Clinical laboratory management review : official publication of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association最新文献

Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Regional Laboratory recently achieved an important milestone in its continuous quality improvement project by automating time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks involved in preanalytical and postanalytical sample processing. The new task-targeted automation system, the most sophisticated of its kind in the world, consists of three key components: the Roche Diagnostics PSD 1 primary sample decapper/sorter/archiver, the Roche Diagnostics VS 250 aliquoter, and a data manager/process controller developed by Data Innovations. The system was placed into service in April 1998, culminating more than a year of planning and implementation. Within months after the system went into operation, the laboratory observed significant improvements in workflow and efficiency, as well as a reduction in work-related injuries. The purpose of this article is to provide management teams in other laboratories with a description of the planning and implementation process and offer suggestions for those contemplating a similar program.

Presentation skills are vital to clinical systems managers. This article covers four steps to successful presentations: 1) tailoring for an audience, 2) organizing a presentation, 3) mastering presentation techniques, and 4) creating effective visual aids. Tailoring for the audience entails learning about the audience and matching the presentation to their knowledge, educational level, and interests. Techniques to curry favor with an audience include: establishing common ground, relating through universal experiences, and pushing "hot buttons." Tasks involved in organizing the presentation for maximum audience interest begin with arranging the key points in a transparent organizational scheme. Audience attention is sustained using "hooks," such as graphics, anecdotes, humor, and quotations. Basic presentation techniques include appropriate rehearsal, effective eye contact with an audience, and anxiety-reducing strategies. Visual aids include flip charts, slides, transparencies, and computer presentations. Criteria for selecting the type of visual aids are delineated based on audience size and type of presentation, along with respective advantages and disadvantages. The golden rule for presentations is "Never show a slide for which you have to apologize." Rules to maximize visibility and effectiveness, including use of standard templates, sans serif fonts, dark backgrounds with light letters, mixed cases, and effective graphics, ensure that slides or projected computer images are clear and professional. Taken together, these strategies will enhance the delivery of the presentation and decrease the speaker's anxiety.

We believe the team approach to laboratory management achieves the best outcomes. Laboratory management requires the integration of medical, technical, and administrative expertise to achieve optimal service, quality, and cost performance. Usually, a management team of two or more individuals must be assembled to achieve all of these critical leadership functions. The individual members of the management team must possess the requisite expertise in clinical medicine, laboratory science, technology management, and administration. They also must work together in a unified and collaborative manner, regardless of where individual team members appear on the organizational chart. The management team members share in executing the entire human resource management life cycle, creating the proper environment to maximize human performance. Above all, the management team provides visionary and credible leadership.

The author describes the DISC Trait Theory Model as a means of enabling managers to improve interactions and reduce encounters with difficult employees. A basic understanding of each style (director, interactor, control, and service) is provided as well as strategies for different types of interactions.

In 1998 and 1999, unprecedented changes occurred in the U.S. economy: unemployment rates dropped below 4.5%, the stock market soared to more than 11,000, and about 3 million new technology-related jobs were created (1). Faced with worldwide competition and new technologies, many industries and businesses have had to relook at and reengineer their operations. Human resource management has played a key role. Significant resources always have been allocated to the recruiting process to hire competent and loyal employees. To not spend the time and effort to recruit good employees can be costly in many ways. This review offers guidelines to managers and emphasizes just how important this process is to the success of an organization.

This article describes how a competency assessment program can be implemented in a clinical laboratory. The author reviews applicable standards and regulations and describes a 10-step process for establishing a program. Sample forms are provided for documenting assessments.

The number of qualified and competent clinical laboratory sciences (CLS) professionals is rapidly declining. As competition grows and the clinical laboratory comes under greater scrutiny, the laboratories that survive will be those that recognize that their, employees are their greatest asset. However, retaining expert CLS professionals requires a dramatic change in management's belief system regarding the value of its personnel assets. Management must create a culture of empowered people who have the freedom to exhibit self-direction in achieving the organization's mission and goals. Management must consider its employees valuable enough to invest in their professional growth. A laboratory's long-term sustainability and economic performance will depend on a committed workforce that supports their organization's success.