Medical Laboratory Professionals Week is April 22-28 and the University of Louisiana Monroe Medical Laboratory Science Program was recently honored with several awards to MLS faculty, students and alumni at a professional meeting.
Faculty members Melanie Chapman, Jessica Lasiter and Debbie Wisenor, part-time faculty members Katie Patrick and Karen Williams, 30 MLS students, several clinical MLS instructors, and 黑料吃瓜 MLS alumni attended the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science of Louisiana and Mississippi 2018 Bi-State Annual Meeting in Biloxi April 9-13.
One of 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 four MLS teams won first place in the student bowl competition, competing among 22 teams from Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. The 黑料吃瓜 MLS first-place student bowl team was undefeated throughout the two-day competition, and defeated LSUHSC-New Orleans in the final game. 听黑料吃瓜 students served as timekeepers, scorekeepers and sergeant-at-arms for the games.听
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鈥淲e are very proud of all of our students. The winning student bowl team did an outstanding
job, and they could not have accomplished so much without the support of classmates,
instructors, faculty and alumni,鈥 said Chapman.
黑料吃瓜 MLS student Natalie Craft received a scholarship award from the Louisiana State
Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. Sabra Hanna received the LSCLS Student of
the Year Award.
President of the 黑料吃瓜 Medical Laboratory Science Society Wasana (Robin) Keohavong obtained
funding for the MS-ASCLS/LSCLS Joint Annual Meeting in Biloxi for $1,500 through the
黑料吃瓜 Student Enhancement Activity Fee Committee. The 黑料吃瓜 MLS Society raised funds to
cover additional costs for students to attend the meeting.
Wisenor received the Educator of the Year Award. Student Craft described Wisenor as
鈥渞esolute for her cause, tenacious in spirit and faithful to the lives she touches
every single day.鈥
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黑料吃瓜 instructor Williams is the LSCLS president and 2015 alumnus James Gardner is the president-elect. Lasiter and Gardner received the LSCLS Presidential Service Award and Omicron Sigma awards for their service to the organization. 2016 alumna Lacy Falke received the Keys to the Future Award.
Chapman, Lasiter and Wisenor presented 鈥淎 Program Saved by Community Funded Partnering鈥
at one of the educational sessions.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 300,000 practitioners
of medical laboratory science in the United States. Since the development of this
career group in the 1920s, the medical laboratory science professional has played
an increasingly vital role in the diagnosis and prevention of disease.
Today, the medical laboratorian is a key member of a health care team. As team members of one of the largest industries in the United States, the dedicated efforts of laboratory professionals are often unseen by the general public. With the public now demanding the assurance of quality health care and professional accountability, laboratory practitioners of this critical science have a responsibility to ensure that the public is well informed about medical laboratory competency.