2
Webinar – Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Microbiology
December 20
CLEC 2023 Early Bird Registration Deadline
January 6