Leadership

Board of Directors Considers Plan for Changes to Leadership Academy

At its Fall Board Meeting November 2, the ASCLS Board of Directors will consider a detailed report from the Leadership Academy Taskforce, which has worked for the last year developing suggestions for changes to the society’s Leadership Academy.

The report includes recommendations for clarifying the role of the national Leadership Academy relative to the state and regional leadership academies, as well as potential models for creating more advanced and challenging curricula. The Leadership Academy Committee, which is charged with producing the Leadership Academy each year, has been engaged with the taskforce for the last few months to transition the knowledge developed by the taskforce and make those resources available to the committee.

The Board of Directors had suspended the Leadership Academy for the 2018-19 society year in order to give the committee time to develop the new curriculum and relaunch of the new Leadership Academy at the Annual Meeting in 2019.

Mentorship Program Doubles in Size

ASCLS recognizes the value in mentoring members at all facets of their professional life. For that reason, we recently expanded the Mentorship Program to match any member who requests to have a mentor, regardless of their career stage or years of membership.

The program has grown from a reported 16 mentor-mentee matched pairs to 34 matched pairs for the 2018-19 association year! Each month, the matched pairs cover topics that address each individual mentee’s specific needs, from how to grow in their leadership role within ASCLS to how to advance their professional career.

Many thanks to our dedicated mentors and Mentorship Committee members, and congratulations to this important program!

Membership Activities

Lapsed Member Campaign Underway

Congratulations to these five state societies with the top membership retention rates:

1. Capital Area Society (90%)
2. ASCLS Hawaii (85%)
3. ASCLS-Maine (80%)
4. ASCLS-Indiana (74%)
5. ASCLS-Maryland (73%)

State societies are currently working hard to contact their lapsed members and encourage them to renew. Membership chairs have shared advice on how best to reach lapsed members:

• Solicit help from other society members to contact lapsed members they know personally.
• Use a variety of methods, including phone calls, emails, and print newsletters.
• Make it easy for members and direct them to the renewal webpage.

The Lapsed Member Campaign is running through Oct. 31. There's still time to renew for the 2018-19 membership year and save money.

Pick Out Your Pumpkins, Sharpen Your Knives, and Get Creative

The ASCLS Membership Committee is excited to kick-off a new monthly campaign to encourage engagement AND fun for everyone.

For October's contest, show off your mad-scientist skills by decorating/carving a lab-themed pumpkin for Halloween. Post a photo of the finished product on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook by October 31, and be sure to include the hashtags #Lab4Life and #IamASCLS to be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card. The winning pumpkin will also be featured on the ASCLS website.

Bring it Back - Vote for Your Favorite Developing Professionals T-shirt Design

Which t-shirt design do you want to bring back? Vote for your favorite design by November 15. The winning shirt will be available for sale at ASCLS meetings beginning with CLEC 2019 in February.

Events

ASCLS and AGT Partner for 2019 Annual Meeting

The first independent ASCLS Annual Meeting in more than 20 year offers exciting opportunities, including the chance to partner with the Association of Genetic Technologists (AGT).

Next June, our two organizations will hold joint annual meetings, providing attendees with a single, integrated educational program, abstracts/posters, and industry engagement platform. ASCLS attendees will benefit from expanded access to molecular and genetic technology education, thought leadership, and networking.

The re-imagined meeting allows ASCLS to adopt innovative, new approaches to learning and industry engagement and build a unique attendee experience. Details like the meeting’s name and brand, as well as the structure of industry opportunities will be announced in the coming weeks.

Make plans to join us June 23-27, 2019, at the Sheraton/Le Meridien Charlotte Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, for an exciting new experience for ASCLS and AGT members.

CLEC 2019 Registration Opens Next Week

The wait is almost over—registration for the 2019 Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference (CLEC) opens next Thursday, November 1. CLEC is the event of the year for faculty, administrators, directors, advisors, and others in medical laboratory education. See old friends, make new friends, and learn from educators confronting the same challenges as you.

CLEC 2019 will be held February 21-23 in Baltimore at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. Mark your calendar now—register before December 28 to get the early bird discount.

Add your upcoming events to the ASCLS Events Calendar:

1. Visit http://connect.ascls.org/home.
2. Log in.
3. Go to Upcoming Events under the Events Tab.
4. Click on the green Add Event button in the upper right.

Continuing Education

CE Organizer Saves You Time

Use CE Organizer to keep track of your P.A.C.E.® credits and take advantage of an important member benefit. Your P.A.C.E.® certificate data automatically downloads to the Board of Certification (BOC), so you no longer have to enter P.A.C.E.® certificate events into your BOC Certification Maintenance Program (CMP) form for re-certification.

When you log into CE Organizer, a pop-up box may ask you to enter your ASCP user ID number. This identifier, along with other information, will allow ASCLS P.A.C.E.® certificate information from January 1, 2012, forward to be included in weekly reports sent to the BOC, where it will be stored in your CMP Declaration file. Learn more and log in today.

Contribute to the Laboratory Educator Institute

The ASCLS Laboratory Educator Institute (LEI) is an online institute designed to provide professional development for medical laboratory educators in critical areas that include education/teaching, administration/leadership, clinical practice, and research.

Do you have expertise to contribute to the institute? LEI is seeking online courses created by content experts that would address one of the four LEI pillars - education/teaching, administration/leadership, clinical practice, or research. Learn more or send questions to ascls@ascls.org.

Legislative & Regulatory Update

Engaging with Agencies Ahead of Midterms

Earlier this week, ASCLS participated in the CDC’s Clinical Laboratory Partners Meeting in Atlanta. The CDC, which has a long and deep history and linkage to the nation’s public health laboratories, has determined that it needs to be more connected to the clinical laboratory community. The recent creation of a new Strategic Framework for the Division of Laboratory Systems aims for key issues on which ASCLS can engage with the agency.

Workforce development and healthcare quality outcomes and patient safety look to be of particular focus in the coming years. Workforce will be one of the topics at the upcoming CLIAC Meeting November 7-8. Society representatives will be in attendance as CMS is expected to share reactions to its request for information public comment period in March 2018.

ASCP Job Satisfaction Survey

Clinical laboratory scientists are critical members of the health care team. You play a vital role in improving patient outcomes, effective test utilization, and public health. The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) is seeking your participation in a survey on job satisfaction, well-being, and burnout in laboratory professionals. This study will help inform the field about the challenges that medical laboratory personnel encounter that contribute to burnout.

Participation in the study is voluntary and will not affect any current or future interactions with ASCP. If you consent to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey that may take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Your responses will be anonymous, and the survey will not collect any personally identifiable information.

Connect: The Community Conversations

Check out the recent discussion threads on ASCLS Connect and join the conversations:

• In the Open Forum, share ideas on how to train the trainers.
• Also in the Open Forum, learn about liability insurance for MLS students.
• The Laboratory Simulation Community discusses offering a Microbiology simulated lab experience due to the shortage of Micro Departments at many clinical locations.
• The Phlebotomy Community gives tips on how to train nurses on phlebotomy techniques.
• The Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality Community writes frequent blog posts to encourage lab professionals to be key advocates for patient safety and healthcare quality in all that they do.
• And don't miss Disco Discovery in the Laboratory Humor Community.

Key Dates

Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference (CLEC) 2019 Registration Opens
November 1, 2018
Learn More

Fall 2018 Board of Directors Meeting
November 2, 2018
Learn More

Education and Research Fund I. Dean Spradling Graduate Research Grant Deadline
December 15, 2018
Learn More