The Promotion of the Profession Committee (PPC) serves to provide the face for the profession in areas of activity that include public relations, image management, and marketing. It provides resources to improve the image of the Society and the profession. We have provided you with several resources below to help you provide the face for our profession. You are welcome to use these resources free of charge.

Videos To Be Use for Recruitment Purposes

Saving Lives in the Shadow of Healthcare - TEDx presentation by Dr. Rodney Rohde of Texas State University discussing superbugs and the role of medical laboratory professionals in combatting them.

A Life Saved: Laboratory Professionals Make a Difference  - designed to empower those working in the laboratory

ASCLS YouTube Channel - ASCLSOnline - several videos highlighting the medical laboratory profession; great videos for recruitment purposes.

The USA Science and Engineering Festival is held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.  ASCLS has made an appearance at this important event since inception.  Many thanks to Dr. Mary Ann McLane and her team of volunteers for representing ASCLS.   The USA Science and Engineering Festival is the largest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) event in the Universe.

The ASCLS Promotion of the Profession Committee (PPC) Fundraising Competition challenges members of constituent societies to work together to raise funds for any charitable organization of their choice.  Click here for more information about this competition.  


2017 PPC Fundraising Competition Winner

Congratuations to the 2017 PPC Fundraising Competition winner ASCLS - Montana.  They collected $3573 in donations via a silent auction for Children's Miracle Network.

ASCLS - Georgia was second place raising $364 for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and ASCLS - Idaho came in third place by donating $383 to Children's Miracle Network.

Projects by Other Nominees

ASCLS-Ohio sold 120 tshirts and collected monetary donations to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  The tshirts were made by a group of high school students from Dublin Business Academy.

ASCLS - Delaware doanted 69 pounds of food to the Food Bank of Delaware.

ASCLS - Michigan donated $863 Kalamazoo Habitat for Humanity.

ASCLS-Minnesota: Damiano House of Duluth Liz Panning Scholarship

ASCLS-MN collected $279, a large toiletry basket and a large bag of professional clothes for the Damiano House of Duluth.

ASCLS-South Dakota:  Travel Grants and Scholarships

ASCLS-SD collected $710 towards travel grants and scholarships.

ASCLS-North Dakota:  Bone Marrow Donor Drive

ASCLS-ND registered 60 new bone marrow donors.

Download free resources to print and provide for your patients at the Patient Safety webpage. Flyers and tools to help patients understand various laboratory tests and preparations

The Laboratory Explorers help children to understand the role that laboratory professionals have in their health care.  Colorful and entertaining, these books were developed by medical laboratory scientist and ASCLS member, Deborah Brock.  In addition to two books, character stickers, temporary tatoos and coloring sheets are available to supplement and engage young learners.

Go to the ASCLS Store to view and purchase these items.

Laboratory professionals are often asked to give talks and/or presentations at career day or other recruitment events for elementary, middle, high school, or college-age students. The Clinical Laboratory Careers Tool Kit is a collection of recruitment materials, some of which are free, and activities that can be used to assist in giving a presentation. Other items found in the tool kit are information about the workforce shortage, education programs, certification agencies, and personnel licensure information.  Go to the Tool Kit.

2010-2017

2017:  ASCLS Provided HOPE in San Diego

SAY San Diego 2017

Photo taken by Ginger Weeden

ASCLS provided HOPE in San Diego by supporting SAY San Diego.  Members of the ASCLS Promotion of the Profession Committee (PPC) and travel grant receipents collected school supply and monetary donations at the 2017 ASCLS Annual Meeting in San Diego.  SAY San Diego advances the vision of opportunity, equity and well-being for all San Diegans. They have partnered with youth, adults, families and communities since 1971 to reach their full potential.  ASCLS donated 5 boxes of school supplies and $655 in donations to help those SAY San Diego serves.  PIctured with the travel grant receipts and PPC members was SAY San Diego President & CEO Nancy Gannon Hornberger.

2016:  ASCLS Provided HOPE in Philadelphia

 HOPE Donation Picture 2016 web

We appreciate everyone's participation in the 2016 HOPE event.  In collaboration with Philabundance, the ASCLS Promotion of the Profession Committee (PPC) collected donations of non-perishable food items and monetary donations at the 2016 ASCLS Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.   Philabundance seeks to drive hunger from local communities today and end hunger forever.  Philabundance serves nine counties, five in Pennsylvania and four in New Jersey, through direct distribution programs and approximately 350 agencies to get food into the hands of those that need it the most.  ASCLS donated 50 pounds of canned goods and $700 in donations to help feed those Philabundance serves.  Our canned goods donations were delivered to the Sunday Breakfast Rescue in Philadelphia.

2015:  ASCLS Provided HOPE in Atlanta

StandUp for Kids Atlanta web

Photo taken by Tracy Matthews

Thank you to everyone who supported the 2015 ASCLS HOPE project during the annual meeting. ASCLS members donated $1515 and 5 boxes of hygiene kits for the homeless youth in Atlanta. StandUp For Kids  - Atlanta works toward this mission through volunteers who go to the streets in order to find, stabilize and otherwise help homeless kids improve their lives. These volunteers walk the streets in the evening distributing food, clothing, hygiene products, resource information, referrals, and offering an 888 number where the kids can reach a StandUp For Kids counselor.  Thank you for helping us provide HOPE to those less fortunate.

2014:  ASCLS Provided HOPE in Chicago

ASCLS gave back to the 2014 host city by providing HOPE to the Gads Hill Center.

HOPE picture 5

Photo taken by Tracy Matthews

Thank you to everyone who supported the year's ASCLS HOPE project during the annual meeting. ASCLS members donated $1600 and 8 bags of school supplies.  The Gads Hill Center serves low–income families, children, teens and adults in the Chicago area with programming for early childhood education, academic support, social-emotional development and family support. The Gads Hill’s Teen Connection program provides hand-on learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). With strong peer support and mentorship, Teen Connection has helped more than 60 teens, who will be the first in their families to attend and graduate from college, achieve their academic goals and resist external pressures, such as gang recruitment. This is a great program for future medical laboratory scientists!

2013: ASCLS Provided HOPE in Houston

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Thank you to everyone who supported the 2013 ASCLS HOPE project during the annual meeting - Camp for All in the Houston area.  ASCLS members donated $1958 and one barrel of camper supplies, such as board games, markers, and more.  Camp for All provides camps for children and adults with chronic illnesses such as sickle cell anemia, cancer, and metabolic disorders and also offers sibling camps so that the brothers and sisters of patients may enjoy the same experience.

2012:  ASCLS Provides HOPE in Los Angeles - a Success!

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During the ASCLS Annual Meeting, the Promotion of the Profession Committee hosted a Back to School Supply Drive in conjunction with The Kids in Need Foundation (KINF) of Los Angeles. The event was a success resulting with a total of the donation of $1665 and two overflowing barrels of back to school supplies.

2011:  ASCLS Provides HOPE in Atlanta - Kids in Need

2011

During the ASCLS Annual Meeting, the Promotion of the Profession Committee hosted a Back to School Supply Drive in conjunction with Kids in Need, a subsidiary of the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB). The event was a success resulting with a total of 486 pounds of supplies and $1086 in monetary donations. Thank you to the attendees who supported this project! Judy Stamps, ACFB Coordinator, commented that this amount was over and above the usual amount collected during a Kids in Need drive.

2010:  ASCLS Provides HOPE in Anaheim - Orange County Food Bank

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As a new feature during the ASCLS Annual Meeting, the Promotion of the Profession Committee hosted a food drive to benefit the Orange County Food Bank in Anaheim. The event was a success resulting with a total of 640 pounds of nonperishable food and $2,430 in monetary donations. Thank you to the nearly 125 donors for supporting the project! Norma Franco, Food Bank Coordinator, commented that people often forget that the need for donations is year round, not just during the holiday seasons. This donation will benefit the 23,000 individuals and 300 non-profit agencies served by the food bank each month.

There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Providing the Face of the clinical laboratory can take some creativity, but it can also take a community of colleagues who share that creativity in the hope of spreading the message.

During the 2009-10 year, many ASCLS members sent their "provide the face" activities to then President, Mary Ann McLane, to show that it is happening all the time around the country, and to encourage all ASCLS members to do the same in their own communities.

Sample list of Provide the Face activities

If you wish to contact the name of the person who submitted the activity, contact Mary Ann McLane.

Have you ever watched a TV show and been frustrated by the way in which a laboratory professional was portrayed? Did a story appear in your local paper about the shortage of healthcare professionals without a mention of laboratory shortages? Have you ever felt moved to write a letter to the editor about the importance of laboratorians, but you just couldn't find the words to express yourself?

The Promotion of the Profession Committee (PPC) has a collection of templates (sample letters) to aid in expressing yourself on behalf of the profession. You are welcome to cut and paste these documents to customize your own letter!

If you do use any of these, please let us know by emaling the Director of Professional Development and Project Management at karrieh@ascls.org.  Your letter may be added to the list below!

Item Name

Response to news story - 1 DOC (24 KB) - Response to news stories (or non-fictional programming) portraying laboratory medicine in an incorect/incomplete manner

Response to news story - 12 DOC (24.5 KB)

Response to TV show - 2 DOC (23.5 KB) - Response to television shows or other fiction stories that portray the laboratory profession incorrectly/incompletely.

Response to TV show - 3 DOC (24 KB)
Response to TV Show - 4 DOC (28 KB)

Response to media story - 5 DOC (24 KB) -  Response to media stories about other health care professionals that have not included the laboratory profession

Response to media story - 6 DOC (27.5 KB)
Response to media story - 11 DOC (27.5 KB)
Letter to the editor - 7 DOC (24 KB) - Open-ended letter to the editor that describes what laboratory medicine is
Response to AARP article about sepsis testing(PDF)
Letter to the editor - 8 DOC (26.5 KB)
Letter to the editor - 9 DOC (29.5 KB)
Short informational piece for newsletters - 13 DOC (25 KB) - Short informational pieces about the laboratory tha could be inseted into newsletters, hospital publications, etc.