It is that time of year when we celebrate National  Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (NMLPW).  This is a week when the various, often competing, laboratory organizations join forces  to honor the more than 300,000 medical laboratory professionals around the country who perform and interpret more than 10 ...

Since the ASCP took over the popular and progressive NCA in 2009, I have periodically received emails from medical lab professionals not happy with the merger for various reasons.  Prompted by this overwhelming response, I have previously blogged about this subject. I have also addressed the mixed response to the move. Recently I have ...

I recently learned that the merger talks between two laboratory organizations ASCLS and CLMA have broken down.  Now it might surprise you that as a long time, avid advocate of professional unification,  I was not really devastated by this news. Here's some background.  ASCLS, an organization  to which I have belonged ...

The other day a staff person said, “I’ll bet the nurses don’t like coming to the lab. This is our turf, and it’s us against them when that happens.” Most nurses love coming the lab if they are greeted with warm smiles and pleasantries. It’s ironic that we laboratory people will stay inside our “black box” and complain when our work isn’t ...

This week, April 22-28, we celebrate National Medical Laboratory Professionals' Week (NMLPW). This celebartion was started in 1975 as National Medical Laboratory Week (without the word ''professionals'') by American Society for Medical Technology (ASMT), now called the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS). Now in its 36th ...

I just saw the blockbuster movie Contagion and must say I was pretty impressed. When I watch a medical-themed movie, I always look at it with a critical eye. How factual is it? Is it authentic in terms of scenarios, equipment, procedures and vocabulary?I look for how realistically roles are portrayed. For example I tend to roll my eyes and become ...

At COLA, we’re all part of the same work community. Together we help promote patient safety by promoting lab excellence. Considering that lab testing impacts more than 70 percent of diagnostic decisions, the COLA community’s efforts impact a lot of people. Individually, however, we are all part of two other communities: The lab community in ...

A Pennsylvania Department of Health report revealed that a patient died at a hospital after discrepant blood sugar results allegedly went unrecognized and, worse yet, unreported to doctors. This post-transplant patient allegedly died as a result of low blood sugar for an extended period of time. The sad part is we wonder whether this tragic death ...

With a rising tuition and a weak job market, many graduates wonder if the degree they just received worth the financial and time investment. There is a good reason for that when they can not find jobs in their field of study. Some attend college knowing exactly what they want to major in. Others range from clueless to slightly interested in a ...

If you have not made plans to attend the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) Annual Meeting this summer, you still have time to do so. The meeting is designed for you and your professional needs. The meeting offers educational topics that promote advanced learning in the science and practice of clinical laboratory science as ...