2021 Best of the Laboratory Management Convention Sessions

  • Registration Closed

The package series offers the 4 highest rated Laboratory Management focused sessions at the 2021 NSH Convention for 1 low rate.   The package includes:

  • Navigating Your Way to Successful Staffing Levels
  • "Is it that time of year already?" Annual Performance Evaluations
  • Root Cause Analysis in the Histology Laboratory
  • Anatomy of a Cyberattack

NSH members enjoy a 60% discount!

CEUs: This package contains 4 histology courses worth 1 continuing education credit per course. The courses are available for 365 days from date of purchase. 

  • Includes Credits Recorded On: 09/04/2021

    This is presentation will address how to justify and navigate your way to getting the staff you need.

    We've all been there and the question remains "why do you need more staff?" This presentation will address how to justify and navigate your way to getting the staff you need.

    CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase.   

    Kathy Wilson, HT(ASCP)QLS CM

    Kathy Wilson is an ASCP certified Histotech with over 40 years total experience in the laboratory.  She began her career in northern Michigan in the clinical laboratory as a laboratory assistant and phlebotomist, became and EMT, autopsy diener, and Histotech working in hospital environments.  Ms. Wilson worked in Fairbanks, Alaska for nearly 20 years.  Moving to Kansas City in 2004, she moved into operations management.  Safety, regulatory compliance, quality, and project management have always been keen areas of interest.  Currently working at a large multi-discipline reference laboratory managing Anatomic Pathology and all sub-departments.  She is a key member of the Safety Committee and Operations Management Team.  She mentors new supervisors and managers as well as managing a combined staff of 62 employees locally and remotely with 24/6 operations.

  • Includes Credits Recorded On: 09/14/2021

    Having a standardized form and procedure for evaluating employees will remove all of the barriers to effectively evaluating your direct reports.

    One of the most dreaded parts of being a manager is having to give annual performance evaluations. The majority of a manager's time is spent on ensuring the daily lab functions are running efficiently and that all employees have the tools they need to do their job. Taking the time to sit down and reflect on the performance of one employee over the year can be daunting. This can be further complicated by your organization's evaluation schedule; is it based on date of hire or a set period of time? Having a standardized form and procedure for evaluating employees will remove all of the barriers to effectively evaluating your direct reports.

    CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase.   

    Melissa Brown, MS, HTL(ASCP), QIHC

    The Assistant Director for Operations (ADO) “ Veterinary Diagnostic Labs is the senior administrative supervisor for the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab support staff.  These six cost centers exceed $3 million in revenues and expenses. This position exercises control for budgetary, HR, administrative, and physical plant responsibilities for the assigned areas. Melissa Brown is a Histotechnologist who has been in a lab since 2003. The past 12 years she has been specializing in Immunohistochemistry(IHC), In-Situ Hybridization(ISH) and laboratory management. She holds a Master of Science in Entomology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bachelors of Science in Entomology from the University of Florida and an Associate of Arts in Science in Histologic Technology. Melissa is a nationally certified Histotechnologist through the American Society of Clinical Pathology and Qualified in Immunohistochemistry, she is also licensed as a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor in the State of Florida.

  • Includes Credits Recorded On: 09/15/2021

    Our hospital was the victim of a massive cyberattack, which has been reported as one of the 5 most significant cyberattack events in the U.S. healthcare system in 2020 (Becker IT December 2020). We would like to share our experiences and lessons learned to help others prepare for continued and increasing threats to cybersecurity.

    Our hospital was the victim of a massive cyberattack, which has been reported as one of the 5 most significant cyberattack events in the U.S. healthcare system in 2020 (Becker IT December 2020). The event resulted in a network-wide shutdown of all computer systems with some outages lasting over 40 days. This event had a significant impact on our institution and patient care, and crippled lab operations. Having just transitioned to EPIC/Beaker one year prior, we immediately lost all access to our health information management (HIM) system in Anatomic Pathology, paralyzing our ability to process and result specimens. With an HIM system outage of longer than 25 days, we focused on developing systems to help regain operations, establishing new manual workflows and paper reporting. With more laboratories transitioning to network HIM systems such as EPIC/Beaker, we are increasingly vulnerable to the threats of cyberattacks and prolonged downtimes. We would like to share our experiences and lessons learned to help others prepare for continued and increasing threats to cybersecurity.

    CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase.   

    Valerie Cortright, HTL(ASCP)QIHC

    Valerie Cortright received her Bachelor of Arts at St. Joseph's College of Maine and completed her clinical training at University of Vermont Medical Center. Ms. Cortright currently serves as the Supervisor in Histopathology at the University of Vermont Medical Center, where she has worked for over 15 years. She is actively involved in the National Society for Histotechnology and the VT/NH Society of Histotechnology.  Ms. Cortright sits on the CAP/NSH HQIP Committee and has served as a grader for that program the past several years. Ms. Cortright has a specific interest in QA/QC and has presented talks and posters at multiple conferences.

    Anne Stowman, MD

    Dermatopathologist & Assistant Professor

  • Includes Credits Recorded On: 09/14/2021

    Root cause analysis (RCA) is a method of problem solving used for identifying the root causes of non-conformance issues in the laboratory. Root cause is the fundamental, underlying reason for a problem. This workshop will help the attendee identify the cause of a problem, solve it, and prevent it from occurring again.

    Root cause analysis (RCA) is a method of problem solving used for identifying the root causes of non-conformance issues in the laboratory. Root cause is the fundamental, underlying reason for a problem. This workshop will help the attendee identify the cause of a problem, solve it, and prevent it from occurring again. This saves your laboratory time, money, and resources. A didactic power point will describe and define Root Cause and Corrective Action and Preventive Action (CAPA). Hands-on practice for the laboratory will discuss how to address using a robust root cause analysis process to include 5 Whys, FMEA and Fishbone technique among a few tools. Lastly, the audience will leave with tools to use in their own laboratories.

    CEUs: This histology course is worth 1 continuing education credit. Course is available for 365 days from date of purchase.   

    Kathleen Dwyer, HT(ASCP)

    Kathy is the Corporate Quality Director of Medical Quality Assessment for Quest Diagnostics.  In addition, she was the AP manager at Methodist Hospital of Dallas.

    Debra Siena, HT(ASCP),QIHC

    Technical Manager

    Statlab Medical Products

    Debbie Siena has served as Technical Support Manager for StatLab Medical Products since September, 2010. Debbie has over 25 years of experience in IHC, routine histology and currently focuses on troubleshooting product issues in partnership with customers and suppliers, educating sales and customer service team members on IHC, histology, and overseeing our Customer Outreach Program. Prior to StatLab, Debbie was with Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. for seven years as a Technical Marketing Representative, Senior Technical Marketing Specialist, Area Support Manager and Key Account Technical Specialist with the Corporate and Major Account Team. While at Ventana, Debbie was a multiple award winner, including Technical Specialist of the Year, Technical Specialist of the Quarter, and President’s Club member. Prior to Ventana, Debbie was the Manager of the Anatomic Pathology Department at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas for seven years and served as Supervisor of Histology at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. While at Children’s Medical Center, Debbie was responsible for development of the IHC and ISH procedures and techniques. Debbie is very active in continuing education and has presented numerous educational workshops at the state and national level as well as multiple teleconferences for NSH.