Summer/Fall 2002 Issue

ASCLS Membership: Every Member is a Salesperson

By Lynn Ingram, Region III Director

Do you think of yourself as a salesperson? I surely don't! But we are all salespersons in many ways. We sell ourselves in applying for jobs; we sell our opinions to bring about changes; we sell our competencies to the healthcare team and our patients. We just need to change from being unconscious salespersons to conscious ones to become more effective in these efforts. And, a marvelous thing happens when we talk to others about something we believe in, like ASCLS. Almost without exception, we will resell ourselves on the wisdom, the advantages, and the needs we had when we became members ourselves.

Each one- Reach one- Teach one! That's the name of the membership recruitment campaign that ASCLS has used for the past few years. If every member recruits one additional member, then our membership base will double and our organization will be stable financially. We can provide more services for our members and our influence and collective voice will have a greater impact. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it?

So why hasn't it worked? Maybe there are several reasons. Maybe we are intimidated at the prospect of approaching others about membership or we don't know whom to approach. Maybe we feel that we don't have all the facts to tell others about ASCLS. Or, maybe we don't know how to respond to objections to membership. Maybe we just need to be proactive about our profession and organization and make the effort instead of leaving it to 'the other guys' to handle it for us. But, we can overcome these stumbling blocks to increasing our membership with a little thought and a little preparation.

How do we approach others about membership in ASCLS?

The next time we hear a laboratory professional complain about a lack of recognition or respect, tell them that the ASCLS Mission Statement states that "the mission of ASCLS is to promote the profession of clinical laboratory science and provide beneficial services to those who practice it". It says that only when we come together as a cohesive group can our voices be heard. The next time we hear that no one is doing anything about the personnel shortage, tell them that ASCLS was the leading force in the organization of the Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce (a collaborative group of more than 20 laboratory organizations and agencies). Without our continued support and leadership, it would not be the effective group that it is today. The next time we hear that our salaries are too low, tell them that ASCLS routinely gathers information about salaries and other professional data that can be used to justify increases to their administration. The next time we hear that our concerns are not important, tell them that ASCLS has sponsored a Legislative Symposium for 15 years where ASCLS members take our legislative and regulatory concerns directly to the members of the US House of Representatives and US Senate. The next time we hear that we have few opportunities for leadership or outlets to demonstrate dedication and pride in our profession, tell them that ASCLS provides all of those things at local, state, regional, and national levels.

Who is our market?

The vast majority of laboratory professionals do not belong to ANY professional organization so it is those persons who should be made aware of the advantages of membership. We don't have to make others choose between "us" and "them". We just have to make clear the things that we have to offer them. We can also look to those professionals who have interests in many arenas- the member of CLMA who also wants a greater voice in legislative/regulatory affairs. Or, the person who has traditionally been a member of AABB who finds themselves in education and needs another prospective on laboratory issues. And we have another large pool of potential members in our vendor/industry representatives who need the contacts that we can provide as members. Our best contacts are those that we work with daily. The persons we know well. It is easy for us to regularly and consistently demonstrate the advantages of membership and the personal satisfaction and opportunities that we have gained by membership in ASCLS.

Why should every laboratory professional be a member of ASCLS?

The best way to tell others about ASCLS is to tell our own stories - stories of opportunities that came to us by being a member, stories of friendships and good times, stories of professional and personal development. We become members of organizations because we feel that we need something from that organization. Find out what the prospective member needs and respond to that. ASCLS provides various means of obtaining continuing education. There are opportunities to publish or present seminars, develope leadership and organizational skills, and network across the country. We can list the tangible benefits of membership; but, it is our personal testimony that will convince others to join us.

What do we say when they tell us that they don't have the time or the money, or don't see the need?

Tell them that we have the time. They need to make the time, if they want their careers and the profession to thrive in the future. Tell them that being a "PO Box" member is a great way to support the organization and those members. Members who have the interest and the time to do the actual leg-work without obligating themselves to serving on committees. Tell them that an investment of a quarter a day to be a PF1 member isn't going to break their bank account. They could give up buying 6 CDs a year for the total cost of dues. ASCLS membership is a bargain compared to the membership dues in other allied health professional organizations. Tell them that if they don't see a need for a professional organization then they no longer have the right to complain about the working conditions, the salaries, or the lack of respect from the public and others on the healthcare team. Tell them that if they want someone to take their place when they want to retire in a few years or if they want quality laboratory results when they are consumers in the healthcare system in the future then they need to support the profession NOW!

Go to the ASCLS web page, www.ascls.org, under the Membership Category. There you'll find a list of member benefits, a history and structure of ASCLS, definitions of membership categories, list of state dues required, an on-line application and other important membership information. If we all participate as our membership campaign suggests, Each One- Reach One- Teach One, then no one has an overwhelming job of trying to recruit 1,000 members. We will all be successful. I challenge each person who reads this newsletter to think carefully about the reasons that you are a member of ASCLS. Seek out others who have those same needs and encourage them to be a part of this dynamic and productive organization.

You can also go to the ASCLS web site and see the new brochure. It highlights careers in Clinical Laboratory Sciences. It is new angled, upbeat and great!

Legislative Day 2002

By Marion Boatwright

Legislative day 2002 was........WOW! What words can I use to describe it. I was a bit overwhelmed with all the information. I was fine though once I realized that they repeated the same information 3 times that day so that we could understand it enough to speak intelligently about it. Here's essentially what I learned: the CLMA and ASCLS positions on the bioterrorism bill, personnel shortages, the waived test loophole, CPI update, the effect of the 2002 budget on laboratory reimbursement, and the Clinical laboratory coalition's position on laboratory reimbursement and specimen collection fees.

I then took this information and met with the following folks: Matt Hoskins for Jim DeMint and Joe Wilson both in the House of Representatives. I did the following for the members of the House: I explained to each person what my job, as a medical technologist, entails and drove home the point about laboratories being the1st line of defense in the anthrax attack. When patient's have lab work done at his/her physician's office. I explained my concern for public safety and the waived test. I asked for support in contacting the CMS to urge that more stringent evaluation standards be used for waived tests and be applied to home tests. I asked for support of HR 3388 (adjusts the specimen collection fee from $3.00, set 17 years ago, to $5.25). I also asked that they do everything possible to thwart any possible freeze on the laboratory's CPI (Consumer Price increase or index) that due in 2003.

In Strom Thurmond's office, I spoke to James Galyean. I explained what a laboratorian is and why we are important. I told of the impact our field had on the anthrax of last year. I asked for support of the wording of the HR 3448 to be incorporated into S 2692. Both bills deal with "The Public Health Security Bioterrorism Response Act". The HR 3448 also addresses Laboratory Workforce shortages. This provision provides grants for training and cooperative agreements to correct the laboratory workforce shortage. I asked that Thurmond's office contact colleagues that sit on the Finance committee and urge them to adopt the language in HR 3391 into S 1545. Most specifically, I discussed how labs need relief from the Medicare secondary payor rules. I also asked to help insure no freeze on CPI for laboratories.

To date, we have received word that the House has passed HR 4954 which contains language that eliminates the Medicare Secondary Payor ruling along with Competitive bidding. HR 3448 was incorporated into S 2692 and passed as "The Public Health Security Bioterrorism Response Act.".

See below at the end as well.

SCSCLS President's Letter:

by Michelle Mantooth

By now, I hope everyone has received their letter introducing the SCSCLS Officers for the year. I did make a few mistakes on the officer information, so make these corrections: 1) Mary Breci's home and work numbers are reversed; 2) Vivian Smith's e-mail address is not4sel at charter.net; and 3) Marion Boatwright's e-mail address is meboatwright at lexhealth.org . I apologize for any confusion this may have caused anyone.

The letter also outlined some major legislative issues for clinical laboratory scientists and their work places. Here's another item of concern we should all find interesting and be ready to write our congressional leaders, senators, etc. Kathy Hansen, the ASCLS Government Affairs Committee Chair, notified us about the funding for medical laboratory education programs. In the House version of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act, funding for medical laboratory education programs was included; however, the Senate version did not include funding. The bill was signed by President Bush, but it is back before the House subcommittee. It is critical that we take the time to lobby our congress for the appropriate funding. If you want more information on the bill please contact me at mantooth at musc.edu or mmantooth5 at comcast.net .

ASCLS-IAMLT World Congress in Orlando was an awesome experience. Thank you for your support. Everyone who attended from South Carolina had a great time at the meeting. Vivian Smith did a wonderful job of networking. She got us sponsors and speakers for Carolina Clinical Connection in March. She and I were taken to dinner at the House of Blues by Johnson & Johnson. We had an absolutely wonderful time. Thank you to Johnson & Johnson for our dinner, night's entertainment, and most of all for agreeing to help support our Carolina Clinical Connection in the spring.

During the President, President-Elect, and general governance sessions, we received reassurances that our state is not the only state experiencing membership losses, financial difficulties, and membership involvement issues. They helped us to develop a plan for addressing and correcting these woes. We formalized our plan at the state caucus meeting and set the agenda and date for our fall board meeting.

Our SCSCLS Fall Board Meeting was held on September 12, 2002 at 4:30pm. We met in the Health Sciences Building, room 221, of the Midlands Technical College Airport Campus in Columbia. The board meetings are open to anyone who desires to attend. Please come join us at any of our meetings. Your input will be greatly appreciated. The agenda for the fall board meeting was as follows:

1. Call to order
2. Minutes from last meeting and from the state caucus
3. Financial Report
4. Area directors' reports
5. Government liaison report
6. Carolina Clinical Connection Report
7. SOP Review
8. Discuss the Probe (format of web-based vs. adobe, etc.)
9. Fall membership drives
10. Vote on whether to send someone to the Region III Spring Meeting in Puerto Rico
11. Members speak out on any other issues they may have
12. Adjourn meeting

Our meetings generally take approximately 2 hours. I look forward to seeing all of you there.

Michelle Mantooth, MS, CLS

SCSCLS President

Reminder

by David G. Fowler, Ph.D., CLS(NCA)University of Mississippi Medical Center

Remember you can apply or renew your membership on-line at ASCLS.org web site very easily. The web address for that page is https://www.ascls.org/membership/appform.htm. Remember, membership is our lifeblood and so let's get on board and get a transfusion!

Votes

by Vivian Smith, President Elect

There was discussion at the SCSCLS board meeting last week about revising the way nominations are made and votes are cast. Currently, the ballot box is available at the spring meeting, which really limits the number of members who have an opportunity to vote. I would like to see this changed so voting is open to all members, not just those who attend the spring meeting.

One suggestion is to have the ballot box at the spring meeting as well as open voting via the internet, or absentee ballot. However, voting via internet would not be anonymous, which may or may not be a concern to you. It has also been suggested that a printable ballot be available via internet, but again it would not be anonymous since you would need to provide your membership number to qualify your vote.

It will soon be time to think about new officers and delegates, and we need your immediate suggestions and input to resolve this issue. Officers and delegates are not currently elected by a majority of our membership since so few people vote at the spring meeting.

Please email your opinions and suggestions to Vivian Smith at not4sel at charter.net. Or you may mail your response to me at :

270 Spring Valley Lane , Inman, SC 29349

This is your organization, founded to serve your professional needs. Without your help and input, it can't exist. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Also, check out our Leadership and committee pages on our web site and note the positions that are vacant. Apply for them, we would love to have you! Make that difference.

ASCLS Strategic Plan 2002-2003

Promote, integrate, and communicate the purpose of ASCLS in all activities including:

Advocacy in governmental, regulatory, and professional arenas;
Promoting and enhancing clinical laboratory science and its practioners;
Leadership development;
Networking;
Continuing education;
Grassroots membership involvement.

Develop and implement a membership recruitment and retention campaign/strategy that emphasizes the value of membership in ASCLS.
Continue to develop and implement a marketing plan designed to educate the public and other health care practitioners regarding the value of laboratory services.
Continue to work collaboratively with other laboratory organizations.
Continue to strengthen the revenue base by developing additional sources of non-dues revenue.
Continue to utilize technology to enhance membership services.
Enhance the identification, development, and recognition of current and potential leaders at all levels of the organization.

The 25^th World Congress of the International Association of Medical Laboratory Technologists and the 70^th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science

by Terri Leszczyszyn

It was held with the AACC on July 30 - August 3, 2002 in Orlando, Florida USA.

The awards ceremony this year was a joint effort. Flags from many different countries came out carried by IAMLT - from Singapore to Chili and New Zealand to Norway. They gave out their awards and many countries were represented there including Iceland and Wales to name only two. Then our ASCLS awards followed ending with the Member of the Year.

The opening ceremonies had a presentation by Nick Hall who sounded Australian and gave a great how-to on stress and its removal. At the House of Delegates two meetings of governance, we ushered out the old President who talked about ASCLS and Forrest Gump and ushered in the new one, Paula Garrott. We had the state caucus at the local Steak and Ale restaurant which was delicious as well as eventful. There was the President's Reception and Mixer and the silent auction in which our state donated a handmade necklace, bracelet and barrette from Charleston. We are housed at the Sheraton World and bused to the Orange County Convention Center for the vendor exhibition and sessions. We were on International Drive with many nice hotels. We were also not far from an outlet mall, Sea World and Disney World. My family had such fun going to the parks and bought something every place we went to remember their visit.

Our SC Delegation