WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
Each year before enrollment, Julie Steele and her staff review and compare clinical proficiency testing product catalogs side-by-side to determine which programs are the best fit for their laboratory. Assessing testing needs and reviewing program offerings is an ongoing process to find the best fit for her laboratory. Julie explains that using two PT providers helps her find more options that meets her laboratory’s needs.
”For instance, say you’ve got all your PT results submitted, and the report shows that all of them have shifted to the low end. Then, you can use the same test from another PT provider to further investigate and compare. We certainly have ordered the same test with CAP and WSLH Proficiency Testing to compare the results from each test,” said Steele.
Enrolling with one proficiency testing provider as your primary provider for score transmission purposes and another PT provider for the same analyte or test for quality assurance or troubleshooting purposes puts your lab in a better situation should you encounter PT failures and need to quickly address them. Julie Steele’s relationship with both PT providers assures that she has quick access to ordering available samples off-schedule or for quality assurance. To prepare your laboratory, consider contacting another PT provider about ordering such samples before you encounter certain testing scenarios.
Regarding a laboratory’s cost-effectiveness goals, Julie Steele says that enrolling with two PT providers every year has helped her laboratory keep costs down as much as possible. Cost-effectiveness is crucial; so, carefully evaluate pricing models, annual processing fees, and other indirect costs such as allotting staff time for testing when budgeting for PT enrollment. Consider the overall value provided by each provider in terms of the quality of the program and the level of support offered.
“When you are spending thousands of dollars every year on proficiency testing samples, you take cost into consideration. WSLH Proficiency Testing is a lot more reasonable when evaluating cost-effectiveness,” Julie says. She adds that cost comparison is important, but also emphasizes the importance of carefully reading the PT provider’s sample handling instructions in order to avoid the unexpected costs that come with ordering any available replacement samples.
Conclusion:
This article presents some of Julie Steele’s strategies employed at her laboratory to help decision-makers who are considering enrolling in two or more PT providers. When choosing one or more PT providers, assess your laboratory’s needs, consider testing offerings and frequency, and compare pricing and cost-effectiveness. With a closer look at one lab manager’s strategies, we take into account several other reasons that having a secondary PT provider is beneficial.
Enrolling with Two PT Providers by Regulated and Non-Regulated Analytes
Enrolling in two PT providers a year can help laboratories organize their testing programs in other cost-effective ways. For instance, some laboratories choose to enroll with one PT provider for all of their regulated analytes. They then choose to enroll with a secondary PT provider for their non-regulated analytes. For some laboratories, depending on their needs, separating their regulated and non-regulated analytes by PT provider makes it easier for them to manage their proficiency testing.
Using Multiple PT Providers for Transitional Periods
Intentionally enrolling in the same challenge with two different PT providers can help during transitional periods or staff changes. Laboratories may experience a loss of PT knowledge when a staff member or manager retires or moves.
Accreditation and Accepted Analytes:
Please make sure the selected provider(s) are:
- Approved by CMS.
- Accepted by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) – If your lab is accredited by CAP.
Additional resources:
CMS list of non-waived testing that requires PT: https://www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/legislation/clia/downloads/list-of-non-waived-testing-which-pt-is-required.pdf
FAQs about the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) for Proficiency Testing:
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/CLIA/Downloads/CLIAbrochure8.pdf
WSLH PT’s overview of proficiency testing: https://wslhpt.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/WSLHPT_Handbook_rv.02.2023.pdf
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
Strategies, Resources, and Benefits for Clinical Laboratory Professionals
In the fast-paced and demanding field of clinical laboratory medicine, building a strong support network is crucial for the success and well-being of professionals. Support networks, comprising colleagues, mentors, and industry peers, offer a multitude of strategies and resources that are beneficial to professional growth, knowledge enhancement, and overall career satisfaction.
In a previous article, WSLH Proficiency Testing has explored making connections with peers through networking events, such as attending conferences and seminars. Certainly, these recurring annual events provide us the space to engage in conversations, share experiences, and exchange contact information to cultivate meaningful connections. However, sometimes our unique role, a transitional phase, or a new laboratory setting can make it challenging to find the support we need.
In this article, we broaden our focus on building a professional support network as a clinical laboratory professional. Through an exploration of effective strategies, we highlight valuable resources and outline the significant benefits creating a professional support network brings.
Online Learning Communities: Getting connected with others through sharing knowledge and expertise is a wonderful way to build a network of support for yourself as a laboratory professional. Join professional forums, social media groups, and other online platforms dedicated to clinical laboratory professionals. Professional associations such as ASCLS and AACC have discussion forums accessible to members through login-based access on their websites. On LinkedIn, professional associations such as ASCP, ASCLS, and ACCC have listed groups as well as industry media like the Medical Laboratory Observer and Lab Manager Magazine.
Webinars can also offer a setting where you can make connections with peers and industry experts. During a webinar, when someone is asking or sharing questions that are relevant to your laboratory’s needs, consider sending them a message if a chat feature is enabled. You can request that you can reach out to them about a similar issue you are having. Sometimes finding support outside of your workplace can provide you and your laboratory with the insight needed to create needed shifts in your practices and policies. It’s also wonderful to know that you have another person who is willing to talk through issues with you, and is just one email or call away.
Mentorship Programs: Mentor-mentee relationships can also be another beneficial dimension of your overall professional support network. Mentorship relationships help professionals gain insights, receive career advice, reduce workplace stress, and expand professional networks. There are professional associations that also have mentorship programs that create an excellent structure for mentor/mentee relationships to form. For example, when you apply with the ASCP Mentorship Program or ASCLS Mentorship Program, you gain access to their Mentorship Directory based on specific skills and experience. From there, you can request meetings to explore a mentorship relationship with potential mentors/mentees.
Workplace Engagement: Getting to know your team better is an important, often overlooked practice in building a support network to reduce burnout and maintain staff engagement. According to a recent article in Forbes, organizations have cited employee experience and mental health as the difference makers in improving engagement, retention, and productivity. While mental health comes with limitations with respect to worker privacy, laboratory managers can ensure steps are taken to improve employee well-being.
While it is not crucial to be best friends with all of our coworkers, having friendships and fostering social connection in your work life is one key factor to overall employee well-being. Forming engagement committees at work to foster social connection can be beneficial to improving social well-being, a key aspect of employee well-being overall. As a division of the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene, WSLH Proficiency Testing participates in our laboratory’s engagement committee, hosting weekly and monthly board game meet-ups, annual picnics, and sporting event outings to name a few.
Conclusion
The challenges of the clinical laboratory profession can be overwhelming. Building a support network is an invaluable investment for clinical laboratory professionals. As clinical laboratory professionals navigate their careers, a strong support network becomes an essential pillar of success, leading to personal fulfillment and the advancement of the field as a whole.
A support network facilitates knowledge sharing, emotional support, career advancement, collaboration, and professional development. Colleagues and mentors can provide valuable advice and share experiences to help navigate professional challenges. By adopting effective strategies, leveraging available resources, and actively engaging with colleagues, mentors, and industry peers, professionals can foster collaboration, inspires new ideas, and drives professional growth to effectively meet and exceed organizational goals.
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
Vicky Norrish and her path to laboratory management
When Vicky Norrish was 15 years old, she was in a near-fatal car accident. Needless to say, she spent a lot of time that year in the hospital. From bedside care to having her blood tested, her journey to healing instilled in her a passion for healthcare. By the time she was ready to graduate, Vicky had a broad understanding of all individual roles involved in caring for a patient. She had contemplated pharmacy school, but took a microbiology class in college and fell in love with science. It was this love that would bring her to the world of laboratory medicine.
“I knew the lab was a perfect fit for me. I could still work in healthcare and help people in a way that brought me a lot of life satisfaction, said Vicky.” Today, Vicky Norrish, MLS (ASCP), CHC serves as the Director of Regulatory Compliance and Laboratory Services for Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) of the UnityPoint Health system in Iowa.
When Vicky started as a bench generalist, there was a job opening in infection prevention at the hospital. It was a sign, she thought, to try something different. She convinced the hospital that they needed to hire a laboratorian for the job rather than a nurse. Vicky did not expect that her 10 years of work in infection prevention would morph into the quality management work she does today.
Carving Her Unique Path to Laboratory Management
As Vicky progressed through her career, she took on different roles and responsibilities. Her extensive experience in compliance, regulatory accreditation, and HIPAA privacy procedures led her to GRMC as their compliance leader. During that time, the hospital posted an opening for a laboratory director. Vicky saw this as a sign to marry the two kinds of work that she really enjoys: laboratory and compliance.
Serving in a rural hospital gave Vicky a fairly unique career trajectory to her role today. From drawing blood to managing the front desk, Vicky eventually found her own cadence in this unique position of being both a laboratory manager and a regulatory compliance professional. She also has a lengthy list of unexpected responsibilities, such as overseeing the occupational medicine department and contracted services, like food and nutrition and the sleep lab.
“Combining these two roles was a little daunting at first but worthwhile,” said Vicky. “My work keeps me challenged and I get to do something different every day. That’s exciting to me. The staff I have are high performers. So, I really just have to go be their biggest cheerleader and supporter.”
A Great Quality Assurance Practice
What helps her staff maintain a solid quality assurance process is documentation, specifically a system of accountability checklists. Each laboratory and department area has its own unique schedule of tasks to remember, from maintenance to documenting everything properly. To help create a seamless workflow within each of her departments, Vicky created these checklists for all areas of the laboratory and each checklist includes daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly responsibilities.
“You know, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to receive complaints from staff after implementing these checklists, but it turns out people really seem to like them,” said Vicky. She found that it helped everyone be more successful at their job, knowing exactly what they need to accomplish at the start of their shifts. She adds that it is important to make sure your staff feels supported.
Finding Your Laboratory Management Network
Throughout Vicky’s time as a laboratory manager, she has found a strong network of managers at other laboratories that support each other. She advises that if you are new to laboratory management, connect with the managers at laboratories in surrounding communities. Creating a network of support is important, especially in staffing challenges where you yourself are figuring out your workflow as a laboratory manager.
Helpful Laboratory Management Links
For resources on laboratory management and training support, visit some of the following sites:
Lab Manager: labmanager.com
American Society for Microbiology: A Day in the Life of a Lab Manager or Supervisor
CDC Laboratory Training: OneLab Reach
Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network: https://www.slh.wisc.edu/wcln-surveillance/wcln/
WSLH PT Training and Competency: https://wslhpt.org/training-competency/
American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC): New Paths to Leadership for the Clinical Laboratorian
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WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
Medical Laboratory Professionals Week is a time when we increase public awareness of our profession, highlighting our contributions to healthcare. We also celebrate our staff by sharing our appreciation – laboratory professionals get results! This year, Lab Week is on April 23-29. Professional associations, like ASCP and ASCLS encourage us to honor and celebrate ourselves as well as our coworkers. There are lots of great ideas and resources for how to celebrate your coworkers. How do you celebrate yourself during Lab Week? In this article, WSLH Proficiency Testing shares a few ideas and resources that can help us cultivate an appreciation for ourselves (and each other) as medical laboratory professionals. Recognizing your unique contributions and sharing your appreciation with others, in turn, can deepen the public’s awareness of our important role in providing accurate, timely testing results.
Recognizing our value
We know our value in healthcare. There are statistics and other important information that show the public our impact. What is often even more impactful is sharing why and how we value what we do. When we take time to self-reflect, we strengthen our appreciation for ourselves. If we are able to better express our appreciation, others will appreciate us too.
Reflecting on our growth
You can start this process of self-reflection by thinking about how much you have grown as a laboratory professional. Your education and training have prepared you to perform complex tasks safely. You may look at trainings and courses and think about how they have helped you produce accurate, reliable, and timely results. Reflecting on your commitment to professional development can help you appreciate your contributions. With increased appreciation, you are more willing to share appreciation with others. Sharing your appreciation with the public invites them to recognize and celebrate what you do as a lab professional.
Go ahead, treat yourself
Thinking about the ways you have grown, or how you continue to challenge yourself is a great way to start brainstorming how to celebrate yourself during Lab Week. For example, maybe you helped develop a mentoring program to support new employees and strengthen teamwork. During Lab Week, you could play your favorite cooperative board game with your coworkers to celebrate teamwork. You know yourself best in what gives you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Creating your own personal recognition activity can also support ways to recognize and celebrate coworkers and employees more meaningfully.
The power of employee recognition
When you encourage yourself and others to also celebrate in meaningful ways, you foster authentic connections and help others see their value as team members. In a recent survey on employee recognition conducted by Great Place To Work, 37% of respondents said that more personal recognition would encourage them to produce better work results more often. Neuroscience certainly backs up this statement, with research that illustrates how both predictable and randomized reward systems support happier, more motivated work environments. Below, we provide one example of how you can celebrate yourself in a way that helps everyone see the bigger picture, to see the contributions of laboratory professionals to quality patient care.
Expressing gratitude, expressing value
Practicing gratitude can be a great way to illustrate your unique contributions to quality patient care. For each day during Lab Week, try sharing 1-3 things that you are grateful for as a laboratory professional. Don’t forget, you can include your team members on this list! Write them down on paper, on a whiteboard, or post them on social media, for example. Expressing gratitude is one way you can share your role, experiences, and expertise. Sharing deepens awareness and increases our appreciation of our contributions. This simple practice can generate new perspectives, as you recognize how you personally value the profession. Who knows, you may have a positive experience that will compel your workplace to continue this practice with you, year-round. You may be surprised how simple expressions of thankfulness can inspire others to do their best in the workplace.
Conclusion
Recognition and celebration are powerful motivators that help us feel connected and engaged with our work. How you celebrate Lab Week this year can be a great way to set the tone for how you support yourself, year-round. The more recognition and appreciation we give each other, the more meaningful our celebrations will be. Sharing why you celebrate Lab Week also gives others a closer look at the importance of the medical laboratory profession. WSLH Proficiency Testing is grateful for your dedication and significant contributions to the health and safety of our communities. Happy Medical Laboratory Professionals Week from our team at WSLH PT to yours.
Learn more about Lab Week and download resources on the following websites:
American Association for Clinical Pathology (ASCP): Lab Week (ascp.org)
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS): Medical Laboratory Professionals Week – ASCLS
American Medical Technologists (AMT): Celebrate Medical Laboratory Professionals Week
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
What policies and processes are in place in your laboratory? In preparation for a laboratory inspection, this is the question you have at the forefront of your mind. We also have this question at the forefront of our minds too, but for different intentions and outcomes. A proficiency testing provider may experience a routine audit, as well as annual reviews of accepted analytes conducted by an accreditation agency, such as those conducted by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The purpose of a proficiency testing audit is to provide you with the best experience when it comes to participating in our proficiency testing services. These processes of review and approval assure that you can use our proficiency testing services alongside your accreditation agency. In this article, we share with you an overview of the auditing process, and how it impacts you, the clinical laboratory.
An Inside Look at a PT provider
The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 are today’s standards for compliance and accreditation. Following the passage of CLIA ’88, laboratories that are reporting clinical results are mandated by law to attain CLIA certification with CMS. All CLIA-certified labs are also required to perform proficiency testing on regulated analytes with any CMS-approved proficiency testing provider. Accreditation agencies are approved to act on behalf of CMS as an accrediting body. In response, the College of American Pathologists, developed a routine process as an accreditation agency to accept PT providers. This process assures that any CAP-accredited laboratory may enroll with any PT provider that meets CAP’s requirements regarding the acceptability of materials, scoring processes, and transmission of data. Today, when CAP-accredited laboratories are choosing a PT provider, they are determining if the PT provider and the analytes they need are accepted by CAP.
In order for WSLH Proficiency Testing to be a CAP-accepted PT provider, CAP representatives audit WSLH PT services every 3 years. During the auditing process, WSLH PT shares data with CAP from laboratories that choose CAP for accreditation. The following are the kinds of questions WSLH PT answers in a CAP audit:
- Are laboratories getting the information they need?
- Is the information presented in such a way that is easy to understand?
- Does the PT provider maintain consistency in how their technical coordinators evaluate data?
CAP representatives conclude the audit by visiting our office at the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene in Madison, Wisconsin. This day-long visit includes a shared review and discussion of key findings in data. Review and discussion of data offer insights into issues that laboratories may be encountering throughout the proficiency testing process.
All regulated analytes that CAP-accredited laboratories select from a PT provider must pass through an annual approval process to be CAP-accepted. If an analyte is CAP-accepted, then CAP will accept the score transmission of a CAP-accredited laboratory from the PT provider. Every year PT providers have the opportunity to apply for CAP acceptance for an analyte by filling out a form and submitting it by July for potential approval the following year. At the very minimum, PT providers must have 20 data points for three events in a row for quantitative analytes. For qualitative analytes, PT providers need 10 data points for three events in a row. Beyond the review of grading data, there are other criteria that CAP uses in determining the acceptability of regulated analytes. The other information that CAP requests from PT providers include, but are not limited to:
- Instrumentation, methods used, and number of participants
- Participant summary data for events
- Number of challenges and shipments per year
- Supporting documentation for analyte specifications and event data
- A statement that all material vendors comply with specified product manufacturing standards
Not all regulated analytes offered by PT providers are approved by CAP; so, laboratories that want to use their materials to meet CAP’s accreditation requirements must first check with the appropriate PT providers. If you review WSLH Proficiency Testing’s clinical product catalog, you will see that any analytes that are not accepted by CAP are noted with an asterisk (*). When CAP-accredited laboratories approach WSLH PT to enroll, they know which analytes will meet their regulations with the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program.
Routine audits and annual analyte acceptance conducted by CAP assure that we can serve and provide options to CAP-accredited laboratories. Aligning our services and processes with the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program not only benefits CAP-accredited laboratories but all clinical laboratories that enroll with WSLH Proficiency Testing. Whether or not CAP is your accreditation agency, the findings we review in a CAP audit help us assure that our materials, from general instructions to evaluation reports and policies, are accurate, clear, and concise for all laboratories. This inside look into our partnership with CAP provides some insight into how we pursue collaboration, usability, and continual development to lay a solid foundation for laboratory improvement.
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
WSLH PT Blog
Bringing you clinical lab features, news, and updates via the WSLH PT Blog! If you are interested in receiving an email digest of news along with curated staff picks from around the internet, sign up for WSLH PT’s monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever.
In partnership with the State of Wisconsin and Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), Mike and the rest of his team at Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories (WDL) launched the MLS Apprenticeship program in January 2022. Individuals with science degrees from an accredited four-year college or university are recruited to become certified medical laboratory professionals upon completion of the apprenticeship program. Once a candidate is hired, WDL provides the hands-on experience to attain the skills, which is accompanied by on-site or in-the-classroom curriculum provided by MLS instructors at the Milwaukee Area Technical College and Madison College. The MLS apprenticeship program is a Wisconsin Certified Apprenticeship, meaning that the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development partners with industries, area technical colleges, and private training centers throughout the state to provide individuals a path to a career. Historically, many technical industries in Wisconsin, from cheese processing to building construction, have been the primary sites for apprenticeships. Mike Baron recognized within the apprenticeship model the kind of quality training, instruction, support, and institutional capacity-building that could benefit clinical laboratories greatly. These are the qualities Mike says, that make the MLS apprenticeship program a key strategy in the recruitment and retention of medical laboratory professionals.