May 2016 Volume 1, Issue 1

The Manitoba Association of Medical Laboratory Science

E-Catalyst SRING HAS SPRUNG??

Mother Nature has been toying with us for the last several weeks but it looks like the

warm weather is finally here to last. When you look around you can actually see the evi-

dence as new green shoots push out of the ground. Your friends have started wearing

their flip flops! The smell of bar-b-qued burgers is carried along on the evening breeze.

All tell-tale signs that spring is here to stay! How about that May long weekend!!!

Perhaps you don’t know that your professional association always knows when spring

has arrived. Every spring, MAMLS is in full mobilization mode!! It is a busy time for your

executive and many volunteers and here are some of the examples:

- Capital Academy hosts “Spring Fling”

- Rotary Career Symposium

- Manitoba Schools Science Symposium

- National Med Lab Week

- Advocacy on the Hill

- Academy AGMs

- Teddy Bears Picnic

As you can see, in a short period of time, a lot of professional activities take place in

which our profession is highly visible. So same time next year, plan ahead and help us

out. We are always needing your support to make a difference. See you out there!

Thoughts From the Prez — Melanie Couture

What an incredible start to 2016 for your MAMLS Board of Directors!

In January, MAMLS President-Elect, Jason Tilling joined forces with Adam Chrobak (CMLTM), Christine Nielsen (CEO of CSMLS), and Michele Sykes (MB/SK Director of CSMLS) to meet with the Deputy Minister of Health to discuss important issues facing our industry. They were able to convey to the Deputy Minister that Manitoba is facing a seri-ous shortage of MLT’s.

In February, as President of MAMLS, I met up with Michele Sykes and Michael Grant (CSMLS Director, Marketing & Communications) to develop a communication strategy to engage the provincial candidates prior to the April 2016 Provincial Election. We devel-oped a communication piece that advocated three key messages:

Removing the academic bottlenecks to training new MLT’s, including improving access to job placements

Ensure education programs are meeting the needs of the healthcare labour market

Better integration of internationally educated lab professionals into the Canadian workforce, making sure that the province takes advantage of existing skills to better serve Manitobans.

Continued on Page 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Thoughts from the Prez……..1

PWA Annual Report ............. 3

Hilda Fleming Fund ............ 3

Professional Development Annual Report ...................... 4

NorMLS Academy Annual Report ...................... 4

In Memoriam ........................ 4

Managing Workplace Stress . 5

Call for Nominations ............ 6

SPECIAL POINT OF INTEREST

MCMLS 2016

Portage La Prairie

October 4-5, 2016

“Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is Success.” - - Henry Ford

This advocacy letter was sent out in early April and MAMLS goal is to use it as a launch-ing point to continue to develop a strong working relationship with the new Health Minis-ter.

In the middle of April, Jason Tilling and I attended the CSMLS Council of Government & Public Relations training session to develop and enhance our lobbying, government and media relation skills. Further to this, I also attended Lobby Day at Parliament Hill to en-gage our politicians about the vital diagnostic importance of the medical laboratory field in Manitoba and in Canada.

Beyond these advocacy duties, Michael David, MAMLS Director of Marketing and Com-munications busily prepared for the career symposium and science fair season. He re-cruited many volunteers and organized the MAMLS message for the important events. Darrell Nazar, President of the Capital Region Academy has just finished another suc-cessful Spring Fling in Winnipeg that offered quality CE opportunities for all of those who attended. Rachel Kroeker, President of Valley Plains Academy, has been hard at work with Daphne Steeden (MCMLS 2016 Chairperson) developing and organizing MCMLS 2016. For the first time in its history, MCMLS is being hosted by Valley Plains Academy and will take place in Portage la Prairie at the PCU Centre on October 4th & 5th. Most recently, Virginia Liefso, President of NorMLS Academy, hosted a CE session at the Flin Flon General Hospital. Our Past President, Thecla Athayde, was one of the three speak-ers at this event. Virginia does a brilliant job advocating for the technologists and techni-cians in the northern labs of Manitoba.

As you can see, it has been an exciting and fast paced start to the year. It is amazing that half the year is almost past. MAMLS will continue to advocate for you and your pro-fession as well as continue to provide engaging CE opportunities for all the technologists and technicians in Manitoba.

“We make the world we live in and we shape our own environment.” -- Orison Swett Marden

Thoughts from the Prez (continued)

MCMLS 2016

The Valley Plains Acade-

my of MAMLS is hosting

the provincial Congress in

Portage La Prairie, Mani-

toba at the PCU Centre

(on the island) Tuesday,

October 4th and Wednes-

day October 5th, 2016.

Our theme for this year is

“And now For Something

Completely Different”

We hope many of you

can attend for this first

time event in Portage la

Prairie.

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PRAIRIE WEST ACADEMY

2015 Annual Report

As always, it has been my privilege and my honor to work alongside the hardworking members of your Prairie

West Academy executive. We lost Adeola Akintola early in the year, and were very happy that Kyle Vodden

decided to stay with us after his term as a Student Representative had ended. We have three volunteers for

our Student Representatives for the 2015/2016 year, so our 2016 executive is as follows:

President: Roseanna Southcombe Secretary: Leanne Radford Treasurer: Jennifer VanDixhoorn Directors: Kayley Arran, Lori McDonald, Katherine Nicholson, Natalie Vojnovic and Kyle Vodden Student Representatives: Kelsey Stadnek, Kitty Marschall and Ashley Watson

We started this year by supplying funding and judges to the Western Manitoba Science Fair 2015. We provided three prizes in three age categories for science projects directly related to Medical Laboratory Science, and donated funds to the WMSF for the continuation of the event. This event was well attended, and students and judges learned a lot and had fun!

In April we supported National Med Lab Week celebrations in many locations across the Prairie West

area, and WML had posters, cookies, coffee and Lab-Related art. At our Annual General Meeting on May 13, 2015, Jodi Terrick and Kirsten Boyce made presentations

about Maldi-Tof and Liquid-Based Cytology respectively. These presentations were followed by a first-hand look at the instrumentation in use at WML

In June Prairie West Academy provided band-aids for the D.A.S.H Tent to stop the bleeding after the

stuffed animals had had their blood drawn. PWA held a General Meeting on September 24, 2015 at the Gopher Creek Cafe in Virden. There was

a very well-attended presentation by Dr. Ivan Stevic regarding pre-analytical errors. Prairie West Academy supported MCMLS 2015 in Brandon by sponsoring a speaker and the registra-

tion give-aways. It is my belief that providing continuing education opportunities is the primary function of Prairie West Acade-

my, but this is only possible with member input and participation. Should you have any suggestions for speak-

ers or topics of interest, please contact one of the members of the executive, or email us at prairiewestacade-

my@gmail.com.

Sadly, 2016 will be my last year to serve you as the Prairie West Academy President. I look forward to the

challenges of the upcoming year, and getting my successor involved in all the great parts of working with and

for such a wonderful, energetic group of professionals.

Roseanna Southcombe, BSc., MLT

HILDA FLEMING FUND

I am writing to thank you for your

generous Hilda Fleming Fund

Scholarship. I was thrilled to learn

of my selection for this honor and

I am deeply appreciative of your

support.

I am currently enrolled in my

third and final year of a Master’s

(degree) in Clinical Education

program through the University of

Edinburgh. I plan to graduate this

summer when I finish the final

goal of the program, completion of

my dissertation.

Your support has greatly aided the

burden of paying tuition in British

Pounds with our poor Canadian

Dollar exchange rate. With only a

200 pound increase in tuition

each year, my fees have increased

by $1000 annually.

Thank you again for your generos-

ity and support. I believe that the

knowledge I am gaining through

my studies is greatly increasing

my awareness of best practice in

clinical education to serve me well

in my role as Clinical Education

Coordinator for DSM.

Sincerely,

Joanne Goldstone

Great news!!

For 2016, the amount of funds

available for continuing education

activities for members has in-

creased to $3500. The maximum

awarded is $750.00 per member.

For more information on how to

apply to the Hilda Fleming Fund,

please go to the Associations web-

site at www.mamls.ca

A Day in the Life of a Busy MLT

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ANNUAL REPORT 2015

During this year, Sana Chaudhry and I

continued to look at opportunities for this

portfolio to grow and further assist the

members of our Association. One of the

responsibilities is to manage the Hilda

Fleming Fund and the Professional

awards. The following is a report of the

awards that were given out this past year:

Hilda Fleming Fund

Six requests for funds were received. This

was an increase by one from the year

before, 2014. However, only four requests

were awarded for a total amount of

$2,345.54. This amount of funds dis-

bursed was also increased from $1,440.92

given out the previous year. Two requests

did not receive any funds due to the later

cancellation of the original requests. At the

end of 2015, there was still over $600.00

of unused monies in this fund. It is im-

portant for members to continue to access

these funds for continuing education activ-

ities and to promote this opportunity to

their colleagues.

Crocus Award

This award is not necessarily given each

year. However in 2015, Trish Van Denak-

ker, Winnipeg was recognized for her

commitment and dedicated long term

service to the Manitoba Association for

Medical Laboratory Science.

Honourary Member

This award was not given out for 2015.

ANC Delaat Memorial Award

Robert (Bob) Olyarnyk, Brandon was

recognized for his outstanding long term

contributions to the profession of Medical

Laboratory Sciences.

Joseph M. Scott Award (student)

Unfortunately, there were no student ap-

plications for 2015.

Professionalism Award (Student)

This was presented to Katherine Nguy at

the June 2015 MLS Graduation celebra-

tion.

An offer of help was given to all Acade-

mies to assist in hosting a continuing edu-

cation event. On behalf of the MCMLS

2015 organizing committee, the Prairie

West Academy requested support for

speaker honouraria. Two member speak-

ers were sponsored by MAMLS. They

were as follows:

Tom Walus – It’s a small world after all…

the Golden Era of Infectious Diseases…

Again!

Michele Sykes – Change: Venturing into

the New

Over the past year, it was gratifying to see

the small but continued use of accessible

professional development funds by indi-

viduals and Academies. As Sana and I

continue to look at other opportunities to

serve the members next year, we also

encourage any input or ideas at any time.

- Bill Younger

NORMLS ACADEMY ANNUAL REPORT 2015

NorMLS Academy was not very active during 2015. Labs were contacted via email a few

weeks prior to NMLW and there appeared to be very little to no interest in having a meet-

ing by the lack of response. I believe that equipment changes, lab renovations, accredita-

tion preparations, staff shortages and heavy workloads have contributed to the perceived

apathy of members. There is a plan to hold a spring meeting in either April or may 2016.

Once again, I am seeking a response from Readers in NorMLS area to contact me at

vleifso@hotmail.com, with NorMLS in the subject line, if you want to keep our Academy

going.

- Virginia Leifso

IN MEMORIAM

EDGARD DELAQUIS

JULY 28, 2015

Edgard was an active member

of the Association and a willing

volunteer for many professional

activities. He served as the

President of the Winnipeg Acad-

emy. He was also known by

many friends and colleagues as

the “French Mosquito”.

CATHY ARNOLD

January 13, 2016

The Profession has many rea-

sons to thank Kathy for her

involvement in our profession.

Over the years, she served on

many committees including

local, provincial and national

congresses. She was also the

President of the Association

twice (Manitoba Branch, CSLT

& MSMLT). In 2015, Kathy was

ultimately recognized for her

dedication as an Honourary

Mamber. She was also well

known for her passion for

dance .

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As a health care professional, your days are spent ensuring the health of others. But, is your job a danger to your health?

The health care field can be a stress-ful environment. Not only is stress detrimental to your overall health, it can affect the ability to do your job.

For this reason, workplace stress can be managed effectively by each em-ployee with the support of employers. This dual responsibility is the focus of Dr. David Posen’s book, Is Work Kill-ing You?: A Doctor’s Prescription for Treating Workplace Stress.

Dr. Posen, a physician specializing in stress management gives his advice for both individual employees and for employers or managers to help man-age stress in a healthful way.

Dr. Posen suggests the following tips to help individuals manage stress levels:

1. Decreasing or discontinuing caffeine

Most people do not realize that caf-feine (from coffee, chocolate and cola beverages) acts as a stimulant, mak-ing us jittery, nervous and interrupts sleep patterns.

2. Exercising regularly

Adrenaline and other stress hor-mones cause physiologic changes such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, faster breathing, muscle tension and increased blood sugar.

With no place for this excess energy to go, our bodies can stay in a state of arousal for several hours. Exercise dissipates this excess energy. Regu-lar exercise can provide an outlet for the stress in our daily lives.

3. Getting more sleep

Sleep is an important way of reducing stress. People dealing with unhealthy levels of stress often suffer from fa-tigue and, ironically, people who are tired do not cope well with stressful situations. These dynamics can cre-ate a vicious cycle.

Getting more sleep can make you feel better and improve your ability to cope with the stress you encounter during the day. Most people require seven to eight hours of sleep per

night, although an individual’s re-quirement can vary.

4. Taking time-outs

Your brain needs to take breaks from mentally or intellectually challenging roles, much like your muscles need breaks from physically demanding work.

Here are Dr. Posen’s tips for how employers can help manage stress in their workforce:

Acknowledge the problem

Stress is a real issue in to-day’s work environment and acknowledging that the problem exists is a neces-sary first step towards change.

Monitor stress levels

Employers need to watch how their staff function and intervene when they need help. Key areas to look at are the volume and velocity of their work and how they are coping with it.

Encourage time-outs/breaks

Workplace culture has shift-ed over the years and now breaks are seen as luxuries that sometimes only exist on paper. Employer attitudes are partly to blame for creat-ing such a culture. This can be changed by leading by example, taking short breaks yourself or encourag-ing employees to take breaks when you see they need to refocus.

Be approachable

Let people know that if they are struggling, they can come and talk to you. Man-agers also need to ask questions to encourage em-ployees to share how they are feeling about their work.

Continued on page 6...

MANAGING WORKPLACE STRESS

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Editorial Policy

The opinions expressed in the

publication are those of the

authors and must not be taken

to represent the opinions or

policy of the Manitoba Associa-

tion for Medical Laboratory Sci-

ence or the Editor. Unless stat-

ed, no responsibility for the

accuracy of the content pub-

lished is assumed by the

MAMLS or the Editor.

Submissions are accepted with

the understanding that they may

be shortened or amended at the

Editor’s discretion.

Please submit your articles by

email to: mam-

lsprez1@gmail.com

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

MAMLS has been actively working to provide the medical laboratory professionals of Manitoba with

education, advocacy and professional promotion since 1952. Now more than ever we need to be

informed and proactive to ensure the profession evolves to provide the public with safe laboratory

services and medical laboratory professionals with meaningful and rewarding careers. Do you have

concerns? Do you have ideas on how to make things better? Are you ready to collaborate with your

colleagues across the province and country to turn your ideas and concerns into positive action for

the profession? Consider taking up the challenge and the opportunity to make a positive difference

by running for an MAMLS Board position. The following opportunities are open for nominations this

year.

Vice President 2017

This four-year leadership commitment to the Board progresses to President Elect 2018, President

2019, and Past President 2020. You will:

Work with an experienced Board in meeting the advocacy, education and professional promo-

tion needs of Manitoba laboratory technologists and laboratory assistants.

Meet, share ideas and learn from your colleagues across the province and across the coun-

try.

Test your skills, develop new skills, and expand your horizons.

Marketing and Communications Director 2017 and 2018

This is a two-year commitment to the Board. As Marketing and Communications Director, you will:

Work with your colleagues across the country and the province to develop and deliver oppor-

tunities for professional development.

Meet, share ideas and learn from your colleagues across the province and across the coun-

try.

Test your skills, develop new skills, and expand your horizons.

The deadline for submission is June 27th, 2016. Please send an email to mamlsprez1@gmail.ca

attention Chair of the Nominations Committee to submit a nomination. Nominations should include

a picture and brief curriculum vitae. Should there be more than one nomination for a position; the

successful candidate will be decided by a mail out vote.

Thecla Athayde

Chair, Nomination Committee

MAMLS

585 London Avenue

Winnipeg, MB R2K 2Z6

Phone: 204-669-9050

Fax: 204-667-1747

E-mail:mamlsprez1@gmail.com

YOUR LOGO HERE

MANAGING WORKLACE STRESS (continued)

Identify problem people and act

Managers need to be vigilant when confronted with the issue of abu-sive colleagues. This type of behaviour cannot be tolerated and while it may be easier to turn a blind eye in the short term, the situa-tion will likely not correct itself. In fact, it typically gets worse.

By working together, both employees and employers can help mitigate the negative effects of a stressful work environment. Stress at work, especially working in the health care field, is never going to go away. Employers, man-agers and those in senior roles, should be looking at ways to help their staff manage that stress in the most positive way possible. Knowing how to do so will result in a more productive and healthier workforce.

Michael Grant is the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Cana-dian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS). The full version of this article was originally published in the Canadian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science, Vol. 75, no. 2 (2013). It has been republished here with permission.

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