The COLA Laboratory Enrichment Forum will be held May 5-6 in Charlotte, NC.
The clinical laboratory field is changing, with more laboratories adding higher complexity tests. This provides an opportunity to apply quality management to keep up with clinical demand and streamline operations. At the same time, many laboratories are finding themselves short staffed as they lose seasoned laboratorians or laboratory directors to retirement or resignation.
How can you retain your talented personnel and laboratory directors and keep them engaged? One way is to support their interest in continuing education opportunities.
Laboratory conferences and educational meetings have mostly been online for the past two years, but as spring approaches, so do in-person learning and networking opportunities, like COLA’s Laboratory Enrichment Forum, which will be held May 5-6 in Charlotte, NC.
“Getting together to learn in person is so valuable,” says Danielle Stroughton Duncan, COLA’s director of education. “That’s why we are delighted to finally be able to bring people together for live educational sessions at our Laboratory Enrichment Forum. We’ve designed the schedule with networking in mind, and with many break-out sessions for animated discussion.”
The networking opportunities that an in-person event presents are incredibly worthwhile, both to laboratorians and to physicians looking to learn from their colleagues and grow their laboratories, according to the Forum’s organizers. COLA’s Laboratory Enrichment Forum will feature sessions from subject matter experts on molecular diagnostics, project management, and digital pathology.
Laboratories are facing shortages, including qualified laboratory directors. COLA offers a 20 CME online laboratory director course, through COLA Academy, which qualifies a licensed physician to direct a moderate complexity laboratory. And, at this year’s event, COLA is also premiering a special hybrid in-person version of its Laboratory Director certification course. By attending this combination of in-person training, along with a few courses to be completed at home, this qualifies a licensed physician to direct a moderate complexity laboratory.
Even during these stressful times, we owe it to our employees to provide them with opportunities for continuing education and professional development. The tools and knowledge gained at an educational event such as COLA’s Laboratory Enrichment Forum will benefit your organization as we prepare for the future.
To register, go to cola.org/forum.
