A Message from The President

Hello AMT members,

I had the opportunity to attend the ASCLS-WI Annual State Convention on April 2-3, 2024, at the Hilton Appleton Paper Valley. AMT was one of their sponsors for the convention. There were almost 30 CEUs offered with interesting and educational breakout sessions and student exhibits.

Several breakout sessions that I would like to mention:

• This was a topic within a couple of sessions - Scholarships and MLT students being the least likely to apply. Scholarships are a bonus to help finance your education, so please apply.
• Back to Basics - Urinalysis presented by Leah Narans, MBA, MT(ASCP). Here are a couple of things that caught my interest:
  • Cast=Jello in the toilet (for those who are due to take their boards). The continuous flushing of the toilet prevents the Jello from solidifying = staying hydrated prevents cast formation. I hope this helps!
  • A clean catch for a woman takes 5 hands. Get it? If not just think of the instructions for a clean catch urine (smile).
• Cyber Security. Remember to follow your employers’ guidelines to prevent any cyberattacks, especially after what took place at Change Healthcare several weeks ago. This cyber breach has affected numerous organizations, billing, and patient care. A new term introduced was cyber hygiene, be wary about opening emails from outside sources, or clicking on unfamiliar hyperlinks. Networks are easy to infiltrate!

Lots of newly enhanced lab equipment was on display, such as a machine that can run 20 sed rates at once or a silent centrifuge machine that has a stop-and-go light as an added feature.

LabCorp (22 countries) Sebia (120 countries) and the Mayo Clinic are a few companies that have job relocation, which is something to think about for the lab specialties.

The convention was a great couple of networking days! I am looking forward to meeting AMT members at the Annual Meeting, July 8-12, 2024, in St. Louis, MO.

Sincerely,
Karen Sumlin-Gray, RMA (AMT)
WI President