ASCLS Monthly Webinars

Learn to Promote the Profession through Social Media on November 6

Become a social media champion for medical laboratory science. Join us for a webinar, WeSaveLivesEveryday™ - How Laboratory Professionals Can Use Social Media to Promote Professional Visibility on Wednesday, November 6, at 8 pm Eastern.

The value of laboratory professionals is irrefutable. However, in our day-to-day careers it can sometimes be a challenge to remember that #WeSaveLivesEveryday™. This webinar will empower attendees to promote the visibility of our profession and enhance our #Lab4Life and #IamASCLS community.

At the conclusion of this webinar, the participant will be able to:

1. Identify the importance of using social media to create awareness about our profession.
2. List ways by which social media posts about your profession remain compliant with pertinent laws and policies.
3. Develop a social media post that articulates your commitment to patient care and safety.

Webinar Details

• 1.0 Hour of P.A.C.E.^® Credit
• Free for ASCLS Members (Non-Members: $10)
• Sign up online
• Instruction Level: Basic

Speakers:

• Brandy Gunsolus, DCLS, MLS(ASCP)^CM
• Kyle Riding, PhD, MLS(ASCP)^CM
• Rodney E. Rohde, PhD, SM, SV, MB(ASCP)^CM, FACs

ASCLS is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.^® Program.

Save the Date for the December 5 Webinar

Mark your calendars for the next ASCLS Member Webinar on December 5 at 8 pm Eastern. Brooke Solberg, PhD, MLS(ASCP)^CM, associate professor and chair, Deptartment of Medical Laboratory Science, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, will discuss the delivery of value by the clinical laboratory.

Volunteer

Be the Face to the Next Generation of Lab Professionals!

We are looking for volunteers to help with the ASCLS booth at the 2020 USA Science & Engineering Festival, April 23-26 in Washington, D.C. Setup is Thursday, the 23rd; Sneak Peek Friday is April 24th, where students and teachers experience the festival before the general public; and the festival is Saturday and Sunday.

The event is held every other year, and the 2018 festival included 370,000 attendees over four days; 650+ participating organizations; and 2000+ participating schools. The participants' ages are: 10 and under (26 percent), middle school/junior high (23 percent), high school (12 percent), 19-25 (2 percent), and 25 and over (37 percent).

Mary Ann McLane has been the champion of this opportunity to “Be the Face” of our profession at the nation's largest science festival. This year, the ASCLS Promotion of the Profession Committee is honored to take over the role of coordinating the event.

Volunteers are need to help in the booth. Hands-on, lab-centered activities will be available for attendees to participate in. While this is a worthwhile and amazing opportunity, there is not a budget for volunteers to travel to the event, so we are looking for volunteers who may live in the area or have the resources to travel to Washington, D.C., on their own for the event.

If you would like to help in any way or would like more information, please contact Charlotte Romain by January 31, 2020.

Leadership ROI

Watch a video interview with Victoria Rensink, lab manager at Xtant Medical in Belgrade, Montana, as she describes how she has developed leadership skills through volunteering in ASCLS activities and how she's applied those leadership skills to her work.

“[It] gave me a greater passion for my profession. So instead of just going to work every day and doing my work and going home, it’s given me the passion for actually advocating for my profession.”

Discover your potential. Get involved.

Membership Engagement Contest

ASCLS Lab-O-Lanterns

Thanks to everyone who has participated in this month's "Lab-O-Latern" Contest. We have some very talented pumpkin-carvers among our membership! Find submissions on social media with the hashtags #Lab4Life, #IamASCLS, and #LabOLantern2019. All participants will be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card. The winning pumpkin will also be featured on the ASCLS website. Happy Halloween!

Education and Research Support

Apply for the I. Dean Spradling Graduate Research Grant

The ASCLS Education and Research Fund offers the I. Dean Spradling Graduate Research Grant, designed to support graduate student clinical/medical laboratory science research. The grant is sponsored by Scott and Sumner Spradling in memory of I. Dean Spradling, founder of Infolab, Inc.

Each winner is awarded up to $2,200 in support of their research investigation. The deadline to apply is December 15. Read more about eligibility and requirements.

ASCLS Voices Under 40

Spotlight: Krystal Bullard, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CM, Memphis, TN

Krystal is currently working as a medical technologist II in the HLA Laboratory at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She is responsible for performing laboratory tests and determining the accuracy of the results. Krystal also assists in maintaining Quality Program records to help meet accreditation standards, along with troubleshooting and preventative maintenance of testing platforms. Krystal helps to evaluate and test new procedures and/or analyzers, establish maintenance protocols, as well as inventory control. In addition to her benchwork, Krystal was recently selected to be a part of a LEAN team initiative.

“ASCLS has become a part of who I am,” Krystal mentions in her personal statement. Today Krystal serves as the ASCLS-TN president as well as the Region III treasurer. Krystal continues to be active in ASCLS because she truly believes in the organization’s mission statement. Not only has ASCLS provided her with necessary continuing education credits, but it has taught her leadership and introduced her to a large network of laboratory professionals. 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.

Events

CLEC 2020 Registration Opens Friday, November 1

Starting tomorrow, you may register for the 2020 Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference (CLEC). CLEC is the event of the year for faculty, administrators, directors, advisers, and others in medical laboratory education. See old friends, make new friends, and learn from educators confronting the same challenges as you.

CLEC 2020 will be held February 27-29 at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Mark your calendar now—register before December 28 to get the early bird discount.

ASCLS Secretary/Treasurer and Orlando resident Kyle Riding has taken over the ASCLS Instagram account and is sharing photos of his beautiful city. Follow us for insider tips on things to do in Orlando.

Upcoming Fall Meetings

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

ASCLS AZ/NV Fall Symposium
November 18
Phoenix, Arizona

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 discussed their hospitals' preparations for the USP800 changes this December.
• In the Education Community, members gave recommendations on their favorite teaching microscopes.
• In the Microbiology/Public Health Community, members consulted on reporting spermatozoa on a vaginal wet prep.
• The Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality Community makes frequent blog posts with helpful resources and information.

Download the MemberCentric App on your mobile device to get the community conversations and more in the palm of your hand.

Key Dates

CLEC 2020 Registration Opens
November 1

Fall 2019 Board of Directors Meeting
November 1

I. Dean Spradling Graduate Research Grant Deadline
December 15