WSLH PT Blog

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Developing ourselves, together through service

Posted on April 29, 2022 by flowerme

We all know that making connections and continuing our education matters for our development as clinical laboratory professionals. Joining a professional clinical association can be an excellent avenue for boosting our professional development. There are countless benefits for our membership in a professional association. We network and connect with others at conferences hosted by professionals associations, for various reasons. We obtain continuing education credits (CE) at conferences and year-round online. We also take other avenues to educate ourselves and others through training and competency coursework offered by colleges or other providers dedicated to clinical laboratory improvement. Taking advantage of these learning opportunities help us stay proficient in our knowledge, skills, and abilities and helps us stay up-to-date on industry trends. What we may not always take into account is the beneficial return we receive when investing some of our precious time and energy to take on a leadership role or invest in our education. Clinical laboratorians are very busy year-round; how do we justify the time we spend on our professional development initiatives?

Our time and energy is precious. If you are thinking about volunteering, be sure to spend plenty of time reflecting and discerning why you’re taking on a leadership role. Choosing volunteer opportunities that provide a selections process can help determine if the project or committee goals align with your professional development and leadership goals. Regardless of the organization’s process, understanding why you are getting involved can help determine if the service position is relevant to you, and a nourishing environment for your development. Do you want to deepen your professional relationships? Do you want to find ways to increase knowledge-sharing in the industry? Do you want to develop your leadership competencies to help you step into a managerial role? It is important when considering your involvement in a professional association that you feel an enthusiastic “Yes.” If you are feeling neutral about the subject, you may need more time or different questions to determine your interest. If you are not feeling enthusiastic about getting involved, it may mean that other areas of your work and life need your attention and care instead.

Volunteering can significantly impact our learning experience, assuming that our model of leadership development is based primarily on direct, practical experience. Taking on a leadership role with a professional association can therefore be a great way to supplement our current on-the-job experience. Seeking volunteer experiences outside of our industry and in the communities where we live also provides us learning and leadership opportunities that we can carry with us into our careers. There are so many skills that you already use every day at work and at home. What do you want to learn? When seeking volunteer opportunities outside of work, cross out the “can do” skills and focus on the “want-to” skills – the ones that you could see yourself using every day without getting bored. Learning skills outside of work that you will enjoy will help you develop strengths that can impact your career and quality of life in ways that you may not expect. Start out by recognizing the strengths that you are already using in your everyday life. Print out a list of strengths or gifts, circle the skills and abilities that you have and underline the ones that you want. Don’t forget to add your own, if you do not see your particular strength or gift listed!

If you are interested in getting involved in a professional association, maintaining annual membership is the very first step, of course. There are many national and international professional associations with regional and state chapters where you can get involved. Below, you will find a list of the professional associations known for their substantial membership and volunteer opportunities. Click on the hyperlinked text to discover ways to get involved, including governance councils, program committees, and communications teams.

AABB: International, not-for-profit association representing individuals and institutions involved in the field of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. Formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks.

Get Involved: AABB Assessor, Mentoring Program, Committee Membership, Junior (Student) Committee Membership, Social Media Collaboration, Leadership-Run for Office, Transfusion Medicine Section, Cellular Therapies Section, AABB Hub (Knowledge Sharing Forum)

American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC): International society comprised of medical professionals with an interest in clinical chemistry, clinical laboratory science, and laboratory medicine.

Get Involved: Local AACC Sections, Scientific Division Leadership Roles, Society for Young Clinical Laboratorians, AACC Artery (Knowledge Sharing Forum)
American Society For Microbiology: Promotes and advances the microbial sciences as one of the largest life science societies in the world.
Get Involved: Guide the Organization, Shape the Science, Build Community, Advocate, Train & Mentor, Communicate Science
American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science: Mission is to make a positive impact in health care through leadership that will assure excellence in the practice of laboratory medicine

Get Involved: To serve on a national committee, sign up here. To view the list of national committees available to ASCLS
members, click here. To volunteer for state or local committee positions, contact your local or state chapters of ASCLS.

American Society for Clinical Pathology: Mission is to provide excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists, and laboratory professionals across the globe

Get involved: Public Policy, Career Ambassador 2.0, Patient Champions, Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa, Center for Global Health, Choosing Wisely, Social Media Team, Governance and Member Councils, ASCP Product Development, and BOC Exam Committees

CLMA: An international association whose mission is to empower laboratory professionals to achieve excellence in leadership through forward-thinking educational, networking, and advocacy opportunities

Get Involved: Regarding CLMA Chapters, ASCP is now coordinating the activation of CLMA Chapters in your local area. For 2022, ASCP is waiving the Chapter administrative fee, as CLMA members transition to membership with ASCP.

Getting involved by volunteering, whether with a professional clinical association or with a community organization of your choosing, is a great way to reflect on the strengths you have and to gain the strengths that you want. Giving time to reflect and ask ourselves discerning questions can help us frame our thinking in ways that align our achievement values, professional goals, and leadership development choices. Developing our professional selves with more care and intention helps us become more aware of our strengths and areas of improvement as leaders, helping us joyfully grow our impact for ourselves, each other, and for next generation of clinical laboratory professionals. When we purposefully engage ourselves in community-centered, learning experiences, we open up the doors for more leadership opportunities in our career, and beyond.

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WSLH PT Blog

Decentralized Testing: Effect on the future of laboratories

Posted on May 25, 2021 by flowerme

This article is featured in our monthly newsletter, The MedLab Retriever. Sign up to receive your digest of clinical lab news, memes, and more:

Laboratory professionals are seeing more and more testing moving away from the central lab. The tests might be at bedside, in the phlebotomy station, in radiology, the emergency room, ICU, and even at home. These tests are being performed by nurses, clinicians, and medical associates. Additionally, medical professionals are sending more complex testing that does not require rapid turnaround time to reference laboratories.

What does that mean for the average hospital or clinic laboratory? What is our role as professional laboratorians in this changing environment? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this exodus of testing from the main lab?

Point-Of-Care Testing (POCT) has enabled rapid results to be obtained while remaining with or near the actual patient. The advantages of this proximity of processing tests to the patient are apparent in the ability to administer insulin

or other life-saving medicines within moments clearly improving patient outcomes. In the case of radiology, another advantage is efficient workflow as a technician is able to evaluate the safety of administering contrast media through sampling creatinine (kidney function) levels. Obviously, these advantages are significant when it comes to patient outcomes, but there are risks as well.

POCT, from the individuals who are asked to conduct the tests to the test quality itself, comes with a number of concerns that are exacerbated by the increased proliferation of such tests. The greatest risk is the fact that you are placing testing in the hands of individuals who have not been trained in understanding the importance of quality control and in recognizing poor results. Therefore POCT is often considered the lowest element on their patient care list. My sister has lived this experience. In her 40 years as a registered nurse, she says, her focus was patient comfort. While testing was something that had to be done, there were far more immediate concerns that had to be addressed. An excellent educational foundation sets up individuals for success. Given that the education of laboratory professionals gives primary focus to the study of analytical procedures, testing done in a core laboratory lends to more reliable, quality patient testing.

There are certainly benefits and risks to weigh in medical professional settings when deciding to outsource testing from the core laboratory. This not only includes POCT but sending tests to reference laboratories. Weighing delays created by sample transport for referral testing against patient outcomes must be a consideration since test results drive the majority of medical decisions. Norman Moore, PhD, director of scientific affairs for infectious diseases at Alere Inc. says that, “the main advantage is that outsourcing usually saves cost per test. However, we are finding that the cost savings on a test level are not balanced by the cost on a patient level in most instances.” Often clinics and hospitals may decide to outsource given that a referral lab can process many tests at a time versus at the pace of the technician or technicians available to process tests one-by-one in house. The ability for referral laboratories to process large batches of testing samples is often also seen as a way to address laboratory staffing shortages. Dr. Moore adds that outsourcing for the purpose of cost-saving is not very advantageous for patient care, given that referral testing delays access to results which, in turn, delays the healthcare provider’s ability to provide a timely diagnosis for the patient.

During the winter time, when the spread of respiratory infections are at their peak, it is important to diagnose and treat early. Furthermore, this need for a quick testing response is more acute in emergency room settings to address emergent patient needs. Outsourcing, especially in context of the growing availability of more samples that can process multiple tests at once, is not sustainable in the long-run, regarding budgets and, ultimately, patient care. It seems that keeping testing in-house, while also addressing laboratory staffing shortages that put a strain on providing timely, accurate patient testing brings us back to the question of Point-Of-Care Testing to help alleviate challenges.

POCT is a proven approach for providing a faster turnaround time of laboratory results. What must be addressed now, as companies continue to improve POCT equipment, is how hospitals and clinics can assure best practices in POCT. I would encourage laboratories to actively engage in training, quality control and proficiency testing for the point of care testing areas. Last year, AACC released a guideline that can help administrators and lab leadership define POCT performance in their facilities. The key questions that they ask are:

What is the value of an interdisciplinary committee to oversee POCT?
Does education improve POCT performance?
What is the optimal staffing model for POCT?
Do proficiency testing (PT)/external quality assessment (EQA) programs improve POCT performance and patient outcomes?
Does data management improve POCT outcomes?
How should staff select POCT devices?
How does POCT improve process?

I would highly recommend that facilities use this guideline to not only help define their current POCT performance but to help develop best practice in POCT.

Several years ago, the AACC released an article aimed to help facilities improve POCT compliance through preparing staff for routine inspection. If nurse leadership and other medical staff responsible for POCT know what questions inspectors may ask and what staff can anticipate, the work towards the standardization of accurate POCT can start to become more integrated among all staff involved. In other words, preparing for a POCT inspection can serve as a starting point for staff to start defining POCT performance and to start implementing best practices in POCT.

In addition, testing across multiple platforms should occur to prevent discrepancies between in-lab testing and POCT. I would also caution that the laboratory evaluate testing to remain in house vs. sent out based on patient critical need. If facilities intend to rely on referral testing, the referring laboratory must ascertain and have available the credentialing of the reference laboratory such as the CLIA and/or CAP certificate.

Point-Of-Care Testing is here to stay. Outsourcing lab work is a strategy that isn’t going anywhere. These facts highlight the importance taking a closer look at our current practices outside of the core laboratory and weighing them against our patient care outcomes, especially if we are approaching our questions from a cost-benefit analytical framework. Professional organizations such as the AACC have provided the latest resources to help hospital and clinic staff to improve POCT best practices and assure POCT compliance.

Take advantage of those resources and keep an eye on helpful articles from proficiency testing providers and regulatory agencies for helpful tips and guidelines to tease out the more complex side of planning, organizing, and coordinating POCT and referral testing. Core laboratories are encouraged to partner with nursing staff and other medical personnel to create training infrastructure on POCT analysis. Laboratory staff can also help implement a routine, internal audit of POCT practices that is POCT compliant with regulatory agencies, which in turn, helps everyone involved be inspection ready.

Reference: The Shift to Point of Care Testing: In Clinical Chemistry Q&A, lab industry leaders look at impact of technology, reimbursement, other factors in move from hospital-based settings.
Date: NOV.12.2015 // Source: CLN Stat

WSLH PT Blog

On The Road Again: A Look at the World of Tradeshows

Posted on February 23, 2021 by flowerme

By Kristine Hansbery
Director of WSLH Proficiency Testing

Adapting to the new world of digital technology and virtual communication has presented both opportunities and barriers. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessarily pushed us further into the world of virtual communication which, in turn, has effected the way we do events and tradeshows. These events have always provided the ability to acquire much needed Continuing Education Units (CEUs), and wonderful opportunity to network with our peers.

Numerous vendors and show sponsors have recreated this important venue in a virtual setting for laboratory personnel as well as vendors promoting their product. There have been some successes and some, well, not so much. This article provides a closer look at this world of virtual events that have been rather hit or miss, and those perennial favorites of the past, and what makes them so special. We at WSLH Proficiency Testing hope this guide provides potential show attendees with the opportunity to explore new shows as well as make informed decisions regarding the expense and value of each venue.

There just is no way you can replace human contact with virtual events. Something must be said regarding the person-to-person networking that happens at each event. Capturing the attention of attendees at a virtual venue can be difficult given that the structure at in-person events encourages networking naturally. From the perspective of a vendor, the best virtual event by far for us was the Lab Director’s Summit, sponsored by MLO. This event actually created events that mimicked the real one-on-one conversations that would exist at a live event. They took it a further step by allowing vendors to present their product line as a 30-minute presentation to attendees in the following ways:

Have one-on-one meetings with each and every attendee (like a dating event). The vendor has a 15-minute meeting with an attendee, a bell rings and then the next attendee arrives in the booth.
Initiate meetings either set by the attendee or the vendor, in a polite nonintrusive manner.

While the best of the virtual world allows for greater connection and networking, we have all experienced the limitations with this format, technologically and socially. It’s important for our species to connect and see each other in-person. Plus, how much more eye-strain and zoom fatigue can we handle, given that much of our personal lives are online these days? While we hope we can return to real-life shows in 2021, let’s take a look at some of the top live events that we find rewarding and, let’s face it, just plain fun.

American Society of Clinical Laboratory Scientists (ASCLS) meetings
While each and every one of these ASCLS state-sponsored events are good, some stand out as particularly engaging.

ASCLS Minnesota takes place yearly at the Earle Brown Center, which captured the horse lover in me with old timey pictures of the largest horse in the world (at one time) as well as some race horse facts and other photos. The venue is very well attended by both laboratory professionals and vendors. The opportunities to network are plentiful. What a great show!

ASCLS Montana provides one of the most welcoming shows with beautiful scenery wherever you look.