Blogs

New Year, New Hope

By Cheyenne Reyes posted 3 days ago
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New Year, New Hope By Jessica Lawless MLS(ASCP) CM             Well, it is 2021. We survived the craziness of 2020 and are, unfortunately, continuing to push through the continuation of the craziness into this year. Despite some pretty significant political unrest (which I will NOT get in to), I am very hopeful for this year. I think that maintaining an element of hope is so important during these tumultuous times. I know. I know. Hope during COVID-19 is a scarce commodity, but I encourage you to find that hope in your heart because we haven’t fully pulled out of this pandemic at this time. We ALL need hope right now, so let’s go find it!           ...
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The Long Way Home

By Cheyenne Reyes posted 30 days ago
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The Long Way Home Heather Herrington, DVM, MLS(ASCP) CM   I started a new job recently, doing testing for SARS-CoV-2, and the person who trained me did not have a medical background. At one point, it seemed to hit him how big of an impact we could have if we got something wrong. Either a false negative or false positive could be devastating, and as I watched this dawn on him, my unspoken reaction was, “Well, duh.”   Medical laboratory science is actually my fourth career. I started off my adult working life as a veterinarian, doing primarily emergency and shelter medicine. For years, I have been acutely aware of how any mistake I made could be ...
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How Has Being a Constituent President Helped My Career?

By Cheyenne Reyes posted 11-12-2020
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How Has Being a Constituent President Helped My Career? By: Ali Nussbaum, MLS(ASCP) CM How has being a constituent president helped my career? Becoming a constituent president is a prestigious opportunity that can be extremely intimidating to young, inexperienced leaders. However, the benefits are boundless to those brave enough to accept the challenge. A constituent society president typically serves in a 3-year term.  During the first year they have the opportunity to learn from the current president, the second year they run the society and in the final year they help mentor the new president. This structure provides the maximum opportunity ...
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The Red Queen Hypothesis

By Cheyenne Reyes posted 10-19-2020
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The Red Queen Hypothesis- Dealing with the anxiety that comes with change. By: Maria Rodriguez, MLS (ASCP) CM "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" explained the Red Queen to Alice during the Red Queen's race. As a kid, I was obsessed with Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking-Glass. However, I never expected that a quote from my favorite bedtime story would be so relevant in my life.    For evolutionary biologists, the Red Queen hypothesis states that species must continuously adapt, evolve, and reproduce to survive. ...
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Healthcare Team

By Cheyenne Reyes posted 09-02-2020
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Healthcare Team By: Kaylin Viccellio As Medical Laboratory Professionals, most of us are usually confined within the four walls of our labs, no windows connecting us to the outside world, and no face-to-face contact with patients during their time in our care. Sure, we may contact nurses for things such as hemolyzed samples and critical values, but beyond the crackle of phone connections our rapport with the rest of a patient’s healthcare team can feel nonexistent as if we have no interactive roll. However, we laboratory professionals are an integral part of the healthcare system and can make a difference in a patient’s outcome.  It is ...
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Big Laboratorians Don’t Cry

By Jessica Lawless posted 08-03-2020
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Big Laboratorians Don’t Cry By Jessica Lawless MLS(ASCP) CM   Times are interesting during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We are in a new world with many obstacles to navigate. One thing rings true with laboratory professionals, though. We are a resilient, hardworking, and flexible group of people. We have weathered so much already during these times and are continuing to change and improve every day. As a fellow laboratorian, I want you all to know that I see your efforts and hear your words. I want to point out that all of those emotions that seem overwhelming at times are okay.   What do emotions have to do with laboratory work? I believe that emotions ...
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Leadership: An Interview by Colleen T Hinrichsen, MT(ASCP) SBB, DLM

By Jessica Lawless posted 07-19-2020
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Leadership in the lab… I believe that being a successful leader does not come always come naturally, it is learned activity that can be fine-tuned during your career and life. I wanted to know what some of my colleagues thought about leaders they encountered during their careers, and so I asked them 3 basic questions. Here’s what some of them had to say… Harry Ryttenberg, MLT generalist What does a good leader mean to you? A good leader leads by example, doesn’t micromanage as a rule, and is concerned with the well-being of not only the department, but his/her employees as well. A good leader communicates clearly and often and follows through on ...
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Potential In A Pandemic

By Jessica Lawless posted 07-01-2020
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Potential in a Pandemic By: Cheyenne Reyes                 COVID-19 has hit the United States like a brick. While many do not understand the importance of the laboratory in times like these, all of us in the laboratory profession cannot help but think about the struggle that many of our peers are facing. SARS-CoV-2 has created a whirlwind of confusion, fear, and general malaise. However, it has also blown open many doors to opportunity.               As a new graduate, I expected to be working full-time as a generalist for at least 2 years, but when the pandemic started to hit home, I realized I wanted to be more directly involved in the fight against ...
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I Like To Move It, Move It

By Katherine LaFiandra-McCall posted 05-15-2020
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I Like To Move It, Move It   By Jessica Lawless MLS(ASCP) CM Many students and new professionals find themselves stuck in one place and feeling restless. Wanderlust can contribute to burnout. Students are only allowed to travel when they aren’t in classes, and new professionals sometimes find themselves with limited vacation time or only small spurts of time off. How can we combat the natural curiosity of young people in our industry without losing them to something more mobile? There are a couple of ways to remain a laboratory professional and still scratch the itch of the travel bug. First, after you have gotten a little experience in the laboratory, ...
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Celebrate Involvement

By Jessica Lawless posted 04-30-2020
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Celebrate Involvement By Katherine Thompson LaFiandra-McCall It is finally Lab Week! It is a week to celebrate and be celebrated for all of the hard work that all of the individuals in hospital laboratories around the country do on a daily basis. Lab week is a great way to spread the word about our profession and help start forming those special professional relationships that get each of us through the busy times. It is the week for getting involved, getting conversational, and getting excited about MLS professionals and the lab! The first step to celebrate lab week is to get involved with your coworkers. But let’s face it – laboratory professionals ...
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Resume Tips and Tricks

By Chinwenwa Iheme posted 03-23-2020
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Resume Tips and Tricks LaFindra-McCall, Katherine Thompson Applying for jobs is a long and arduous process that can be frustrating, especially when you spend four consecutive hours trying to get the ‘Indent’ function to work. Beyond the eccentricities of editing a document, there is no “right” way to put together a resume. It seems that every prospective interviewer looks for different styles, formats, and details. Our field is no exception, but with these tips for resumes concentrated for the laboratory field, you can surely put yourself on the path to employment!  Know the difference between a resume and CV . Let’s start with the basics. ...
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#labvocate

By Katherine LaFiandra-McCall posted 02-19-2020
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Advocacy. What does it mean to advocate? The Webster Dictionary states an advocate is one who supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group.  People think most advocates are those with formal positions, but everyone has the potential to be an advocate. There are many ways that you can be a voice for the laboratory. Your words can help others by giving them a glimpse into the laboratory professional’s role in the medical field. Your voice can explain our importance, value and why we love what we do. The best and easiest place to start is close to home. You can start being an advocate in your lab or place of employment. Encourage your peers to know ...
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Why you should become a program director

By Chinwenwa Iheme posted 01-28-2020
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Why you should become a program director Mallory Janquart, Program Director of Medical Technology and Radiologic Science at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Why did you want to become a program director? I wanted to become a program director because I really enjoyed teaching. When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher.  As I got older and started thinking about college, becoming a teacher just didn't make as much sense to me because I liked science so much.  As a Program Director, I get to teach Medical Laboratory Science which is the best of both worlds.  I like seeing students catch on to complex topics and develop into competent ...
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Advocate Excellence - New Cases in Outbreak of E-cigarette,or Vaping,Product Use-Associated Lung Injury(EVALI) On the Decline

By Marionette Cortez posted 12-30-2019
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​Organization(website) Origin: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Topic Brief: On December 20,2019 CDC released four reports on the ongoing EVALI outbreak. One key findings was published in Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report and further confirmed by the New England Journal of Medicine about the declining cases related to EVALI.The new findings also reinforced the link between Vitamin E acetate and EVALI and described risk factors for EVALI rehospitalizations and death after hospital discharge, as such,CDC recommended that healthcare providers treating EVALI patients should provide follow-up testing soon after hospital discharged. Full article ...
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Advocate Excellence - Institute for Healthcare Improvement Upcoming Program for Patient Safety Education

By Marionette Cortez posted 12-30-2019
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​ Topic Brief: The Institute of Healthcare Improvement announces its upcoming Educational Program for Patient Safety Education on March 12-18,2020 in Boston,MA. You can download the program brochure to share with colleagues. DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM BROCHURE ​  Download the program brochure URL:http://www.ihi.org/Topics/PatientSafety/Pages/default.aspx Organization (Website) Origin:Institute for Healthcare Improvement ​​
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Membership Matters-Notes from Hawaii

By Andrea Hickey posted 09-25-2019
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As we begin our lapsed member contact campaign, I wanted to share with you all some notes from Region X Membership Chair Michael Leiberman.  See his insights below, and you can also download them here:   ASCLS_Membership_Committee_Activities_article-v2.docx Membership Committee Activities: A view from the Aloha State             Many, many, many years ago when I was a young student in Chicago, my professor took a vacation to Hawaii.  When he returned he said “Hawaii is so beautiful.  But you can’t do science there.  Nobody would want to work inside of a lab all day long!”  Well, that just goes to prove, even professors can be wrong!  Yes, the Aloha State ...
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My Relationship with Clinical Pathology

By Angela Zellner posted 08-06-2019
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My Relatio nship with Clinical Pathology; A Love Story In the spirit of February’s Valentine’s Day celebrations, the ASCLS February discussion questions posed by Stephanie Noblit were: “What do you love about our profession and ASCLS? Every relationship has things it needs to work on; what aspects of our profession and ASCLC do we need to work on ?” My response follows. I know it’s not February anymore and Valentine’s Day has passed, but I will still, in the spirit of love, go beyond just the holiday. What I love about the Clinical Pathology Laboratory profession is the many facets that it encompasses! Many people, as most Laboratory ...
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Friday

By Romina Selzer posted 06-19-2019
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Is anyone arriving in Charlotte around 4pm and would like to share a ride to the hotel with me? Also, I was thinking we can maybe meet for dinner on Friday and start to get to know each other in person. Let me know if you’re interested :-) Romy
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Elinette Albino - Introduction

By Elinette Albino posted 06-18-2019
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Hi everyone - I look forward to a great weekend with you! Currently working with the pre-work assignments...hopefully I finish on t
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Intro video-Romy

By Romina Selzer posted 06-15-2019
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Hi there, I'm having some internet problems and some file size issues. I'll try to load my video again tomorrow., Otherwise, it's nice to meet you all and I'll see you in a week.
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