BCSLS news & updates
Quiz | Featured Column | Volunteer | Jobs | Member Spotlight | Events
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The BCSLS Enewsletter will focus on keeping our membership updated, knowledgeable and even entertained.
Message from the BCSLS President, Devena Steinmann, and Executive Director, Sharmen Vigouret Lee. Over the past 2 months the Board has been busy with 3 main activities: planning for Congress 2021, connecting with government, and developing a strategic direction and plan for the BCSLS over the next 3-5 years.
This year's Congress will be provided in a new format and delivered virtually. While this will not provide the in-person interactions that we all enjoy, the Congress Program will continue to provide exceptional speakers on topics of interest and importance to our professions, and being delivered virtually, will increase the accessibility for our members to attend. Stay tuned for more coming announcements about our fall Congress.
On the government front, the Ministry of Health has launched a BC Allied Health Provincial Consultation process. As part of this process, your President and Executive Director were invited to participate in a focus group hosted by the Ministry of Health, Allied Health Policy Secretariat to provide feedback and perspectives regarding the allied health workforce in British Columbia. Key themes for discussion at the focus group included identify/recognition, recruitment and onboarding, retention, leadership, workforce and practice optimization, education and training. Medical Laboratory Technology and Medical Laboratory Assistant are two of the 70 recognized allied health professions in BC. The next step in the consultation process involves hearing directly from you. The Ministry of Health has developed a comprehensive online survey accessible through this Survey link: https://surveymoh.health.gov.bc.ca/public/survey/allied-health-provincial-consultation?destination=/home.
The results of the online survey and focus groups will be aggregated, themed and incorporated into a Ministry of Health “What We Heard” report that will help to inform the three-year strategic plan for the Allied Health Policy Secretariat. This is an important survey and we encourage you to complete it and have your voice heard. More information about the Allied Health Policy Secretariat is provided further on in the newsletter.
The Board has also been working on the development of a new Strategic Plan. We have completed 2 sessions that have focused on an environmental scan, assessing BCSLS's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and developing a draft mission statement. We will continue to work on the development of the Strategic Plan throughout the summer and early fall, with the goal of presenting it to the membership at the October AGM.
Enjoy the summer, stay safe, and we look forward to connecting with you in the Fall.
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Special Days / Happy Days
June / July / August
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Our monthly Quiz with prizes. It's a fun way to test your knowledge and win a little something for doing it.
Deadline: June 30th
Congratulations to Simran Sidhu, the May quiz winner!
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Membership year started May 2021!
You can easily renew your BCSLS membership today!
Keep your profile/account up-to-date, store your educational and professional documents all in one place.
Sign in:
Email: use the one we have in your profile.
Password: use the one you created or press ‘recover password’
APPLY for your membership (right side of page), choose the applicable type, and pay by credit card. SAVE AND SUBMIT
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Nominations for the Board of Directors will start in August. We will keep you posted as the time nears.
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June's Guest Contributor
Shanise Keith. NCPT, NCMA, and a Phlebotomy Program Coordinator
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New Technology in Phlebotomy |
In 2016, a new device was introduced into the market. Its purpose was to reduce the number of venipunctures required during a hospital patient's stay, improve the quality of blood samples collected from IV lines, and provide an overall safer and more positive experience for patients and phlebotomists alike. **Pending Health Canada approval.
This device is known as the PIVO system, created by Velano Vascular. It is a needle-free single-use device designed to collect high-quality blood samples from an already existing peripheral IV.
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Welcome to the Laboratory Profession!
There are lots of students starting their Laboratory classes this summer!
- MLAs at Vancouver Career College - July 19th
- MLAs at Stenberg College - July 19th
- MLAs at West Coast College - August 3rd
- MLAs at Vancouver Career College - August 3rd
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Congratulations to the graduating BC Laboratory classes of Summer! Welcome to the laboratory Profession!
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Happy Retirement!! The best part about being retired is never having to request time off.
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Let's get to know each other a little better professionally and personally. We will profile a member in a light-hearted Q&A format. Be sure to click on the 'read more' link to see the full Q&A.
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Meaghan Kidd
- My first lab position was at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital (SPH), a lovely community hospital with an attached long term care facility. As a smaller hospital, the lab is staffed by just a few techs and lab assistants and is able to support basic chemistry, hematology, and transfusion needs.
- ... The most surprising thing was the frequency of being called a vampire by strangers. Besides this, being immersed in the emergency room at SPH revealed more of the whole picture of how many people are involved in a health care team.
- READ MORE
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We are in the process of creating our strategic plan and are identifying specific projects/tasks to create.
We are looking for people to get involved in many different ways. If you would like more information take a look at our Volunteer webpage
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Communication Liaisons - we want to increase our channels of communication with our members so we can hear more effectively from our members and share information. We are looking for Communication Liaisons from all Health Authorities and private labs across the province to work with us.
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Presenters and Educators - have an idea for a topic you would like to present to your peers? Contact us and we will be pleased to connect you with our professional development team
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Projects and initiatives - as we develop and implement new programming, we will be looking for volunteers to assist us as project managers and/or project team members. Contact us if you are interested. This is a great way to apply your skills and knowledge, or to learn and practice new skills.
- And more ...
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Upcoming Events
Congress 2021 This year's Congress will be provided in a new format and delivered virtually. While this will not provide the in-person interactions that we all enjoy, the Congress Program will continue to provide exceptional speakers on topics of interest and importance to our professions, and being delivered virtually, will increase the accessibility for our members to attend.
Stay tuned for more coming announcements about our fall Congress.
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Planning for Future Services |
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Over the past 2 months the Board has been busy with 3 main activities: planning for Congress 2021, connecting with government, and developing a strategic direction and plan for the BCSLS over the next 3-5 years. We will keep you posted. |
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Allied Health Policy Secretariat
The Allied Health Policy Secretariat is part of the Ministry of Health, Health Sector Workforce and Beneficiary Services Division. They serve to provide strategic policy direction and provincial oversight for the allied health workforce in three primary areas: education and training, recruitment and retention, and professional practice (role/scope optimization). They work with health authorities, professional associations, regulatory colleges, unions, post-secondary institutions and the Health Employers Association of BC. The Secretariat's core functions include the following:
- collaborate with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training to ensure allied health related education and training programs are consistent with current health system direction
- provide strategic oversight and direction for allied health clinical capacity and student practice education
- lead provincial policy and program development for allied health recruitment and retention
- ensure optimization of the allied health workforce and support scope of practice and models of care that meet population health needs
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Regulatory College Updates |
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