Mentoring � no more talk, just do it.
Hello, I
am your new Region VII Director. For those who do not know me I live
in Galveston, TX. I am a Technical Consultant for a Diagnostic
Company and cover Texas and Louisiana. In my 12 years in Industry I
have had the opportunity to cover most of the States in Region VII
(Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico) and have met
many wonderful colleagues and it is an honor now to represent them.
As I begin
my tenure as Region Director I only hope that I will continue the
great tradition of professionalism of past Directors. Two such
examples come to mind, Cheryl Caskey and Shirlyn McKenzie. Both of
these individuals have been mentors for me in numerous ways in my
career and in ASCLS. Mentoring is such an important part of this
organization. It has been stated, written and talked about numerous
times. But as we look at our membership numbers and those who are
actively involved we need to step up to the plate. Now, even more we
need to promote ourselves, our organization and mentor new active
members.
Let�s do
more than talk about it, let�s put mentoring into ACTION. I ask each
member, whom have you mentored? I hope that list is a long one and
even if it is please continue those efforts. I would like to
challenge every member to get active and invite a colleague to a local
meeting. Or if you would rather work as a team to mentor a group or
individual. Each team member could focus on a different aspect of
ASCLS. This team approach worked well recently for me. I have a
colleague in my company who is a Clinical Laboratory Scientist and
works as a Process Consultant. One of her customers happens to be a
large hospital in Nashville, TN. These customers are two very active
members of ASCLS also. She and I would discuss my active ASCLS roles
each year in our booth at the National meetings. This year in Los
Angeles a great opportunity arose. These customers who are ASCLS
Members were at our Customer Appreciation Event and we all talked to
her about joining ASCLS. She promised to do so and she followed
through at the Region III Fall meeting. That �TnT� team approach
worked. So no more just talking about mentoring, let�s just do it.
Lastly,
many of you are �ER� fans. Some of you may have caught the October
7th episode in which they used negative references about the
Laboratory. Many of us responded to the negatively with emails to
NBC. We can only hope it will make a difference. Media does play an
important part in the perception and images of health care
professionals. �CSI: Crime Scene Investigation� has generated a new
interest in forensic laboratory testing. My next hope would be that
an TV show like �ER� would not only make small references to the
laboratory, but would actually develop a character that was a CLS.
Imagine if the public saw us as a caring and professional part of the
health care system. WOW, what a team approach that would be.
See 
