Critical Values - January 2009 - (Page 10) Volume 2 • Issue 1 • January 2009 The technologists were more evenly split, with about half of them listing an interest in science and half of them expressing a desire to help people. In response to the second question, 80% of everyone I asked cited intellectual satisfaction and the opportunity to face new challenges and learn new things as their primary motivators. How can this apparent contradiction be reconciled? On the one hand there is the strong focus on quality patient care, and on the other hand there are the stated motivators—an interest in science and a desire for intellectual stimulation. I believe it is precisely the joy of meeting scientific challenges and searching for knowledge that drives most pathologists and laboratory professionals to achieve excellence in patient care. Were they not interested, curious, alert to the unusual, and hungry to learn more, pathologists and laboratory professionals would probably deliver no more than mediocre, uninspired care. How do the responses of my colleagues relate to ASCP? ASCP is an organization of 130,000 members. If my colleagues reflect the attitudes of the average ASCP member, then the ASCP comprises people who are driven by a keen interest in science, a love of learning, and an appetite for new challenges. In addition, if my colleagues’ dedication to quality patient care can be generalized to all ASCP members, then this is an organization that consists of people who strive to serve patients and therefore the public to the best of their ability. primarily for the public good, as its leadership contends? I believe the answer to all these questions is “Yes!” ASCP educates pathologists and laboratory professionals so that patients and the public can receive the best health care possible. ASCP certifies laboratory professionals to ensure that well-trained, qualified individuals are available to provide needed laboratory services. Likewise, ASCP advocacy efforts focus on issues that ultimately affect the public good. A natural extension of these patient- and public-focused activities is ASCP’s participation in training and certifying laboratory professionals around the world. In the end, it is each member’s own particular perspective that determines what ASCP is. For the technician or technologist who wants verification of his or her professional qualifications, ASCP is all about certification. For those who join ASCP for its educational programs and products, the Society is all about education. When laboratory professionals respond to an eAdvocacy Alert and write to their state or federal representatives, ASCP is all about advocacy. On the other hand, taking a step back and looking at everything ASCP does on so many fronts, it becomes clear. Ultimately, the Society’s broad range of activities focuses on ensuring quality health care through uncompromisingly high standards of laboratory medicine. ASCP helps real people in real laboratories help real patients. And that is something about which we can all agree. Returning to the original question, What is the ASCP all about? What is the ultimate reason for its existence? Does it exist for the purpose of education or advocacy? Is it a certification organization? Are its humanitarian activities in accord with its underlying mission? Or does ASCP exist ASCP’s Ultimate Focus: The Patient Dr. McKenna is Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Director, Surgical Pathology Fellowship Program, and attending physician, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, MI. This column is based on a speech Dr. McKenna delivered at the ASCP Annual Business Meeting and the Opening Keynote Session at the ASCP Annual Meeting in Baltimore on October 16, 2008. By permission of Tony Cochran and Creators Syndicate, Inc. 10
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