1

EL TECNICO

Vol. 54 No. 1 March 2016

Official Publication of the

New Mexico State Society of American Medical Technologists

In this Issue:

Presidents’ Message

District Councilor Message

Spring Meeting Program

2

New Mexico State Society Officers

Virgil Marchand, RMA President 3501 Santa Teresa NW Albuquerque, NM 874120 (505)462-8107 ( office) vjmarchand@msm.com

Gretchen Tupa, RMA Editor 202 La Grange Ave Farmington, NM 87401 (602) 410-1779

gytupa@gmail.com

Jojo Naval, BS, MT

Vice President (505) 901-9203 jojonaval@yahoo.com

Kimberly Cheuvront, PhD Judiciary Councillor kimberly.cheuvront@gmail.com

Cindy Meyer, RMA Treasurer

Lisanne CT, SE 229 Los Lunas, NM 874031

cindy meyer@fcch.com

April (Cole) Trevizo, MLT Secretary P.O.Box 50623 Albuquerque, NM 87181 alcolemlt@hotmail.com

Deborah Vance, MT Board Member 71 Brentwood Road Roswell, NM 88201 (575) 622-1972 ( office)

cb_lab@hotmail.com

Michael McCarthy Legal Council

T Jefferson, SW 1027 Suite 800 W Washington, DC 20007

Barbara Ware, MT Board Member P.O. Box 8179 Roswell, NM 88201 (575) 317-4046 (cell) idrwbid@aol.com

Western District Councilor Sheryl Rounsivill, AHI, CMAS, RMA, RPT

S. Hayston 2078 Fresno, CA 93702 559-268-3740 . sherryrou@comcast.net

3

The El Tecnico Journal is available online at:

http://americanmedtech.org/AboutUs/StateSocieties/NewMexico/Journal.aspx

Highlights of Contents

NM State Society Officers

Information on National Convention in Tennessee 2016

Message from the President

Editors’ Notes

Message from the District Councilor

Future Events

NMSSAMT Supporters

Brown Mackie College Allied Health Advisory Committee

Advertisers and Announcement of Meetings and Events

El Tecnico is the official publication of the New Mexico State Society of the American Medical Technologists (NMSSAMT), and is published two (2) times a year in the spring and fall. Any article published is the sole responsibility

of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the NMSSAMT unless so designated. All submissions need

proper authorization to be reprinted or photo copied. All documents need to be correctly reprinted and are subject to Turn -It

- In for submission approval prior to publication. The editor reserves the right to accept, reject or revise any material

submitted for publication. This publication is printed for the members of the NMSSAMT.

Advertising Rates: Full Page $50.00 Quarter Page $30.00 Half Page $40.00 Business Card $45.00

AMERICAN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGISTS Incorporated in 1939

AMT is a national certification agency for:

Medical Technologist (MT) Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) Registered Dental Assistant (RDA)

Certified Medical Laboratory Assistant (CMLA) Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT) Certified Laboratory Consultant (CLC) Certified Allied Health Instructor (CAHI)

Certified Medical Administrative Specialist (CMAS) ****************

For certification requirements, please contact:

AMT

10700 Higgins Rd. Suite 150

Rosemont, IL 60018- 5169

*****************

Phone: 1-847-823-5169 is a member of the: Institute for Credentialing Excellence/National Commission for

Certifying Agencies, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute.

4

Presidents Message

I would like to welcome you to the New Mexico State Society. I hope everyone’s year is going well. It is a new year and

already we are a fifth of the way done. It seems just yesterday we were celebrating the holidays. The year is slowly

slipping away. In a few months we will have our spring meeting and a few months after that will be the national

convention in Memphis.

Our spring meeting will be held on April 23, 2016 at the Brown Mackie College in Albuquerque. We have four hours of

continuing education scheduled. During the business meeting we will discussing our last change to the standing

operating procedures for our state society. Also delegate selections will be made for the upcoming national convention.

Will are allowed to select 2 MT/MLT; 2 RMA/CMAS, 1 RDA, 1 RPT and 1 COLT/CMLA. This is seven people that can be

selected as delegates and represent our state society during the convention meetings. We will be hearing from our

committee on a redesign of our state pins. We hope to have these available for purchase during the

National convention.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Brown Mackie College, our host for our meetings. Especially I would like to

thank Mister James Chesik, JD, Dean of Academic Affairs for us help. Mr. Chesik is very receptive on helping AMT in New

Mexico achieve new members from the Medical Assisting Course at the college.

Celebrate with us National Dental Assistants Recognition week, March 6 – 12, 2016 and Medical Lab Professional Week

April 24 – 30, 2016. I know that employers appreciate the contributions these professionals bring to their respective

practices and offices.

Make plans to join us for the National Convention in 2016 being held in the city of Memphis. Dates are July 18 – 22,

2016. Come and get the continuing education you need and partake of the musical atmosphere of this magnificent city.

AMT has generously lowered the registration fee to $200.00 for members. To take advantage of this low rate you need

to register before May 1.

Upcoming dates were selected for our meetings next year. Please mark your calendar for Saturday April 23, 2016 and

Saturday October 22, 2016. I really hope to see you there.

AMT is in partnership with American Kidney Fund (AKF) to help fight kidney disease. AKF offers financial and educational

support to people who are affected by this disease. We are asking all members of our State Society become informed to

help fight this disease. We will discuss ways that as a State Society we can help during the upcoming meetings. As an

individual you can learn how to be involved on the AMT web site. Please join me in becoming a member of AKF and

provide financial support within your ability.

I look forward hearing from our members and if you have any suggestions on improving our state society or need

information you are not able to find on the AMT web site, please let me know.

Virgil E. Marchand, RMA (AMT) President NMSSAMT

5

Barbara Ware being presented appreciation certificate by President Marchand.

Newest Member with Gretchen Tupa and new Mother April Trevizo

To current members, if you work with any of these new members please welcome them to the

state society and invite them to attend our next meeting. New members if you have any

question please contact me at e-mail vjmarchand@msn.com

Julia Mertzig, RMA David Trujillo, AHI Molly Buck, RMA Graciela Newman, RDA RDA Betsy Melton, RMA Veronica Perez, RMA Monica Rivera, RMA

Kimberly Munoz, RMA, RPT Nicole Tucker, RMA Melanye Nez, RMA Mylisa McKinley, RMA Amanda Skeen, RMA Mylisa McKinley, RMA Amanda Skeen, RMA

Marcilen Lindsey, MT Vanessa Sanchez, CMLA Renee Rea, RMA Naomi O’Brien, RMA Kelsea Bullock, CMLA

I would like to welcome the following new members to the New Mexico State Society of AMT

6

Barbara Ware during presentation

Laura Bush being presented certification of appreciation by treasurer Cindy Meyer.

Vice President JoJo Navel being honored by his Employer

Los Alamos Medical center.

7

District Councilor’s Message Time has a way of moving forward. It’s seems like it was just yesterday that we were all looking forward to Hawaii. What a great meeting that was. It’s now time for the March meeting of the National BOD and all of the District Councilor’s. This meeting is always filled with information. An updated District Councilor message will follow that meeting. The National meeting will be in Memphis Tennessee this year July 17-22, 2016. It is always wonderful to visit the different places of the country. Memphis has much to offer and my hope is that many of you can attend. It’s a time to learn, do our business and reconnect with our AMT family. Look for a message on the board at the registration area to find where I can be located. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to meet with me. In the meantime if you need to reach me my e-mail address is: Sherryrou@comcast.net. It has been two years as your District Councilor. It remains my privilege to serve you. Sheryl Rounsivill RMA, RPT, CMAS, AHI Western District Councilor

Editors Message Welcome to 2016. Another great year in the making for AMT. I wish to extend my most sincere and heartfelt thanks to our state president Virgil Marchand and to everyone who helped him. Due to surgery and an accident I had, Virgil graciously took on the spring issue of our El Tecnico as I was not able to do so. I hope that with my rehab in progress I will be able to attend our state meeting. I am looking forward to seeing everyone. Please keep in mind that we can always use articles for our state's publication. Students can also send in articles. Any antidotes, photos of current events or stories relating to AMT will be accepted as well. I want to thank all who have contributed in the past, the present and also for the future. Here's to our AMT society. Keep up the great work not just at state level but at National level as well. I am proud to be a part of such a great organization. State Editor Gretchen Tupa, RMA

8

JOIN US AT OUR NEXT NATIONAL CONVENTION IN LOVELY

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. COME SEE THE FAMOUS PEABODY

DUCKS AND HAVE A FABULOUS TIME. JULY 18-22, 2016

9

MARY MALLON VICTIM OR VILLIAN?

Laurel Christensen, MLS, CLC(AMT)

During the transition from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century, the sanitation efforts to clean up the cities of sewage, dead animal carcasses, wet garbage and to provide clean drinking water were working well, and populations were beginning to experience a decline in infectious diseases. Most major cities had established public health departments. Accompanying this sanitation reform was the dawn of the “Golden Age of Bacteriology” ushered in by Pasteur, Koch, Lister and others. The view of public health was changing and a new faith in laboratory science was emerging. i Great strides were made in the Sanitary Reform Movement, beginning with the removal of street filth which would sometimes rise to the height of three feet upon the arrival of spring. One of the major issues was the delivery of clean drinking water to residents of the cities. Dirty drinking water was a major purveyor of disease, especially diarrheal diseases, among them typhoid fever. Many cities acquired their drinking water from streams and lakes that had no sanitation treatment. Untreated water was taken from the lakes and piped into the homes of the unsuspecting and illness resulted. In 1893, Hiram Mills, head of the Lawrence Engineering Laboratory, developed the first open slow sand filter and an effective method for water filtration was introduced. Clean drinking water was about to become a reality for residents of the cities of this country.ii Debates were continuing as how to effectively treat and dispose of sewage. Nevertheless, the stage was being set for the unfortunate drama for the person who that came to be known as “Typhoid Mary.” Typhoid is a rod-shaped bacillus, termed Salmonellae typhi, and is a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family. S. typhi, causative agent of typhoid, is ingested by an individual through coming in contact with a carrier. S. typhi does not have a known animal reservoir; humans are the only known source of infection. After contact with a carrier, within the next nine to fourteen days fever develops, followed by malaise, anorexia, lethargy, myalgia, and a dull headache. The patient feels like he is getting the flu. The bacilli reach the small intestine and invade and penetrate the intestinal mucosa. This invasion leads to constipation. Next the organisms enter the lymphatic system and are sustained in mesenteric lymph nodes. From the lymph nodes the bacteria seed the bloodstream and are spread to spleen, liver, and bone marrow. They are then engulfed by monocytes and grow intracellularly, then are re-released into the blood stream accompanied by prolonged bacteremia. “Rose spots” may appear in the periumbilical region. There is invasion of the gallbladder and Peyer’s patches, with release of bacteria into the bowel via the biliary duct. The gallbladder is the focus in long-term infections, and severe infections can cause necrosis of gallbladder, Peyer’s patches, and hemorrhage and perforation of the bowel.iii Mary Mallon was born in one of the poorest parts of Ireland in 1869. She emigrated to the United States by herself as teenager. She spent her off hours on Third Avenue off of 138th St., and secured work as a cook for wealthy New York families. She was following her vocation when in 1906 George Soper entered her life to change it forever. George Soper was born and raised in New York City. He attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York (B.S. 1895), and returned to the city to attend Columbia University (A.M. 1898, PhD 1899) in sanitary engineering. He had a very successful career as a sanitary engineer by 1906 when he met Mary Mallon. In the summer of 1906, Mary was hired to cook at the rented summer home of a New York banker, George Henry Warren, in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Typhoid fever struck six people in the household of eleven. The owner of the home, George Thompson, of New York City, hired investigators to find the cause of the illness. They could not rent the house again if the cause could not be found. Public health officials could not find a cause so Thompson hired Soper, who considered himself an epidemic fighter, to find a cause. Soper reviewed the findings of the public health officials and could find no further environmental problems. He examined the oysters sold to the family by an elderly woman and they too were not suspect. Every avenue he examined yielded no result, so he turned to the question, “Had a carrier come to the house?”iv Soper turned his attention to the occupants of the Warren household. A carrier is an individual who has contracted the disease and has recovered, yet is still capable of shedding the infectious organism. By the process of elimination of household members, Soper’s investigation led him to the cook. The family had hired a new cook on August 7th, and on August 27th the first case of typhoid appeared in the household, with the last case on September 3rd. She left the employ of the Warren household shortly after the typhoid outbreak. The cook’s name was Mary Mallon. Soper’s investigation soon discovered that Mary had prepared the family a dessert of sliced peaches and ice cream, a perfect mode of transmission for the bacilli from a carrier. He found the employment agency through which Mary secured this position had no address for her. Soper made several inquiries and did a case investigation of her previous employment situations and traced her work history back to 1900. In every instance, it was a well-to-do family, in each case typhoid appeared, and soon thereafter the cook disappeared. In some instances, the cook would help the family with the nursing of the ill.v It was quite by accident that Soper located Mary Mallon. He searched for her for four months when he found her working in an old-fashioned, high stoop house on Park Avenue on the west side. The laundress of the household had been taken to the hospital with typhoid. The only child of the family was dying from the disease. Soper’s description of Mary was not kind. “She was then about forty years of age and at the height of her physical and mental faculties. She was five feet six inches tall, a blonde with clear blue eyes, a healthy color and a somewhat determined mouth and jaw. Mary had a good figure and might have been called athletic had she not been a little too heavy. She prided herself on her strength and endurance. Nothing was so distinctive about her as her walk, unless it was her mind. The two had a peculiarity in common. Mary walked more like a man than a woman and that her mind had a distinctly masculine character, also.” vi Soper’s description of their first meeting is amusing but sad. He, considering himself to be an educated man held no clue on how to address the issue of a poor Irish immigrant cook of being a typhoid carrier. The meeting was disastrous. In Soper’s words, “I had my first meeting with Mary in the kitchen of this house. I suppose it was an unusual kind of interview, particularly when the place is taken into consideration. I was as diplomatic as possible, but I had to say I suspected her of making people sick and that I wanted specimens of her urine, feces and blood.”

10

“It did not take Mary long to react to this suggestion. She seized a carving fork and advanced in my direction. I passed rapidly down the long narrow hall, through the tall iron gate, out through the area and so to the sidewalk. I felt rather lucky to escape. I confessed to myself that I had made a bad start. Apparently Mary did not understand that I wanted to help her.”vii Soper made one more attempt to contact Mary to seek her cooperation in submitting laboratory specimens for examination and was met the same fury and refusal. She informed Soper she never had typhoid, so how could she be a carrier? His argument to her was it was true. She carried the bacilli and when she went to bathroom, she got the organisms on her hands, failed to wash her hands and passed typhoid on to household members. Mary angrily left his presence. Discouraged, Soper took the case to Dr. Hermann M. Biggs, Medical Officer of the New York City Health Department, and recommended that Mary be taken into custody. He wanted a laboratory examination of her excrement performed by Dr. William H. Park at the Department’s Research Laboratory. Soper called Mary a ‘living culture tube,” and a chronic typhoid producer. Dr. Biggs assigned Mary’s apprehension to Dr. S. Josephine Baker, an inspector for the Department. Dr. Baker was from an upper class family and had little compassion for those less fortunate than she. Having been informed of Soper’s difficulty with Mary, Dr. Baker took three policemen with her to apprehend Mary. Mary answered the door and when she saw the policeman she promptly disappeared. After searching, the policemen found her hiding in a closet. It required all three to get a kicking and screaming Mary into the ambulance. She did not quiet down when in the ambulance and Dr. Baker sat on Mary during the trip to the Willard Parker Hospital. Once there it was only a few days and the bacteriological examinations proved Soper’s suspicions true, Mary was a typhoid carrier.viii Mary had not been confined very long when she was transferred from Willard Parker Hospital to General Parker Hospital for contagious disease patients on North Brother Island. She would remain there for three years, but not without her fighting back. Mary retained a laboratory of her own and had them examine her stool and urine specimens, and interestingly enough, they reported no observation of the typhoid bacillus. It is unknown how the specimens were treated, so the validity of these tests remains in question. She also retained an attorney and sued the State of New York for holding her illegally. The New York Health Department submitted Mary was a hazard to the public’s health. The judge sided with the State of New York and Mary remained in custody. ix Dr. Charles Chapin of the Providence, Rhode Island, Department of Health, successfully argued on Mary’s behalf for her release from imprisonment. In 1910, Mary was released on the condition she periodically report to the Health Department for submission of specimens and she stay out of kitchens. Mary agreed to do so and signed a statement agreeing to follow the rules. The Department had secured her work in a laundry, which was quite a few steps lower in salary than a cook. Mary complied for a few months and promptly disappeared for five years. According to Soper, she reappeared when the sanatorium where she was working as a cook reported some cases of typhoid. She was arrested without a fight and quietly returned to North Brother Island to live out her days in a single room home. She was incarcerated for a total of twenty-three years. Mary was allowed day trips off the island and she always returned. In her later years she had a job on the island as a laboratory assistant and made a small salary. She suffered a stroke on Christmas Day, 1932. She was paralyzed and remained in bed until her death on November 11, 1938. Her funeral was held at St. Luke’s Catholic Church on 138th Street in the Bronx with nine people in attendance, and was laid to rest in St. Raymond’s Cemetery. The inscription on her tombstone reads, “Jesus Mercy.” Mary was branded with the stigma that follows her to this day, “Typhoid Mary.” She was guilty of knowing her own mind and wanting to earn a decent wage. She could not understand that she was a healthy carrier of typhoid, but the condescending approach of the health department brought nothing but utter contempt. Mary left in her wake fifty-four cases of typhoid with three fatalities. There were many other carriers with far larger records making hers look insignificant. Yet officials did not help solve the issue, only confound it. The late Dr. Jonathan Mann, former state epidemiologist for the New Mexico Department of Health and former Director of the International AIDS Center, made this clarifying statement, “Stigma and discrimination are the enemies of public health.” Judith Walzer Leavitt raises three issues as to Mary’s treatment in Typhoid Mary, Captive to the Public’s Health, that may help us today in addressing today’s public health issues: 1) The identification and labeling of new categories of people who challenge the public’s health; 2) The question of isolation and its potential threat to personal liberty; and 3) The attribution of blame and responsibility for the spread of disease.x So, was Mary Mallon a villain or victim? In the opinion of the author she was more victim than villain. Public Health officials did nothing to try to persuade her of her carrier status, just locked her up and condemned her. She was a lowly, uneducated Irish emigrant and it was better she was locked up where she couldn’t hurt anyone else. Mary could not understand that even though she never felt sick a day in her life, she probably had a light case of typhoid fever and became a carrier. Her only crime was wanting to understand and earn a decent living wage. Are we not all guilty of the same? 1 Rosner, David. “Beyond Typhoid Mary The Origins of Public Health at Columbia and in the City.” Living Legacies, Columbia University Alumni Magazine, New York. 2004 1 Duffy, John. The Sanitarians, A History of American Public Health. Chicago, IL, 1990. Pp. 202 1 Mahon, Connie R., Lehman, Donald C., and Manuselis, George. “Chapter 19, Enterobacteriaceae.” Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology, Fifth Edition. Saunders Elsevier, Maryland Heights, MO, 2015. Pp.437 1 Soper, George, Ph.D. “The Curious Career of Typhoid Mary.” The Bulletin. Paper presented May 10, 1939 before the Section of Historical and Cultural Medicine. Pp. 608-712 1 Soper, Ibid, Pg. 703 1 Soper, Ibid, Pg. 698 1 Soper, Ibid, Pg. 704 1 Leavitt, Judith Walzer. “Extraordinary, and Even Arbitrary Powers.” Typhoid Mary, Captive to the Public’s Health. Boston, Beacon Press. 1996. Pp.46-47. 1 Leavitt, Judith Walzer. “Typhoid Mary Strikes Back.” Isis, An International Review Devoted to The History of Science and Its Cultural Influences, Vol. 83, Issue 4, December, 1992. Pp. 608-629

1 1 Leavitt, Judith Walzer. “A Square Deal for Public Health.” Typhoid Mary, Captive to the Public’s Health. Boston, Beacon Press. 1996. Pp. 233.

11

AIDET - Five Fundamentals of Patient Communication This year marks my 25th year in clinical laboratory practice as a Medical Technologist. As Med Techs we do not only work inside the laboratory doing moderate to high complexity testing, we also interact with doctors, nurses, patients and their family members when we draw blood or answer inquiries related to laboratory testing. Having spent half of my 25 years in the Philippines before coming to the U.S. in 2005, I must have drawn blood and performed phlebotomy countless of times already. My current hospital, Los Alamos Medical Center, is adjacent to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The national laboratory is represented by more than 70 nationalities, so I have the opportunity to draw blood from people of different race, religion, age, backgrounds, and ethnicity. I also remember an occasion when I was a new Med Tech at Espanola Hospital (Presbyterian Healthcare Services) and I was asked to help to draw blood. The moment the patient realized that I will be the one drawing her blood for testing, she gave me a strange look for reasons I do not know. I remained calm, confident and professional. I drew her blood and to her amazement, she did not feel any pain at all. She later on apologized for not trusting me and doubting my ability. The situation didn’t affect me at all. Regardless of the gender, cultural background, religion, race or ethnicity of the patient I am dealing with, there is one formula of communication that works all the time which we call AIDET: Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, and Thank You. AIDET is a simple acronym that is easy to remember as a powerful way to communicate with patients who are often nervous, anxious, and feeling vulnerable whenever they are in the hospital setting. This acronym summarizes five behavioral steps that help us connect to every patient as we interact with them on a daily basis. Once we apply AIDET as part of our everyday practice the habit is formed and will meet and even exceed the expectations of patients, clinicians and co-workers. A – ACKNOWLEDGE Key point: Make a positive first impression. Acknowledge the patient. Greet the patient with a smile and make an eye contact. Acknowledge the patient by their full name and social title (after checking 2 patient identifiers – asking the patient’s full name and date of birth). This acknowledgement helps the patient feel they are valued and respected. Do not appear rushed or hurried when you are interacting with the patient. The first impression you create will help make the patient feel relaxed and safe. In our facility, once the patient is registered we put an armband as part of our safety goals to properly identify them even if it is just an out-patient visit. If you are in the reception area and a patient arrives to give you a laboratory test order from the doctor or for an inquiry, a simple smile and acknowledgement will show the patient they are important to you. For in-patient blood draw, always knock on the door and ask permission before entering the patient’s room. If family members, doctor or nurses are present, be sure to acknowledge them too as you make the conversation. I – INTRODUCE Key point: Build trust and confidence in your expertise Introduce yourself to the patient and others that may be accompanying the patient. Let the patient know who you are and your title. Describe your skills, your job title and years of experience. In short, build the patient’s confidence in your abilities. In my practice, I have encountered patients asking me how many years of experience I have for drawing blood. Introducing yourself helps you make the connection with patients and allows you to share your experience, knowledge, and training. I noticed that most of our clients usually asked me why I moved to the U.S. Whenever I am drawing blood, I also see patients staring at my ID badge. Be sure you are wearing your badge and your name is visible. When I am called on to deal with an issue or concern, introducing myself to the doctor or patient as a supervisor immediately conveys I am there with authority to handle whatever the problem may be. I also try to find common interest to start the conversation, like this week I had a patient from India so I mentioned in our conversation that going to Taj Mahal is in my bucket list. Before our conversation ends, the blood draw was already finished and the patient never realized it at all. Hand hygiene has become part of our routine habit since it is part of our policy, so we see to it that we wash our hands before and after every blood draw to show to our clients how committed we are to quality patient care and safety.

D – DURATION Key Point: Keeping your customers informed shows you value their time The patient might have other procedures in your facility or have other appointments after the lab work. It is helpful to describe the tests the patient is being drawn for, how long the test results will take, and if the patient needs to wait until the tests are complete. A good example is explaining to a patient that needs to have a Glucose Tolerance Test wherein the patient has to drink a Glucola after fasting blood is drawn and then other draws every hour for 2-3 hours. If the laboratory test ordered is STAT, keep the customer and

12

their family informed about any delay and how long will it take. For clinics, give an approximate time expectation for the physician’s arrival or availability of laboratory results. Keeping the patient and their family members informed demonstrates that we value their time and their need for information. Remember doctors and nurses are our customers too, they will appreciate you more if you inform them ahead of any laboratory test delay especially ER and OR laboratory tests.

E – EXPLANATION Key Point: Empower your patient with Information Tell the patient about the test ordered, what you will be doing and why, and what to expect. Be sure to use simple words that patient can understand and avoid using too technical medical terms. Encourage patient interaction by verifying their understanding or encouraging them to ask any question related to the blood work. Sometimes when a patient sees several draw tubes (vacutainer tubes) in front of them they may feel more anxious. Be prepared to explain the volume requirements of the test and the difference between the tubes and anti-coagulants. Again, for physicians, you have to call them and explain the cause of delay in your testing or why you are rejecting the sample for analysis. T - THANK YOU Key Point: Reinforce the value of appreciation Foster an attitude of gratitude. Express your appreciation for the privilege of caring for your patients. Be sure to put the label/barcodes to the tubes (and put the time of draw and you initial) in front of the patient so they are aware that their blood sample is properly labeled. In our facility, we give away cartoons/superheroes stickers to children after drawing their blood for CBC or Pediatric Lead testing as our way of saying Thank you. Thank patients for working with you, answering your questions and cooperating with you. For example, you could say, “Thank you for choosing ______( your facility) for your Healthcare needs.” Be sure to ask your patient if there is other thing you can do to help them. Link between AIDET and Constituency Satisfaction

Checked patient identification (Acknowledge) Cared about you as a person (Acknowledge, Introduce, Explanation) Informed patient about delays (Duration) Explained test, medication, and what to expect during visit (Duration, Explanation) Helped with pain and calmed fears (Acknowledge, Explanation) Adequacy of information to patient and family (Duration, Explanation) Courtesy and friendliness shown to patient and family (Acknowledge, Introduce, Thank you)

Why Use AIDET? Using AIDET as part of your work habit will make your job a lot easier at the same time will improve customer satisfaction. I myself have been amazed at the positive response I have been getting from clients and patients that when they come back to the Laboratory for follow up, they recognized me and greet me as if we have known each other in a long time. Just a reminder, applying AIDET varies from one patient to another, you also have to learn to balance the practice of this tool in a way that you are not unconsciously abusing it and make your interaction longer per patient. Here are some of the positive results:

Insures consistent communication Prevents misunderstanding Increase patient/family confidence Saves time Improves patient/family perception of care Decreases patient anxiety Increases patient compliance Improves clinical outcomes Increases patient satisfaction

This sounds scripted… Why do I have to do this? Because it’s not how it makes you feel. With practice and commitment, you will get comfortable with it. Most importantly, your patients will feel safe, comforted, reassured and more appreciative. (Source: Los Alamos Medical Center; Los Alamos, New Mexico)

By: JoJo Navel, MT

13

State of New Mexico Legislature Report

The state of New Mexico has finished our thirty day session of the 2016 Legislature. The main objective of this session was to pass a balanced budget to fund the state for the upcoming year. The Governor has authority to add other items to

the agenda as she deems necessary.

One area she added which was passed was the issuing of drivers permits to undocumented immigrants instead of

licenses. Passage was necessary for the state to become in compliance of the Federal government’s Real ID requirements.

In the past the state has received exemptions regarding compliance with this requirement. This year the federal

government declined to issue an exemption. This meant that citizens from New Mexico would have to have a passport to

get on an airplane or enter any Federal building. This reminds us of in the past when individuals coming to New Mexico to

visit were “New Mexico” and “Mexico”. Without this passage of this bill, legal citizens living in New Mexico would need a

passport to board any type of public transportation to enter or leave the state. The legalization and taxing of recreational

marijuana was also not passed this year. Proponents of the measure will keep introducing this bill every year but as long

as the possession of marijuana is considered illegal by the Federal government, it will not be approved by this

administration. There was also a constituency of health care employers who have policies that prohibit the use of

controlled drugs who spoke against the legislation.

The Senate and the House passed a budget of 6.2 billion. The total amount was less than what the governor had

proposed because of lower income coming from the oil and gas. The state was able to increase funding for public schools,

Medicaid, prison guards, state police officers, state and local capital improvements through transferring funds from

various government accounts. There was no increase in taxes to help in offsetting the budget; and the state universities

and colleges will see less money for operations.

In the area of education, passed was reduction in testing requirements for ninth and tenth grade students, adding

lifesaving skills training to public school health classes and placing back into the lottery scholarship program prize money

that was not claimed. Not passed this year was changing the formula for lottery scholarships, the holding back of third

grade students who cannot read at grade level, and closing the loopholes in the background checks for school employees.

Crime and Public Safety saw the state’s most violent criminals staying behind bars, adding tougher sentences to some

repeat DWI offenders, and extending protection to rape victims. Being rejected was increasing the state’s three strike

law, penalties for assault on a Children Youth and Family Department worker, penalties for intentional child abuse and

penalties for abuse to a child 12 to 18 years resulting in death.

Concerning Health and Family issues passed was making antidotes for opioid overdoses widely available, providing

assisted outpatient treatment of the mentally ill, creating a “Brittany Alert” for missing people with developmental

disabilities or severe physical impairment, increasing the concussion protocol for student athletes to ten days, clarify

jurisdiction for malpractice lawsuits when health care is provided in other states. Not making it this year was a ban on

late term abortions and requiring screenings for children on public assistance.

This information was obtained from the Albuquerque Journal and wire services.

By Virgil Marchand, RMA

14

PRE-REGISTRATION

New Mexico State Society American Medical Technologists

NAME: ______________________________________ Date: __________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________

AMT Registry Number: ___________ Other Registry: _______________________

MLT ____ MT ____ RMA ____ RDA ____ RPT ____ Student ____ Guest ____

Fees: AMT member $10.00 Non-Members: $15.00 Students: FREE (with school ID)

Make Checks payable to: NMSSAMT

Mail pre-registration to: Virgil Marchand, RMA

3501 Santa Teresa NW

Albuquerque, NM 87120

Information call 505-836-6322 or e-mail: vjmarchand@msn.com

NMSSAMT Spring Meeting Program Saturday April 23, 2016

Brown Mackie College 10500 Copper Ave, NE

Albuquerque, NM 87123

0800 – 0845 Registration/Introductions 0845 – 0945 2016S-001 Behavioral Health – Patient-Centered Language/Labeling

Yvonne Moghadam, LMHC 0945 – 1000 Break

1000 – 1100 2016S-002 Dermatology – Basics in Checking Skin Cancer Sasha Sokolowski, PA-C

1100 – 1200 2016S-003 Risk Management in the Clinical Laboratory JoJo Navel, MT 1215 – 1315 Lunch Break NMSSAMT Business and Board Meetings 1315 – 1445 2016S-004 Typhoid Laurel Christensen 1500 Adjourn

15

Medical Lab Professional Week

National Meeting Memphis, TN

Fall Meeting Brown Mackie College Albuquerque, NM

April 24-30, 2016

June18-22, 2016

Oct 22, 2016

Record CE in AMTrax

Remember to track your continuing education and other related activities online. If you

forget how, just contact one of your board members.

Remember to send in scientific articles to either the state editor or state

president for our publication the “El Tecnico”. Your articles will be

greatly appreciated.

National Dental Assistant Recognition Week March 6-12, 2016

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember.

Involve me, and I’ll understand.” ~ Native American Proverb

R

E

M

I

N

D

E

R

S

&

D

A

T

E

S

16