Leadership

Licensure Saved in Tennessee

It appears that efforts on the part of ASCLS Tennessee, working closely with a coalition of like-minded professional societies in the state and leaders of the licensing board, has headed off legislation that would have gutted licensure in the state. The measure, which was reportedly being pushed by Quest and a trade group called Life Sciences Tennessee, was attempting to exempt privately-owned laboratories from the state’s licensing law and regulations. The state society effectively marshalled its resources and was able to convince two of the bill’s sponsors to withdraw their support. If nothing changes, the proposals will die in committee. Congratulations to ASCLS Tennessee and to those outside the state who lent their voices in support of high standards for laboratory services. Your voices were heard loud and clear.

Upcoming ASCLS Award and Scholarship Deadlines

Recognize the work of our dedicated members and promising new leaders by submitting nominations for the following awards.

• Omicron Sigma is the ASCLS President's Honor Roll for Outstanding Service. Deadline April 1.
• Voices Under 40 recognizes our many talented and committed young professionals under 40 years old. Deadline April 1.
• Key to the Future rewards ASCLS members who have demonstrated their leadership potential to the organization. Suggest a promising candidate to your state society president. Deadline May 1.

Scholarship applications due April 1. ASCLS also supports clinical laboratory students entering the profession through the Alpha Mu Tau Fraternity and Education & Research Fund Scholarships.

Additional details for these awards and scholarships can be found on the Awards and Scholarships webpage and also posted in the 2018-19 Awards Guidelines. Questions can be addressed to the Awards Committee at awards@ascls.org.

Off the Bench Podcast

Listen to New Episodes of Off the Bench

Did you know that ASCLS has a podcast? Off the Bench was created by hosts Lindsey Davenport-Landry and Samantha Treutel to discuss the scientific and not-so-scientific ideas in laboratory medicine. They interview members of ASCLS, share ideas, and talk nerdy.

In the latest episode, Lindsey and Sam explain waived tests and discuss a new CLIA-waived automated hematology analyzer and impacts on the clinical laboratory profession.

The podcast can be streamed from the ASCLS website, Google Play, and Podbean. We plan to make it available through additional podcast services in the near future. Join the ASCLS Off the Bench Facebook Group to continue the discussions with Sam and Lindsey and share your feedback.

Continuing Education

New LEI Courses Available

The ASCLS Laboratory Educator Institute (LEI) recently added two new courses to the online institute:

• Writing Instructional Objectives Part 2: Advanced
  
• The Nuts and Bolts of Assessment and Evaluation: It’s Not Just about the Outcomes!

LEI is designed to provide professional development for medical laboratory educators in critical areas that include education/teaching, administration/leadership, clinical practice, and research.

ASCLS Voices Under 40

Spotlight: Stephanie K. Rink, MS, MLS(ASCP) CM SC CM , from Clawson, Michigan

Stephanie is employed by Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Michigan, as a medical technologist. Her daily activities include performing laboratory testing in the Special Testing/Immunology Department. Stephanie is also involved in education, serving as a hematology laboratory lecturer for medical laboratory science students at Oakland University.

Stephanie serves ASCLS in many capacities and is very active in laboratory government affairs. In 2014, Stephanie graduated from the ASCLS National Leadership Academy and is currently using her skills as the vice chair of the ASCLS Political Action Committee. She has attended numerous Legislative Symposia and written several articles for her state newsletter and ASCLS Today related to PAC. Stephanie is very active in her home state of Michigan, serving on State Convention Committees, Government Affairs and PAC Committees, as well as Scholarship chair and Nominations chair. 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.

Medical Laboratory Professionals Week

Register for the 4th Annual ASCLS Lab Week Run

Nearly 1,000 people have signed up for the 2019 Lab Week Run. Be part of the fun and help spread the word about the medical laboratory profession by participating in the virtual run.

You can complete the Lab Week Run any time during Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (April 21-27, 2019) and anywhere. Walk, use a treadmill, run outside, or even run in another race concurrently. Run solo, or recruit a group of friends to complete the 5K (3.1 miles). Just do it!

Early Bird Pricing ends March 31. Each race packet includes a finisher medal, t-shirt, race bib, four safety pins, and an ASCLS 2019 calendar magnet. 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.

Events

Register for the 2019 Legislative Symposium by March 8

The annual ASCLS Legislative Symposium gives you the chance to travel to Washington, D.C., with more than 100 medical laboratory professionals from six laboratory organizations and make our concerns known inside Congress.

The 2019 event will be held March 18-19 at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. Register by March 8 and save $50 off the onsite rate. The deadline has passed to reserve a hotel room in the ASCLS room block. If you need help making a hotel reservation, contact ASCLS.

This year's symposium will focus on three areas:

• Passage of New Legislation to Address the Laboratory Workforce Shortage
• The Regulatory Process for Approval of Laboratory Devices and Tests
• Fixing the Cuts to the Laboratory Fee Schedule Under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA)

To get an idea of what the Legislative Symposium is like, read Stephanie Rink's experience at the 2018 event and Cherika Robertson's first-timer perspective of 2018.

ASCLS Hosts Record-Setting CLEC 2019

Last weekend, the 2019 Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference (CLEC) concluded in Baltimore. We saw 521 registered attendees, which breaks the registration record for the fourth straight year. In addition, we had 46 industry representatives, which is also a record. And the ASCLS Education & Research Fund raised nearly $2,000 for scholarships with its Silent Auction.

Here are a some comments from attendees about the most positive aspects of CLEC 2019:

• "Meeting so many educators in my profession was exciting. Learning a few good teaching strategies was important."
• "The most positive take-aways were probably the contacts made with vendors for possible purchases for the program."
• "Learning how others are innovating ways to solve the issue of lack of blood bank and micro rotations."
• "Great educational experience for first-time instructors. It really gave me valuable material to bring back to my classroom."
• "The people that come to the CLEC conference are laboratory professionals that are passionate about their career and interested in making it grow "

You can view a sampling of photos taken during the conference on Friday, February 22.

We've already begun plans for CLEC 2020, which will be held in Orlando, Florida, February 27-29, 2020. Details on the venue will be announced later this spring.

You can submit program ideas and proposals for the 2020 meeting by May 10. All confirmed speakers will receive a registration discount, so send in your ideas and plan to join us in Orlando next February!

2019 Annual Meeting Abstracts Deadline Extended

We've extended the deadline to submit your 2019 Annual Meeting poster presentation abstracts to next Wednesday, March 6. All accepted poster presenters will receive $50-$100 off registration for the ASCLS-AGT Annual Meeting, June 23-27 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Additionally, the best poster presentations and best oral presentations will be awarded cash prizes. Submit today!

Registration for the Annual Meeting will open soon in early March. Stay tuned for details about hotel reservations, the educational program, and more.

Spring Meetings are around the Corner

Make plans to join ASCLS members in your region for Lab CE and lots of fun.

Alabama Georgia Medical Laboratory Symposium
March 9
Atlanta, Georgia

2019 North Carolina Spring Symposium
April 5
Raleigh, North Carolina

2019 LSCLS/ASCLS-MS Bi-State Meeting
April 8-11
Monroe, Louisiana

ASCLS-MI Annual Conference
April 10-12
East Lansing, Michigan

Ohio Collaborative Laboratory Conference
April 10-12
Columbus, Ohio

TACLS 2019 Annual Meeting
April 10-13
Corpus Christi, Texas

2019 ASCLS-NJ Spring Seminar and Expo
April 11
Somerset, New Jersey

ASCLS-SD & CLMA Siouxland 2019 Spring Symposium
April 11-12
Rapid City, South Dakota

Tennessee Annual Laboratory Conference
April 12-13
Nashville, Tennessee 

ColLABoration 2019
April 16-17
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

2019 ASCLS-IL Annual Meeting
April 17-19
Peoria, Illinois

ASCLS-VA Annual Meeting
April 19
Norfolk, Virginia

ASCLS Wisconsin Convention - 2019
April 24-25
Appleton, Wisconsin

Minnesota Clinical Laboratory CollaborativeMinnesota Clinical Laboratory Collaborative
April 24-26
Saint Cloud, Minnesota

ASCLS-WA Spring Seminar
April 25-26
Olympia, Washington

Clinical Laboratory Collaborative Conference 2019
May 2-3
Denver, Colorado

ASCLS-PA Annual Spring Meeting
May 5-6
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Hawaii Clinical Laboratory Conference
May 15-16
Honolulu, Hawaii

Add your upcoming events to the ASCLS Events Calendar:

1. Visit http://connect.ascls.org/home.
2. Sign in.
3. Navigate to your state society's community.
4. Click on the Events Tab.
5. Click on the green Add Event button in the upper right.

Connect: The Community Conversations

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

• In the Open Forum, members are consulting on whether or not to teach confirmatory testing for UA.
• Also in the Open Forum, members discussed the need to collaborate with organizations devoted to interprofessional education and practice.
• Education Community members gave examples of UA textbooks their programs are using for UA and body fluids courses.
• Chemistry/Urinalysis Community members are contributing to the February question of the month: "Specifically, how has conventional chemistry analyzers changed over the last 10 years?" 

Key Dates

Annual Meeting Abstract Submission Deadline
March 6
Learn More

Legislative Symposium Registration Deadline
March 8
Learn More

Lab Week Run Early Bird Deadline
March 31
Learn More