ASCP’s Support of the
CDC OneLab™ Initiative
Negotiation & Advocacy Toolbox Pillars
To advocate for your laboratory and staffing needs, demonstration of the laboratory’s value to the overall healthcare system and patient care is critical. Developing a structured laboratory strategic plan can help outline and operationalize the core pillars needed to demonstrate value of the laboratory.
Negotiation & Advocacy Toolbox Pillars 1-5 are now complete
Have you used tools or resources from the Negotiation & Advocacy Toolbox?
If so, please let us know through this short survey that will take less than 5 minutes to complete!
Training Resources
Blood Culture Collection Best Practices for Laboratory Professionals
Note: While these best practices represent the current gold standard for blood culture collection, they may need to be modified based on institutional guidelines in light of supply disruptions in blood culture media bottles or other consumables.
This case-based learning includes the following topics:
- Appropriate use of aerobic and anaerobic blood culture bottles
- Recommended blood volume for adult blood culture collection
- Proper disinfection procedures prior to blood culture collection
- Best practices to reduce risk of blood culture contamination
- Blood culture contamination rate calculation and monitoring
The activity offers 1.0 CME/CMLE credit.
To register for this course, you will first need a ASCP account for the ASCP Store. If you do not already have an existing ASCP account, click here to create a free one.
After obtaining a free ASCP account, register for the course using the following instructions:
- Follow this direct link to the Blood Culture Collection Best Practices for Laboratory Professionals course page on the ASCP store
- Add the class to the cart
- Click the Checkout button
- Click the “I’m not a robot” button
- Click the Submit button
- You will see a screen that says Home and Dashboard, click on Dashboard
- On the Dashboard page, there’s a section that says My Education, click on the blue button that says My Courses
- You’ll see a list of courses on the next page that you are registered for
- Click the button that says Launch or Start next to the name of the course
- Then you will be taken to the LMS to start the class
- Following completion of the course, course credit will be visible on the Dashboard page, under the section that says My Education, and the button that says Certificates & Transcript
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
Outline step-wise best practices for adult blood culture collection
Improve workflows to mitigate risk of blood culture contamination
Calculate blood culture contamination rate
Understand the value of tracking and providing feedback on blood culture contamination rates
Case-Based Best Practices in Effective Test Utilization for Clinical Laboratories
This CME/CMLE-accredited, case-based educational activity is designed to help clinical laboratory directors, clinical laboratory managers, and laboratory professionals increase the knowledge, skills, and competence in effective test utilization best practices for clinical laboratory settings. Through a series of ten 5-minute cases developed by a multidisciplinary team, you will gain a greater understanding of current and evidence-based guidelines to inform and impact clinical test ordering practices and reduce overconsumption of supplies without compromising patient care.
Some of the topics covered in this activity include:
- Effective test utilization for pancreatitis, and cardiac injury and AMI
- Blood collection tube consumption and conservation
- Strategies for Reducing Repeat Daily Lab Test Ordering
- Vitamin D Utilization – sound alike tests
- Detecting Severity and Acuity of Inflammation
The activity offers 1.0 CME/CMLE credit.
To register for this course, you will first need a ASCP account for the ASCP Store. If you do not already have an existing ASCP account, click here to create a free one.
After obtaining a free ASCP account, register for the course using the following instructions:
- Follow this direct link to the Case-Based Best Practices in Effective Test Utilization for Clinical Laboratories course page on the ASCP store
- Add the class to the cart
- Click the Checkout button
- Click the “I’m not a robot” button
- Click the Submit button
- You will see a screen that says Home and Dashboard, click on Dashboard
- On the Dashboard page, there’s a section that says My Education, click on the blue button that says My Courses
- You’ll see a list of courses on the next page that you are registered for
- Click the button that says Launch or Start next to the name of the course
- Then you will be taken to the LMS to start the class
- Following completion of the course, course credit will be visible on the Dashboard page, under the section that says My Education, and the button that says Certificates & Transcript
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
Apply proven effective test utilization best practices for clinical laboratories.
Outline ways to reduce overconsumption of testing supplies without compromising patient care.
Evaluate evidence-based guidelines to inform and impact test ordering practices.
Improve communication with ordering physicians to more effectively use available resources.
Supply Chain Management Techniques
Using Alternative Test Supplies/Vendors/Labs
Testing Conservation Strategies
Ordering Additional Supplies
Continuing Communication with Vendor
Educating Providers
Aligning Your Laboratory Team Job Aid
The clinical laboratory attracts individuals who are organized, detail-oriented, enjoy challenges, and are committed to contributing to patient care through timely and accurate testing. Despite facing staffing shortages, the laboratory workforce seeks to enhance its resilience and diversity.
This job aid is designed to offer clinical laboratory leaders ideas on supporting tasks that may align with their team members’ character traits, preferences, or personal interests. While not comprehensive, it aims to provide general guidance to better match the supportive tasks in your laboratory with the personal interests and inclinations of your team.
Aligning with Your Lab Team Quiz
This quick, interactive logic-based quiz, designed both for use by laboratory leaders and laboratory team members, considers self-identified skills and preferences and shares suggestions on supporting laboratory tasks that may be of interest to you. These tasks span both technical laboratory tasks and laboratory visibility activities and takes into consideration the amount of time that the survey-taker has available.
This quiz would be a great resource to share with laboratory leadership, motivated lab team members, and those interested in continuing to learn and grow their role in the clinical laboratory.
Events
KnowledgeLab 2025
Session Title: Amazing Lab Race 2025: Scottsdale, AZ – Building a High-Value Lab: Leveraging the Negotiation & Advocacy Toolbox to Win Leadership Investment
Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 4pm-5:30pm
Target Audience: Emerging and Seasoned Leaders
Virtual Learning Series
Building Bridges Across the Laboratory Community:
ASCP is collaborating with the CDC to launch, Building Bridges Across the Laboratory Community. The ASCP Building Bridges Across the Laboratory Community webinar series seeks to highlight and identify opportunities for collaboration and partnership (“building bridges”) across the laboratory workforce. In our 2025 series, we further focus on highlighting the diverse array of laboratory career pathways and how exposure to formative experiences, often through collaborations, partnerships, and unique training opportunities, can shape these laboratory career trajectories.
Volunteer Opportunities
No volunteer opportunities are available at this time. New volunteer opportunities will be shared on this website as needs arise.
Scholarships
ASCP is thrilled to announce the return of the Dr. Alvin Ring Empowerment Scholarship for Laboratory Professionals!
Applications will be accepted March 3 – May 31, 2025.
This scholarship provides financial support for direct academic tuition or needs-based expenses for students interested in entering or advancing their medical laboratory education. Students must be US citizens from medically-underserved and/or rural areas looking to support medically-underserved communities with their education. Please share information on this scholarship widely within your Network!