ASCP’s newest council, the Council for Laboratory Management and Administration, has set ambitious goals for 2023. It plans to beef up support for its state chapters, develop new education opportunities, and recruit laboratory managers and administrators to serve as Career Ambassadors and ASCP Mentors.
The Council, whose members comprise laboratory leaders and administrators, was formed when the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) aligned with ASCP in late 2021. The Council’s chair, Christina Nickel, MHA, MLS(ASCP)CM, CPHQ, and past president of the CLMA board of directors, recently talked about the goals set for the coming year.
The alignment provides an opportunity to bring the best of CLMA's activities, meetings, its experts, and leadership within ASCP to promote excellence in laboratory management and leadership and to further develop and leverage a deep knowledge base that will enrich the development of leaders within the laboratory community, according to Ms. Nickel.
ASCP is committed to elevating the visibility of laboratory leadership and support the growing needs of its Directors and Managers, including developing pathways to ensure the legacy of laboratory leadership.
“One of the strengths that CLMA brings to ASCP is local chapters across the United States,” she says. “Some are very robust, some have moderate activity, and some fell off during the COVID-19 pandemic. So we want to engage the members and help to foster growth of the chapters.”
Some of the chapters, such as the Great Plains Chapter in Nebraska, hold annual conferences. The Great Plains Chapter, to which Ms. Nickel belongs, holds two annual conferences, as well as two educational days each year. A benefit of being part of the chapters is the opportunity to network with colleagues within one’s own region.
“Networking is very important,” Ms. Nickel adds. “Having a society with peers and mentors you can reach out to and bounce ideas off of is so very helpful.”
Meanwhile, the Council is already at work preparing for its second goal, boosting educational opportunities. This year, its annual KnowledgeLab conference will be held on the front end of the Leadership Forum in March. KnowledgeLab is a significant annual meeting for laboratory managers, directors, and administrators---and those aspiring to those roles. The planning committee will be making recommendations for speakers, and reaching out to prospective sponsors and exhibitors. The Council will host "Birds of a Feather" roundtable discussions at the Annual Meeting, where laboratory managers and administrators can connect about current issues. The plan for Chapter Leader engagement at KnowledgeLab 2023 is to incorporate the content specific to chapter leaders throughout the meeting, including a focus on chapters during the opening keynote presentation and a chapter leaders networking event on the second day. To learn more or to register for KnowledgeLab 2023, click
here.
The Council’s third goal is to recruit laboratory managers and administrators to serve as ASCP Career Ambassadors and mentors to other laboratory professionals. The goal of the Career Ambassadors program is to encourage more people to consider careers in the medical laboratory profession. The CLMA will be working with the Council of Laboratory Professionals to align efforts on this initiative.
Ms. Nickel said she and other colleagues are discovering more and more individuals who might have a bachelor’s degree in the sciences, but decided not to pursue additional training because of the cost of getting an advanced degree. For those individuals, the Council will be exploring ways to entice them into medical laboratory careers where they can be supported with on the job training.
Please be sure to select your local chapter to join during your annual membership renewal. For those who have already renewed and would like to add a chapter, contact
ASCP Customer Service to add the chapter of your choice.
Click
here to learn more!
