ADVANCE Outlook: Lab Professionals : ASCLS

CLC Writes the Senate

Amanda Koehler — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:43:00 GMT

ADVANCE received the following press release from ASCLS: "The Clinical Laboratory Coalition, of which ASCLS is a member, has written the Senate Finance Committee after learning a 20 percent Medicare laboratory co-pay was being proposed by the Senate Finance...(read more)

ASCLS: And the Winners Are ...

Matthew T. Patton — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:40:00 GMT

Several awards were presented on Thursday, July 23 at the ASCLS 77th annual meeting. An awards presentation was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Chicago Hotel. Here, we present the list of winners in its entirety. Congratulations to everyone...(read more)

Quality Control and Quality Management

Matthew Patton — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:03:00 GMT

Precision and accuracy for quality control used to be a lot more simple said Elissa Passiment, executive director of ASCLS. She presented Friday morning on quality control management. CDC and CLSI have evaluated quality control systems and are examining...(read more)

MRSA MRSA Me

Amanda Koehler — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:53:00 GMT

In his ASCLS session,“MRSA MRSA Me—Things Ain’t What They Used to Be!,” Richard B. (Tom) Thomson, Jr. PhD, D(ABMM), Evanston Hospital-Northshore University Health System, Chicago, encouraged attendees to define the MRSA problem in their facility. "In...(read more)

Who Is Going to Lead Your Laboratory in 2014?

Matthew Patton — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:25:00 GMT

Approximately 20 percent of lab managers report planning to retire in the next 5 years, and a shortage of nearly 5,000 medical technologists is projected per year. On Thursday afternoon, Tara Kochis, executive vice president of Slone Partners, Miami Beach,...(read more)

The Educational Tool Box

Matthew Patton — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:45:00 GMT

Brandy Greenhill, MS, MT(ASCP), assistant professor, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, spoke Wednesday afternoon at McCormick Place, providing tips on how to enhance educational activities for medical lab students. One idea she defined...(read more)

Opportunity for Students

Amanda Koehler — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:37:00 GMT

Students planning on attending the 2009 ASCLS Annual Meeting July 21-25 in Chicago can apply for the Beckman Coulter Student Travel Grant.

According to Michele "Mickey" Yost, ASCLS Student Forum Chair, the grant will assist in supporting up to five students to attend the annual meeting.

ASCLS student members must submit an application, located at the Student Forum Web site, www.ascls.org/student/studentforum. Then click on Beckman Coulter Student Travel Grant. Yost, a grant recipient in 2008, said selection criteria include professional activities in your state or region and your need for travel funding.

The completed application and meeting registration must be received by April 17 to be eligible for consideration.

For more about the upcoming meeting, visit the ASCLS Annual Meeting Web site at www.ascls.org/conferences/2009AM.

Contact Yost with questions at clsstudentforum@gmail.com.

Council Elects Leadership Team

Amanda Koehler — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:51:00 GMT

We recently received the following press release from AACC:

"The member organizations of the Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce (CCCLW) have elected Susan Gross, the representative of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), to a 2-year term as Chair of the CCCLW. She replaces Paula Garrott of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), who had chaired the coalition for the last 3 years. Gross works for UCSF at San Francisco General Hospital.

Joining Gross on the newly elected leadership team are Vice-Chair Rick Panning, the ASCLS representative and vice president for Laboratory Services for Allina Hospitals and Clinics in Minnesota; and two at-large Steering Committee members: Cheryl Caskey of the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), and Gary Gill of the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC). The steering committee also includes workgroup leaders Paul Epner of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA), Elissa Passiment of ASCLS, and Garrott.

The Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce is a coalition of clinical laboratory organizations, government and regulatory agencies, and industry partners that have been working together since 2000 to address the clinical laboratory workforce shortage. The CCCLW members believe clinical laboratory stakeholders will have a broader and greater impact in addressing the clinical laboratory workforce shortage when working collectively. The Coordinating Council's mission is to represent a united voice of clinical laboratory organizations and stakeholders focusing their collective efforts to increase the number of qualified clinical laboratory professionals, increase public awareness of laboratorians' value in achieving positive patient outcomes and enhancing the image of clinical laboratory professionals.

The current member organizations of the CCCLW include: Abbott Diagnostics, AACC, American Medical Technologists, ASCLS, American Society for Clinical Pathology, American Society for Cytotechnology, American Society for Microbiology, ASC, Association of Genetic Technologists, Association of Public Health Laboratories, CLMA, College of American Pathologists, Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, NAACLS, National Credentialing Agency, Veterans Administration's National Pathology and Laboratory Service Program."

Second ASCLS Leadership Academy in Full Swing

Matthew T. Patton — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:10:00 GMT

After a successful first year in the ASCLS Leadership Academy, the second class began its journey toward becoming more effective leaders at the ASCLS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, on July 27-29th.

The class will continue to meet in three face-to-face meetings and six conference calls during the 2008-2009 year. They will also work on group projects and other assignments. Curriculum topics include leadership styles, communication, mentoring, team building, motivation, public speaking and presentation skills, writing skills and strategic planning.

This year’s class represents six of the ten ASCLS Regions and nine different states. They have varying levels of experience in both ASCLS and the profession but all are ready to prepare themselves to step into leadership positions.

Throughout the next few weeks, we'll get to know the members of the second Leadership Academy class on this blog, including:

Lisa Anderson (NC);
Michelle Butina (GA);
Zandy Chinte (CA);
Katie Franz (PA);
Shannon Jongeward (SD);
Robert Lahoe (HI);
Ashley LeFrois (VA);
Theresa Ortner (IA);
Terri Pauken (MI); and
Kim Von Ahsen (IA).