The George Washington University Biomedical Laboratory Sciences Department has been approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program.
GW BLS P.A.C.E.® Program webinars are presented by BLS Department faculty, one hour long and offered via WebEx (link sent after registration).
GW BLS P.A.C.E.® Program webinars are offered free to GW BLS affiliates who serve as clinical preceptors to students in our Medical Laboratory Sciences Programs. There is a $5 registration fee for non-affiliates.
- Upcoming Webinars
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Date/Time: Title: Speaker: Description: Learning Objectives: Registration Link March 28, 2024 at 4 pm ET Necessity for Accessibility in the Classroom Lauren Ragle, PhD There is a renewed focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect across multiple sectors. However wonderful these DEIR efforts may be, one community remains largely ignored - the disability community. This presentation will examine how we can tailor classroom environments and structures to accommodate the needs of all students.
1. List forms of inclusive design for physical access.
2. Explain effective communication strategies in their classrooms.
3. Recall strategies for mental preparation and engagement of students .Register - Past Recorded Webinars
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Title: Speaker: Description: Learning Objectives: Registration Link A Day in the Life of a
Regional Medical
Laboratory ScientistMarcia Singleton, BA, BS MLS (ASCP) The Regional Medical Laboratory Specialist provides critical support to U.S. Embassy health units
by managing the accuracy, safety, and efficiency of all lab-related operations to ensure the best
possible healthcare for U.S. diplomats and their families abroad. They perform a range of tests
and procedures, from routine to highly specialized, in various fields including: Parasitology,
Microbiology, Serology, Chemistry, Hematology, Blood Banking and Urinalysis. In this session,
you will learn about the position and its rewarding benefits from a Regional Medical Laboratory
Specialist currently posted in Frankfurt, Germany.1. List the job qualifications required for the Regional Medical Laboratory Scientist
position.2. Describe the benefits offered with the position.
3. Summarize the day to day tasks and responsibilities of a Regional Medical
Laboratory Scientist.Register Decision Making in the US
Blood Industry: What is
Driving Change?Lauren Crowder, PhD, MPH, CPH This session will present a collective case study of decision makers within
the US blood system – from federal policy makers to blood centers to
standards setting groups. Barriers and facilitators to effective and efficient
decision making will be discussed. A specific case study in recent guidance
changes will provide a lens through which these topics can be viewed.1. Describe the various decision-making bodies that exist in the US blood system
and the predominant process of decision-making occurring at each level.2. Explain relevant barriers and facilitators to decision-making in the US blood system.
3. Apply these concepts to the recent deferral policy change from a time-based
deferral for men who have sex with men (MSM) to individual donor assessment.Register Laboratory Methods to Detect Prenatal Substance Use Exposure in Infants Kelly Wilhelms, PhD, DABCC, MLS(ASCP)MBCM Substance use during pregnancy has increased markedly in recent years, placing increased demands on laboratory services to provide methods to detect prenatal exposure to illicit drugs. This session summarizes the physiological and social implications of prenatal drug exposure and presents information on the primary means used to detect such cases. 1. Summarize the advantages and limitations of using meconium and umbilical cord tissue to detect in utero drug exposure.
2. Discuss the technologies used to screen for drug exposure and confirm their presence.
3. Describe the implications of a failure to appropriately confirm a positive drug screen in a presumptively positive specimen.Register Medical Laboratory Sciences Preceptors: Perceptions of Benefits and Challenges in Clinical Education Olga Terekhina, DHSc, MLS (ASCP), MB Laboratory preceptors play an important role in developing competent future laboratory professionals. This presentation will explore preceptor perceptions of benefits, rewards, and challenges associated with providing clinical instruction; review preceptor development; and highlight strategies that can be used by organizations and academic programs to increase preceptor commitment. 1. Discuss benefits, rewards, and challenges associated with providing clinical instruction as
identified by laboratory preceptors.
2. Develop an understanding of preceptor development needs.
3. Summarize strategies to increase preceptor commitment to their role.Register Panic in a Petri dish: Biothreat
MicrobiologyKelly Ritter, MS, MLS(ASCP),SM This session will provide a glimpse into the fascinating field of biothreat microbiology. It will highlight lab techniques and safety practices pertaining to biothreat agents and the importance of raising awareness of the field. 1. Define Laboratory Response Network (LRN) and explain the LRN’s role
in public health
2. List potential biothreat agents encountered in the laboratory.
3. Describe laboratory techniques utilized in biothreat microbiology.
4. Explain the need for outreach to clinical laboratories as well as MLS/MLT
students entering the field.Register Notorious Nosocomials, Part II - Preventing Nosocomial Infections: A focus on barrier protection and hand hygiene Marcia Firmani, PhD, MSPH, MT(ASCP)MG This presentation emphasizes the importance of barrier protection and hand hygiene with regard to the prevention of infectious disease transmission in the healthcare setting. 1. Discuss the importance of barrier protection and hand hygiene to prevent infectious disease transmission
2. List the various available hand hygiene and barrier protection products and methods
3. Compare the effectiveness of different hand hygiene and barrier protection methodsRegister Notorious Nosocomials: Preventing Infectious Disease Transmission in the Healthcare Setting Marcia Firmani, PhD, MSPH, MT(ASCP)MG This session will review common infections that occur within a hospital setting and the prevention measures to reduce infectious disease transmission. 1. Review several pathogens that have a higher risk of causing nosocomial infections
2. Examine infectious disease cases that have occurred as a result of patient or clinical sample interaction
3. Discuss preventive measures to reduce infectious disease transmission in the healthcare setting
Register Finding a Needle in a Haystack -
Using Integrative OMICSPaola Correa, PhD The evolution of DNA sequencing technologies in the last decade has more
than exponentially increased the amount of data we now have available from
human and animal genomes. These great advances have changed the way we
diagnose disease and generate treatments. How OMICS data has accelerated
biomarker discovery, gene therapy and gene editing to tackle some of the most
challenging medical conditions will be presented.1. Describe the process of next generation sequencing (NGS)
2. Explain how single cell transcriptomics has accelerated biomarker
discovery3. Identify at least one NGS application for gene therapy and gene editing
Register Role of the Genetic Counselor in the Clinical Laboratory Lisa Schwartz, EdD, MS, CGC & HD, MLS (ASCP)CM Opportunities for genetic counselors (GCs) to work in the diagnostics laboratory setting have grown exponentially, yet little research has been conducted regarding the professional development needed to serve in lab roles. The results of a qualitative study exploring the knowledge, skills, and competencies required for an entry-level lab GC and the perceived level of preparation of these competencies among currently practicing lab GCs will be presented. 1. Identify various roles performed by genetic counselors in the diagnostic laboratory
2. Describe the perceived preparation needed to serve in a diagnostic laboratory as a genetic counselor
3. Explain the methods by which genetic counselors develop
Register Approach to Evaluating Anemias Yousif Barzani, M.D., MA Ed & HD, MLS (ASCP)CM This session will provide different approaches to evaluating anemias including morphologic and pathophysiologic classification methods. 1. Define anemia
2. Describe the morphologic and pathophysiologic classifications of anemia
3. Discuss the importance of peripheral blood smear examination in evaluating anemias
4. Discuss the etiology, peripheral blood and laboratory findings of iron deficiency anemia, anemia of chronic Inflammation, sideroblastic anemias, and hemochromatosis
Register Integrative Diagnostics: Making the Diagnostic Expert the Most Important Member of the Healthcare Team Now Michael Laposta, MD, PhD The growing complexity of the diagnostic process has led to the creation of expert groups known as diagnostic management teams, who are available for consultation on the selection of the appropriate tests for a given patient, and for the interpretation of the test results in clinical context, and should have a dramatic effect on clinical outcomes. 1. Describe the logistics for consultation of laboratory test selection and result interpretation
2. Report the outcome benefits from one or more of the Diagnostic Management Team services
3. Provide information of the growth of diagnostic information and the impact on clinical care in the USRegister Assessing Renal Function using the eGFR Kelly Wilhelms, PhD, DABCC, MLS(ASCP)CM This session will review historical and modern methods for evaluating renal health using endogenous biomarkers to estimate glomerular filtration. 1. Describe glomerular filtration in the context of renal health
2. Recognize the most common equations used to estimate glomerular filtration
3. Describe the importance of standardizing creatinine assays in the context of estimating GFR
4. Discuss the limitations of creatinine as a biomarker used to estimate GFRRegister Professional Identity Formation and Advocacy: How Do I Fit In? Carol Rentas, PhD Professional identity, or how you fit in with others in your profession, is critical in ensuring safe and effective healthcare practices. Here, we explore professional identity formation (PIF) and its importance in healthcare, the reciprocal effects of PIF and teamwork, and professional advocacy as a tool to cultivate professional identity. 1. Define professional identity and describe the factors that contribute to its formation, especially as it applies to a healthcare professional.
2. Explain the role that being a member of a healthcare team plays in forming a professional identity.
3. Recognize how professional advocacy supports professional identity development and strengthens that identity over time."Register Informing Curricula to Address Health Disparities Across the Health Professions Rohini Ganjoo, PhD Health professionals can play a pivotal role in mitigating health disparities, butthere are currently no standardized metrics to assess students’ health equity knowledge. This webinar covers the creation of an instrument that generates evidence of validity around a shared set of health equity competencies across health professions’ training programs. 1. Identify the gaps across health equity education within the health professions
2. Describe how the Health Equity Framework informed a proposed set of health equity competencies
3. Discuss the validation process of a health equity survey to measure knowledge and attitudes of health professional students"Register Dealing with Ambiguity Lisa Schwartz, EdD, MS, CGC This session is designed to help you identify and address ambiguity in the workplace. 1. Define the concept of ambiguity in the workplace
2. Assess your own comfort in dealing with ambiguity
3. Identify at least three methods to deal with ambiguity in the workplace"Register Autoimmune Diseases Yousif Barzani, MD In this session we will talk about autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and SLE. 1. Describe the characteristics of autoimmune diseases
2. Describe the etiology and immunologic manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis
3. Describe the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
4. Describe the etiology and immunologic manifestations of SLE
5. Describe the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of SLERegister Molecular Determinants of Breast Cancer Yuliya Dobrydneva, PhD This lecture will describe the main types of breast cancer based on genetic classification, mutations and biomarkers. Genetic biomarkers for disease prognostication and treatment will be described. 1. Describe the main types of breast cancer based on their molecular profile
2. Explain tumor biomarkers currently used for diagnosis and treatment
3. Describe genetic profile testing in breast cancerRegister MLS Career Choice Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic Lisa Schwartz, EdD, MS, CGC The findings of a cross sectional study of students enrolled in MLS programs at a single university, which explored factors that influence MLS student career choice and how they reported having been impacted by the COVID-19, will be presented. 1. List at least three factors that influence career choice among a sample of MLS students
2. Describe how recruitment strategies may be focused on factors that influence MLS career choice
3. Recall how MLS students describe the COVID-19 pandemicRegister Prions Marcia Firmani, Ph.D., MSPH, MT(ASCP)MB This session will provide an overview of the infectious agent
known as the prion and will also cover the various diseases
caused prions.1. Discuss prions and their role in infectious diseases
2. Summarize the diseases caused by prions, including BSE
and vCJD
3. Discuss prion disease cases in the U.S.Register Building a Diverse Laboratory Rohini Ganjoo, PhD How to encourage and promote diversity in the clinical laboratory. 1. Describe the importance of diversity in the clinical laboratories.
2. Identify barriers to creating an inclusive work environment.
3. Summarize strategies to create an equitable work environment.
Register Menopausal Hormone Replacement Yuliya Dobryndeva, PhD Postmenpopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is widely used to alleviate moderate to severe symptoms associated with menopause. HRT aims to replace falling estrogen with pharmaceutical hormone preparations. HRT can be effective in restoring quality of life for women during menopausal transition, but it also carries significant risks. This presentation aims to discuss HRT modalities, risk, benefits and controversies surrounding its use. 1. Describe current state of HRT and various treatment modalities.
2. Provide perspective on HRT development and controversies.
3. Describe risks and benefits of contemporary HRT treatments.
Register Managing Up Lisa Schwartz, EDD This session is designed to help you identify ways to work with your boss to obtain the best possible result for you, your boss, and your organization. 1. Define the concept of managing up.
2. Identify at least two situations in which you can manage up to your boss.
3. Determine at least three steps to improve how you manage up with your boss
Register The Use of Direct Access Testing by Fitness Professionals Carol Rentas, PhD, MEd, MT (ASCP) SCCM Increased availability of direct access testing has shifted the clinical focus from diagnosis to prevention. Fitness experts are partnering with clients to use DAT to direct their client's progress. In this session, we explore the emergence of a new member of our healthcare team & how it reframes the future of lab testing. 1. Outline the ways direct access testing (DAT) is changing the healthcare landscape.
2. Describe the use of fitness blood profiles to prevent, instead of treat, disease.
3. Discuss the new dynamics of a healthcare team which includes fitness professionals.
Register Effective Mentoring Lisa Schwartz, EdD, MS This session is designed to help you recognize the key features of effective mentoring and apply these features in case based scenarios. Distinguish mentoring from coaching and sponsoring.
Identify common approaches to mentoring.
Recognize key features and strategies of an effective mentoring relationship.
Register Laboratory diagnosis of humoral primary immune deficiency diseases Yulya Dobrydneva, PhD This talk describes main classes of Primary immune deficiency diseases resulting in defective antiobody production and their pathophysiological mechanism. Focus is on a laboratory diagnosis of PID. Describe genetics and pattern of inheritance of different classes of humoral PID.
Characterize the course of different types of PID.
Discuss diagnostic workup of PID and algorithms of differential diagnosis.
Register From benevolent to beast: what makes a microbe become a pathogen? Marcia Firmani, PhD, MSPH, MT(ASCP)MBCM This talk covers the molecular mechanisms and virulence factors that cause organisms to go from ubiquitous bacteria to harmful pathogens. Discuss the differences between normal flora and pathogenic organisms.
Identify at least three virulence factors that cause organisms to become pathogenic.
Explain pathogenic mechanisms that microbes utilize to cause disease.
Register Genetic Counseling: History, Utility, and Impact Lisa Schwartz, EdD, MS, CGC This webinar will provide a historical overview of the field of genetic counseling, including value of the family medical history in diagnosis of inherited diseases. Identify the three main historical periods of the genetic counseling profession.
Describe the process of genetic counseling.
List at least three features of a family medical history that are suggestive of an inherited disease.
Register - To claim 1.0 P.A.C.E.® credit for participation after each webinar
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- After logging in, go to the Claim Credit tab and then click on the Other P.A.C.E. Programs tab. View events listed for The George Washington University Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences.
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