This past fall, 10 million people tuned in to NBC News Radio and other affiliate stations nationwide to hear then-ASCP President Henry Rinder, MD, FASCP, ASCP Past President Kimberly Sanford, MD, MASCP, MT(ASCP), and ASCP Chief Medical Quality Officer Ali Brown, MD, FASCP, talk about the importance of the medical laboratory and its role in patient care.
“With so much going on in health care today, it’s important that we get the word out about the medical laboratory and the critical work that we do for patients every day,” Dr. Sanford says.
The campaign, coordinated by ASCP’s public relations partner McCabe Message Partners, involved 14 interviews that were aired a total of 1,700 times on NBC News Radio, 1,582 NBC affiliates, and numerous other stations in 10 states. It took place just before the start of the ASCP 2022 Annual Meeting in September.
The interviews touched on a range of topics, from the effect of the pandemic on the laboratory staff to the workforce shortage. Dr. Rinder addressed the lack of visibility of laboratory staff to the public, telling KCBS AM News Radio in San Francisco, CA, that every aspect of a patient’s diagnosis is touched on by a medical laboratory professional or a pathologist.
“There is a tremendous shortage of qualified laboratory personnel…and that can range from being an inconvenience to really being dangerous,” Dr. Brown said in her interview on WICC AM Radio in Bridgeport, CT.
ASCP is committed to building awareness of the medical laboratory workforce and creating pathways to encourage more young people to enter the profession.
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