Traveling as a tech has good things and bad things, both.  The good things include the ability to say when, have some control over where, a little about what (shift, job description, facility type), and you can take time off between assignments. 

New people and places have their attraction. Some of my friends are from assignments nearly twenty years ago– and they’re all over the country!  Going new places and spending time learning a new city can be fun.  And you learn so much: I can do most any kind of Histology with any equipment and solve problems sixteen different ways.

One unexpected benefit is you can remain detached from the politics & drama in the labs that have a lot of that stuff going on.  That’s one thing that marks a great traveler in one who remains above the fray.  And if it is a less-than-lovely environment, it is easier as you know you’re going to move on pretty soon and can simply count down the days. 

Oh! Hotels and housekeeping! Don’t forget the lovelies that give us new linens, tidy up after us and vacuum once a week, usually there is a gym and a pool, so all we have to do is work and relax. 

The bad things include you can’t take extra time off mid-assignment to explore: we’re there to work.  Rarely is there overtime, we often do the basics like embed and cut, as that’s the most valuable use of our time. 

Time away can take a toll.  If you have to work without big breaks in between assignments you can lose contact with friends, and being away from family for extended periods gets old.  Really old.

The money isn’t all that much different if you calculate the cost of benefits and the time off without vacation pay.  Then add the total freak between assignments when it feels like there won’t be another job anytime soon!   

So it’s simply a choice.  Weigh the pros and cons in light of your life situation.  In this economy having a full time job with stability and full benefits including vacation time is good.   If you’re in-between jobs or are able to incorporate a little uncertainty into your life’s plan, maybe being a traveler is for you.   

Anyone else have comments or content to add–we’d love to hear from you!

 I don’t get to cut every day like I used to – and yes – I really miss it!  I think it’s part of why retired techs take part time and PRN work.  We miss the art of making those beautiful sections from GI to full large-mold colon slides. 

Just sayin.

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Routine Histology, entry through experienced positions in:  Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Washington and several others.

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We all know that change is part of working in clinical labs.  There’s a big one in the works.  The article, below, is specific to cytology but through the content we can get an idea of the impact for all of Pathology in the near future.

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ISO 15189

Globally recognized technical competence and quality management standards are a noble step for cytology.

Laboratory medicine is constantly evolving, not only with diagnostic innovations but also in adapting practices that reflect the constant need for quality in both the local and international environment.

The laboratory does not lag in these business developments and to be accredited with technical competence and quality management standards that are globally recognized is a noble step towards improving patient care.

Overview and Purpose
The International Standardization Organization (ISO) is the world’s largest developer and publisher of International Standards. The ISO provides the standards for business, government and society. It is a network of the national standards institutes of 163 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.

ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. Therefore, the ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.1

ISO was born from the union of two organizations–the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA), established in New York in 1926; and the United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee (UNSCC), established in 1944.1

The ISO was established in 1947 and has since then published more than 18,500 international standards. Most of the earlier standards have been in business, where many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. Other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations. 1

The work of the ISO stems from international agreements and are published as international standards. Medical laboratories now have the opportunity to comply with these published international standards and obtain recognition for quality of their products and services.

Laboratory medicine has embraced this challenge with the clinical side being in the forefront of the program. Cytology will always be a close follower. With the increasing scope of molecular diagnostics and automation, this will definitely bring cytology to another level of service quality.

As laboratory practitioners, we have to remember ISO accreditation is in addition to and not a replacement for the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) requirements

Demonstration of Competence
ISO 15189 was first published in 2003 (and later withdrawn and revised in 2007) and is commonly referred to as ISO 151898:2007. It specifies requirements for quality and competence particular to medical laboratories.

It is to be used by medical laboratories in developing their quality management systems and assessing their own competence, and to be used by accreditation bodies in confirming or recognizing the competence of medical laboratories.

As the standard is about competence, accreditation is the formal recognition of a demonstration of that competence. Unique to CLIA’s approach to accreditation using peer review, ISO 15189 accreditation is to be carried out by a third party organization, and not by the peers (first party) nor by the patients (second party); thus being independent of those parties involved.

Not to be confused with and earlier laboratory-related standard published in 1999, ISO 17025 is the main standard used by testing and calibration laboratories. While it is an excellent standard for research and industrial laboratories, ISO 17025 does not fully address the needs of the medical laboratory. To provide an appropriate process to measure both technical competence and quality management, ISO 15189 was proposed and published. ISO 15189 is actually based upon ISO 17025 as well as ISO 9001.

Practical Applications
Standards ensure the characteristics of products and services we want and expect are met: these include laboratory results that reflect quality, environmental friendliness, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability–all at an economical cost.

When products and services meet our expectations, we tend to take this for granted and be unaware of the role of standards. However, when standards are absent, we soon notice. We soon care when products turn out to be of poor quality, do not fit, are incompatible with equipment that we already have, are unreliable or dangerous.1

To meet the growing interest of recognition, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) initiated ISO 15189 accreditation in 2008.

ISO 15189 and Cytology
As more laboratories strive for accreditation, one may not help but wonder how this may influence the regulations and quality assurance practices already in place.

We already have the guidelines and oversight from CLIA ’88. These standards will not be replaced but rather supplemented by ISO 15189. With our current strict and thorough national standards, it is assuring to expect laboratories will meet these international requirements. However, we do have to understand that the third party will always have the discretion of implementing more stringent guidelines as it deems necessary.

Accreditation to ISO 15189 is voluntary, but the benefit for the profession and the services offered to patient care are paramount. Could international standards mean international business? Possibly, if construed in its literal definition. Can laboratory work be subjected to international testing practices? Again possibly, with considerations of digital imaging and remote access technology.

Aside from meeting international standards of quality and competence, business interaction among the countries that recognize the accreditation is a natural development that is made possible. It is speculative, but whenever the need arises and economic practicality is met, it is hard not to imagine such arrangements.

It is interesting to see the extent of laboratory participation of other countries that may want to establish reciprocal ties. Does a global economy mean an increase in distant (international) laboratory testing? Again, speculatively, yes to certain assays and procedures.

Oftentimes, when our laboratory products and services are reliable, accurate and timely, it is because they meet standards. This is what we generally strive for with all of our laboratory services. This time, with ISO 15189, we have the instrument to apply and practice this concept locally as well as internationally.

Where does this take cytology? Our role to patient care is foremost, and it is definitely a step that takes our services to another level of technical competence.

Nelson Barayuga is laboratory supervisor, NSLIJ Plainview and Syosset Hospitals, New York.

References 

1. International Organization for Standardization, Available at: www.iso.org. Last accessed Jan. 14, 2012.
2. American National Standards Institute. Available at: www.ansi.org. Last accessed Jan. 14, 2012.
3. College of American Pathologists. Available at: www.cap.org. Last accessed Jan. 14, 2012

I still bench in a lab pretty frequently but not every day.  I’m usually in an office under a phone headset and duct-taped to my computer.  I miss having a stack of flats or a tray of blocks at the end of the day and the satisfaction of ‘I did that’.  Nowadays my day is a reflection of who I talked with: is  the search for their next career step going well…or how close are we to finding that perfect fit for the people in that lab working short for the second quarter in a row. 

I do think about how stressful being in a job that doesn’t fit can be.  I’ve had a few of those along the way.  I also think about how tired you get working short day after day–we’ve ALL been there. 

So rather than being measured by a stack of slides or a box of blocks, my day at Full Staff is measured by this question:  where did we make a REAL difference today?  My day is about people and service.  Sometimes that means sitting at my desk on a beautiful Saturday afternoon because Suzanne and Erick need to get back to work and the guys in Ohio have been working short since before Thanksgiving.  It feels good–

–the privilege of making a difference.

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What’s the True Cost of a Bad Hire?

They may not have experienced the type of PR nightmares that Netflix experienced from its ill-conceived decision to launch Qwikster or Yahoo! Inc. saw after firing CEO Carol Bartz over the phone, but two-thirds of American companies say they’ve made business mistakes this year they wish they could take back. Those mistakes, according to a new survey, came in the form of bad hires, the results of which ended up costing them in more than just bruised egos.

According to a new CareerBuilder survey on the cost of a bad hire, 69 percent of employers reported that bad hires lowered their company’s productivity, affected worker morale and even resulted in legal issues.

Forty-one percent of companies estimate that a bad hire costs more than $25,000, and one in four said it costs more than $50,000.

While some mistakes are beyond the hiring manager’s control, there are ways to avoid hiring the wrong person. “The more thoroughly the candidates are vetted, the less likely they will be a poor match,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.

Haefner advises employers to allow job candidates the opportunity to meet as many employees in the department as possible – especially if they will work closely together. Also, candidates should provide ample evidence to show they have the skills and work experience required for the position.

Hiring mistakes happen…but why?
When asked to give a reason for the bad hires, an estimated 34 percent of employers attributed the mistake to the fact that sometimes things just don’t work out. A rushed decision, however, topped the list of reasons companies gave for making a bad hire.

• 38 percent of employers said they needed to fill the job position quickly.
• 21 percent say insufficient talent intelligencecontributed to bad hiring decisions.
• 11 percent didn’t perform reference checks (a commonly undervalued part of the hiring process, according to Gilt Groupe CEO Kevin Ryan.)

The price of a bad hire: It’s more than just money
The price of a bad hire adds up in variety of direct and indirect ways. For example, 9 percent of companies said bad hires result in legal issues and 11 percent said they result in fewer sales. The most common effects of a bad hire are:

• Lost worker productivity: 41 percent
• Lost time to recruit and train another worker: 40 percent
• Costs associated with recruiting and training another worker: 37 percent
• Negative impact on employee morale: 36 percent
• Negative impact on client solutions: 22 percent

How bad is bad? Characteristics of a bad hire
When it comes to what makes someone a bad hire, employers reported several behavioral and productivity related problems:

• Failure to produce the proper quality of work: 63 percent
• Failure to work well with other employees: 63 percent
• Negative attitudes: 62 percent
• Immediate attendance problems: 56 percent
• Subject of customer complaints: 49 percent
• Failure to meet deadlines: 48 percent

Can bad hires turn into good employees?
For more tips on how to avoiding hiring mistakes, check out the recent interview with Hire with Purpose author Jay Goltz. Wondering whether to fire or try to fix an employee?  Get insight from this recent interview with management expert Anne Loehr, author of Managing the Unmanageable: How to Motivate Even the Most Unruly Employee.

• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on December 16, 2011 (Original content from Career Builder)
• Have a response? Join the discussion.
• Categories: Insights & Trends, Survey Results

Welcome to our FIRST BLOG!!!

Staffing with a personal, educated, caring touch. 

Have you ever had an employee with good skills that didn’t fit in other ways?  Have you ever BEEN an employee with great skills but didn’t feel at home?   

It’s your business: it’s your life: we’re here to make a difference…