LIVE COVERAGE: ASCP 2011
By Kerri Hatt (khatt@advanceweb.com)
I am on my way across the country to Las Vegas for the 2011 ASCP Annual Meeting/WASPaLM XXVI World Congress. I had the chance to speak with Sue Zaleski, SCTsghb(ASCP)HT, incoming chair of the ASCP Council of Laboratory Professionals this week about the meeting, and the one word she had to describe the anticipation everyone involved is feeling was "buzz."
With many new features at this year's conference, from virtual sessions to position-centered hubs stationed throughout the exhibit hall where residents and lab professionals alike can test their skills in Wii games, organizers, exhibitors and attendees are buzzing about this next week in Las Vegas.
In fact, ASCP organizers are seeing higher pre-registration numbers than ever before, with more than 2,000 participants signed up for the show. What's even more telling, more than 60 percent of those registered are firt-time attendees, showing the conference's reach, and the widespread appeal this meeting holds for healthcare professionals, Zaleski pointed out.
For Zaleski, this meeting is already filling a vast educational need, as she is currently brining on a new flow cytometry setup in her lab, and will have the opportunity to attend sessions on that topic, as well as a host of others, from management, to cytology, to hematology, personalized medicine and global disease. Additionally, her staff back in Iowa can also benefit from the conference because they have registered for the virtual symposia, and will be able to virtually attend sessions on hematology/coagulation, ethics and certification, without ever leaving the state.
This year's meeting's overarching theme is global healthcare, Zaleski noted.
"I think this theme appeals to lab professionals because this is where we can have a great deal of synergy between sharing information and having a better understanding of healthcare issues across the globe--what they are and how we can come together to solve the problems," she stressed.
Follow us here throughout the week for more live coverage from the show.