This session provides useful present-day case presentation(s) of uncommon findings, such as the detection of antibodies to low-frequency antigens.

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​This presentation includes discussion of the challenges related to the testing and diagnosis of sickle cell disease, as well as the latest advancements in treatment options.

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This session will outline current scientific evidence and standards of care in relation to transgender health and discuss the role of clinical laboratories in promoting positive patient outcomes for transgender patients and those who are in gender-affirming therapies.

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​This presentation demystifies artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in a manner specifically designed for clinical laboratory professionals and leaders. 

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​Featuring two 30-minute presentations:
Fungal Meningitis Outbreak following Cosmetic Surgery Tourism: A Case Study
In 2023, the CDC responded to a fungal meningitis outbreak linked to cosmetic surgeries. This case highlights the role of laboratory testing and appropriate interpretation, including the importance of understanding testing limitations and probability.

This session will address these issues by analyzing scenarios, understanding their origins, their impact, and teaching strategies to learn from these mistakes.

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​Data is an essential piece of any stewardship initiative, but setting up the right infrastructure for success can be challenging. In this presentation, we will explore the necessary steps to establish your data-driven program, setting you up to lead your organization in value-based and cost-saving initiatives.

​Take a break from the traditional conference fare and learn from the lighter side of lab medicine. From Sanford & Son to Gilligan's Island, learn 6 important lab lessons from classic sitcoms. This session is sure bring a smile to the attendee!

​This session will define emerging and re-emerging pathogens as they relate to the practice of clinical microbiology. Recent interest in these pathogens will be discussed, and related case studies will be presented.

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In this module on Forming a Professional Identity, participants will learn about individualized professional identity. Throughout the module, participants will be presented with several reflection questions to encourage a deeper understanding, facilitate discovery and meaning, and foster personal growth.

 In this presentation, we will explore important concepts of workplace safety culture and strategies to improve wellbeing for medical laboratory professionals.

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This session describes the impact that culture reporting practices have on antibiotic use and how laboratory-based interventions can help support stewardship initiatives.

​This session will describe the use of advanced molecular techniques, strategies for their implementation, and understanding limitations and challenges surrounding result interpretation.

​This presentation will discuss several pathogens, including pathology, epidemiology, treatment, prevention, and other microbiological and infectious disease aspects to consider going forward.

​Attend this interactive session where you will receive new tools and learn new skills and techniques to keep your business in order – identify where you do want to spend your time and rearrange your workflow to reduce time spent on emails and other non-value-added time wasters!

​This session includes a discussion on Babesiosis, including how it can be transmitted by blood transfusion, the treatment of severely infected patients with red cell exchange, and how warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia can occur as a late complication.

Optical genome mapping (OGM) is an emerging technology. It reveals genome-wide structural and copy number variants, some of which are important to classify cancer risk. Given a simple workflow and analysis pipeline, it is adopting into clinical labs.

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​Emotional Quotient (EQ) is an important part of a person’s occupational skills, especially when working on a team or with customers. This session will define EQ and build a roadmap for self-assessment and for guiding others to increase their own EQ.

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Platelet Collection Process Improvement Project
In-house platelet collections are critical at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) because German national platelets are not FDA equivalent. This session will review how LRMC was able to significantly reduce or eliminate purchase of German platelets to become a self-sufficient collection center.

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We are in a unique time where there are four generations of people in the workforce at once. It is helpful to know the general characteristics of these distinctive generational cohorts and identify strategies that empower each in a way that builds a cohesive team.

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This session will use case studies to unveil the impact of drug abuse in celebrities and legal processes. Participants will review testing advancements at the intersection of science and public safety through an exploration of toxicology testing techniques, challenges, and ethical dimensions.

​ This session will review the clinical implications of lead poisoning, the regulatory requirements for testing and reporting BLLs in children, and the analytical details of measuring blood lead.

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This presentation will provide an overview of what Patient Blood Management (PBM) is and will include discussion of the risks associated with blood transfusion as well as provide ideas for how medical laboratory professions can get involved in this patient centered, patient safety initiative.

The growth of diagnostic information has increased exponentially along with the incidence of diagnostic error. Utilizing the DCLS as an advanced practitioner within the integrative diagnostics model can help meet this challenge.

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​This session will cover unique or surprise diagnoses in the hematology laboratory. Discussion about diagnosis, testing critical to making a diagnosis, and how laboratory professionals can identify this in their laboratory will be discussed.

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This is a crash course in basic quality tools and how to use them to benefit your medical laboratory as well as how to communicate these benefits through storytelling with data.

​Postpartum kidney injury diagnosis is complex. This case study illustrates a doctor of clinical laboratory science's involvement in managing a 24-year woman with hemorrhage and thrombocytopenia using diagnostic management teams in an interprofessional healthcare setting.

​This presentation will review guidelines to avoid lawsuits, describe situations and cases that may have legal ramifications, and discuss the best practices to avoid legal aspects in a potential law suit associated with phlebotomy procedures.

This presentation will focus on how classification of hematopoietic tumors relies on morphology, immunophenotype, genetic and clinical features to define the disease. 

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Communication failures can undermine the perception of the lab in a heartbeat. We have incredible expertise, but sometimes our delivery sabotages our value. Avoiding “communication biohazard” is critical to how the lab is viewed by those we serve.

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Endometrial receptivity requires both fetal and maternal systems to cooperate for successful pregnancy. We examine the fetal contribution that causes failure of pregnancy—how chromosomal error or maternal response affects placental development.​

 This session will review various preanalytical situations and potential patient consequences as a means for teaching the importance of specimen integrity.

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​High reliability organizations are those which maintain consistent positive outcomes without major safety incidents. What would it take to get your lab to that level? Learn about the processes you need to have in place to improve lab safety.​​​​

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​This presentation will provide the context of how accreditation provides the guidance for laboratories to provide quality outcomes. The various accrediting agencies will be reviewed and how they relate to CLIA/CMS and each other. 

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Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization - time of flight (MALDI-TOF) has made changes in the way we identify microorganisms in the Clinical Microbiology laboratory. In this session we’ll discuss MALDI-TOF and how this method has impacted the way we work in the laboratory.

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The pre-examination process is an important step for the accuracy of laboratory results which impact patient safety and the quality care given. Guidelines for collecting quality samples is essential because acceptance of improper specimens for analysis may lead to erroneous laboratory results.

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Urine drug screening immunoassays are fast and inexpensive; however, they lack the sensitivity and specificity in detecting >300 novel psychoactive drugs in the recreational drug market. Shifting testing paradigm can provide significant improvements.

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Webinar -  The early history of laboratory informatics, review auto-verification case studies where medical laboratory professionals played a major role in the implementation, and discuss future projects and the involvement of medical laboratory professionals.

This presentation will review the basics of trauma-informed care as well as ways to create safe and supportive environments where laboratory staff are empowered to take part in their own wellbeing.

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​Artificially intelligent (AI) solutions containing clinical laboratory data could possess inaccuracy. As stakeholders in patient safety, laboratorians should be informed of where errors and bias can occur in the applications of healthcare AI.

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