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Greetings!
The Board and Staff of the BCSLS would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a special Holiday Season. 2012 so unds like it could be a very exciting year for all of us, so rest up and get ready for what promises to be a great New Year. Thank for you support in 2011.
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Congress 2011: A success in Castlegar
 The BCSLS Congress 2011, held recently in Castlegar, was by all accounts a big success. One hundred delegates attended the three day event which was hosted by the local organizing committee chaired by Shelby Giesbrecht of Castlegar. Delegates were treated to real local Kootenay Hospitality and had the opportunity to visit a beautiful part of the province. The Congress workshops and trade show were held in the Castlegar Community Complex in close proximity to local hotels and other accommodation. The trade show was sold out with 34 booths being taken by companies both large and small. An exhibitor reception kicked off the Congress on the Thursday night followed by a sold out banquet on Friday featuring a Yuk Yuk's Comedy night. On Saturday night delegates had the unique experience of visiting the Doukhobor Discovery Centre and learning about this intriguing part of BC's history. The visit included some authentic Doukhobor food at the restaurant on site. Over 40 speakers presented on a range of scientific topics across all disciplines and many were of interest to MLAs as well as MLTS. Terry Small opened the Congress as our first keynote speaker and gave us some "brain boosting secrets." Congress closed with a hilarious keynote performance by comedian Zandra Bell who obviously did her homework on our profession as she used every possible piece of relative medical terminology possible during her one hour show. Everyone left laughing. The BCSLS would like to extend a very sincere thank you to all the Congress 2011 Committee members for a job well done. Those committee members were: Shelby Giesbrecht, Maria Klement, Anita Cameron, Nancy Banks, Jan Hollett, Stephanie Rodgers, Michelle Field, Paula Turgeon, Debra Campbell, Vivian Campsall-Mallast, Teresa Wright, June McKenzie, Errin Patton, Amber McLachlan, and Lori D'Onofrio. |
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Congress 2012 to be held in Kamloops
 This is your opportunity to "Examine the past, explore the present and embrace the future" and join us for the BCSLS Congress 2012 in Kamloops, BC on September 27, 28 and 29, 2012. The Congress will be held in the Campus Activity Center at Thompson Rivers University [TRU] in Kamloops. The central location in the province assures a record number of delegates. The extensive scientific program will be balanced by creating a restful and relaxing atmosphere for both attendees and vendors with an informal dress code combined with unique social functions, both on-site and off-site. There will be speakers of interest to both MLTs and MLAs. The Exhibit Space for the trade show is in the Grand Hall and the adjacent Rotunda of the Campus Activity Center, 7800 square feet in all. The exhibit area is in the same part of the complex as the workshop breakout rooms and plenary hall. An outside courtyard / square at the entrance to the center will accommodate at least 4 truck / trailers with portable displays and these outdoor exhibits will be very visible to delegates. We anticipate that the trade show will be sold out with 50 exhibitors available to delegates. Accommodations have been booked for delegates at two conference hotels that are both within walking distance of the TRU campus. The brand new Best Western Plus Kamloops Hotel is the headquarters hotel and the Ramada Kamloops is holding rooms for our guests. The BCSLS hopes to negotiate special conference rates with both Air Canada and Central Mountain Air [from Prince George]. However the trip to Kamloops by road is fairly easy from many parts of the province via the Coquihalla Highway and other connectors. Vancouver to Kamloops is a four hour drive. A local organizing committee chaired by Tanya Kilborn of Kamloops is busy making preparations for what promises to be one of our biggest Congresses yet. More information is available on the BCSLS Congress webpage Registration for delegates will open in April 2012. Early bird registration deadline will be July 31, 2012. But if you register before June 30th, you will be entered into our amazing draw!! |
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Labcon 2013 to be held in Victoria
The CSMLS and the BCSLS have joined forces to host LABCON 2013 in Victoria in June of 2013.
LABCON alternates sites each year between Western Canada and Eastern Canada and obviously 2013 is the West's turn. The joint National conference will be held at the famous Empress Hotel in Victoria and promises to be an event not to miss. More information will be coming down the road.
As the National convention is coming west, the BCSLS will not host its annual BCSLS Congress in 2013. Instead the BCSLS will hold a smaller on-day education event in the fall and will combine it with the Annual General Meeting of members which we are required to hold under the Societies Act. This one day event will focus on topics of interest to members and the BCSLS is open to hearing ideas from members.
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MLA Days coming in 2012
Two MLA Education Days have been scheduled in 2012, one in Vancouver and one in Prince George. Both are planned for March 31, 2012. This full day event features four speakers on topics relevant to MLAs and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. More information will be posted on the BCSLS website in the New Year.
Are you interested in helping BCSLS put on an MLA Education Day in your area or region? BCSLS will support you and your local committee, by taking care of all of the registration, accounting, promotion (website, emailing) and printing. The office has the templates for confirmation letters, promotion emails, reminder letters, thank-you letters, etc.... The local organizing committee (usually two or three people) will need to choose the date, find the four speakers, order coffee and lunch, and book the location.
We find that a good time year for these MLA Days is in March or April. Organizing needs to start 2-3 months beforehand. If you are interested in organizing an MLA Day in your region, please contact the BCSLS office. We will be happy to help make it a success.
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BCSLS Hoping to Explore Personalized Medicine
The BCSLS and its members are interested in learning more about the BC Personalized Medicine Initiative (BCPMI). We are hoping to arrange a one -day seminar in early 2012 and invite several speakers on the topic.
According to Robert Fraser, of the BCPMI, Personalized Medicine refers to the practice of medicine and delivery of health care based on health status, risks, presence, progression and response to therapies for individual patients. As you are likely aware, rapid advances in genetics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and other technologies have made it possible to understand health and disease at a molecular level, leading to dramatic improvements in our ability to predict, diagnose, treat and monitor disease. Many jurisdictions are investing heavily in a personalized medicine agenda to improve health care for their populations. The BCPMI believes that BC can and should be in the vanguard of this revolution, both to improve health care for our people and to reap the socio- economic benefits that will result.
The BCPMI embraces a community-based approach to bringing personalized medicine to BC residents. Over 100 meetings have been held to gain input and understanding from BC's leaders in science and technology, health care, clinical testing, and population health. The PMI is led by an Operations Group that includes Pieter Cullis, David Huntsman, Michael Hayden, Bruce McManus and Michael Burgess, with input from a broadly-based Executive Committee that represents a cross-section of interests relating to healthcare, science, technology, ethics, and health policy in BC. It is expected that the BCPMI will grow to assume a leading umbrella role in guiding the translation of advances in technology into improvements of health care in BC.
More information on this exciting workshop will be forthcoming once arrangements have been confirmed.
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College Meeting with the Hon. Michael de Jong very positive.
A small delegation representing the BCSLS, the BCAMRT, the CTABC and the BCUS met with the Hon. Michael de Jong, Minister of health to discuss how we might move forward with the proposal to establish a joint umbrella Regulatory College for these four professions. The meeting took place in his Abbotsford Constituency Office on Friday, December 9th.
The meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes and actually went on for over an hour. It was a very positive discussion, with the Minister asking several relevant questions. It was probably the most effective discussion with a Minister in the history of this effort. We believe we were able to convince the Minister of the importance of this initiative and of the urgency of it.
Minister de Jong has asked for 6 weeks to come back to the group with a framework or parameters under which he would consider moving forward with a regulatory mechanism for technologists. This is a major step in the right direction. This will also ensure that the committee does not go off in the wrong direction when proceeding from here on in. Once we receive this framework from Minister de Jong the committee will decide what the next steps will be early in the New Year.
According to Malcolm Ashford, Executive Director of the BCSLS, "this is an early Christmas present for those of us who have been working on this initiative for many years. It is very exciting to see and hear a Minister who, in my opinion, actually gets it! I am really looking forward to seeing what he comes back with in January. "
The four groups represent med lab technologists, radiation technologists, cardiac technologists and ultrasonographers. Lab Assistants could also be included in the regulatory mechanism.
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Club BCSLS
Enjoy the benefits of membership, with CLUB BCSLS. This program is designed to provide you with valuable insider discounts on the products and services you want and need. Offers can be redeemed in a variety of ways - online, in-store and by phone.
For more information on these special offers for BCSLS members, please visit www.bcsls.intrd.com or go to the CLUB BCSLS page on our website.
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Write for the OBJECTIVE
Do you know something others should know about? Want to raise a topic for discussion? How about reviewing a book or web site? For more information just contact us in the office. bcsls@bcsls.net |
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