What could you do with an extra $228 over three years? That is what laboratory professionals save by enrolling in the ASCP re.member plan. 

 

Comparison cost for certification maintenance*	Cost of 12 continuing education credits			Certification Maintenance Program (CMP)	Total cost for three years
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Nonmember	$180	$180	$180	$75	$615
ASCP re.member plan member	$129	$129	$129	$0	$387
Savings through re.member	$51	$51	$51	$75	$228

 

Julie Kukulka, MLS(ASCP)^CM, is one of 10,000 ASCP members who have joined re.member since its inception in 2010. Enrollment in re.member increased 37 percent from 2010 to 2011.

“If I did not belong to the ASCP re.member plan, I would have a much tougher time keeping track of continuing education credits, especially from other sources,” she said.

ASCP developed re.member to help streamline tracking the ASCP Board of Certification’s (BOC) three-year Certification Maintenance Program (CMP) by developing a customized Web portal, to offer unlimited continuing education credits for ASCP online courses, and to include the $75 ASCP BOC CMP application fee required for recertification. Re.member membership expires on the same date as the member’s primary CMP expiration date. Members can join any time on a rolling cycle instead of January to December. Additionally, re.member provides all the other benefits of ASCP membership, such as ASCP member discounts on books and education and subscriptions to Daily Diagnosis, Critical Values, LabMedicine, eNews Briefs, and the online version of theAmerican Journal of Clinical Pathology.

“It tells me how many continuing education credits I have and reminds me of what I still need to get under what categories. I have recommended the ASCP re.member plan to my mother-in-law and one of my colleagues.”      — Jonelle Graham, HT(ASCP)CM

“I can access this system no matter where I am,” said Jonelle Graham, HT(ASCP)^CM. “It tells me how many continuing education credits I have and reminds me of what I still need to get under what categories. I have recommended the ASCP re.member plan to my mother-in-law and one of my colleagues.”

The cost of an ASCP re.member membership is $129 per year for laboratory professionals and pathologists’ assistants ($89 annually for phlebotomists and donor phlebotomy technicians). ASCP BOC CMP requires 36 continuing education credits every three years for medical laboratory scientists and 45 continuing education credits for pathologists’ assistants. For specific details on all the certifications, go to www.ascp.org/CMP. This compares to the regular ASCP membership cost of $89 annually, which does not include access to the online Web portal for searching, tracking, and taking online continuing education CMP. The traditional membership plan includes access to six online continuing education credits for online ASCP courses compared to unlimited access in re.member. Members in the traditional plan must also submit a $75 CMP application fee to the ASCP BOC when they recertify. To obtain more details, go here.

“Re.member is an excellent tool, which enables healthcare professionals like me to maintain and expand our skills and knowledge,” said Ruby Olvido, MLS(ASCP)^CM.

“ASCP offers great online courses,” Ms. Kukulka said. “I have a hard time choosing which ones I want to take because there is so much I want to learn about. I have more credits than I need for recertification already.”

To learn more and enroll in ASCP re.member, go to www.ascp.org/remember.

* This chart is based on the CMP requirements of a medical laboratory scientist who requires 36 continuing education credits to recertify with the ASCP BOC.