Reports. Doing Good The Benefits of Volunteering for Your Life, Your Career, Your World. Melissa D Archangelo (CLSI, Wayne, PA)

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1 Doing Good The Benefits of Volunteering for Your Life, Your Career, Your World Melissa D Archangelo (CLSI, Wayne, PA) DOI: /LM6OM97FOAWUWKOT In today s fast-paced, plugged-in, sometimes impersonal world, it is necessary to find ways to feel a real connection to others. Sometimes, it can seem as if one is drifting through life, consumed with all that needs to get done. A way to become more grounded is to choose something meaningful and get involved through volunteering precious time, resources, or expertise. Although it may seem to be simply an altruistic venture and primarily it is volunteering can also produce many benefits and can truly enrich one s life. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 61 million people agree about the value of volunteerism and gave their time to at least one organization in There are as many ways to volunteer as there are people and interests; but to an organization like the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), volunteers are not a supplement but rather the driving force behind each and every project CLSI undertakes. They are vital to CLSI s continued success in fulfilling its mission to produce the very best standards and guidelines in clinical testing. CLSI volunteers know the documents they produce make a difference in patient care, and they want to have a role in improving the quality of care around the world, no matter where they work or their field of expertise. Luann Ochs, MS, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Operations at BD Diagnostics TriPath, who has served in many leadership roles and participated on numerous document development committees for CLSI, is proud of her service and feels it has benefited her in several ways. Besides meeting my personal goal of positively impacting the quality of health care, I ve developed wonderful friendships and working relationships with people who share my same goals. In addition, Image 1_CLSI volunteers at the 2008 CLSI Leadership Conference. 146 LABMEDICINE j Volume 40 Number 3 j March 2009 labmedicine.com

2 Image 2_CLSI volunteers at the 2008 CLSI Leadership Conference. I ve gained a great appreciation for the consensus process, and I ve learned to be a pretty good facilitator, Ochs said. W. Harry Hannon, PhD, Chief, Newborn Screening Branch, Division of Laboratory Sciences, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also serves as a CLSI volunteer and feels the experience has been valuable. He said, My organization and my supervisor strongly support CLSI. I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of professionals in many areas of expertise, and I have extensively expanded my network of scientists in newborn screening and clinical chemistry. CLSI and the Consensus Process CLSI, formerly NCCLS, is an international, interdisciplinary, nonprofit, standards-developing and educational organization promoting the development and use of standards and guidelines within the health care community. CLSI is a professional society organized by interested stakeholders with a vast global member and volunteer base. CLSI standards and guidelines represent a consensus opinion on good practices and reflect the input of representatives of the private sector, as well as governmental and accreditation agencies. With an over 40-year history, CLSI is a proven leader in facilitating the development of standards, guidelines, and bench aids that help the user save time, cut costs, improve quality, meet accreditation requirements, and achieve effectiveness and efficiency in the workplace. CLSI is recognized worldwide for the application of its unique consensus process in the development of standards and guidelines for patient testing and related health care issues. CLSI standards and guidelines reflect the substantial agreement by interested parties obtained by following CLSI s established procedures. Participation is the key to achieving broad consensus and delivering high quality standards and guidelines. Why Volunteer? Why give time, money, and talent to a cause that is not paying you? Why put forth the effort at all? Volunteering has obvious positive impacts on the community, professions, and people who are the direct recipients of the work, but it can have real benefits for the individual as well, which makes it well worth the investment. The World Volunteer Web ( a United Nations-sponsored Web site serving as a global clearinghouse for information and resources linked to volunteerism, cites several personal benefits of volunteering, referencing Ten Professional Development Benefits of Volunteering (Everything I Learned in Life I Learned through Volunteering) by Mary V. Merrill, LSW, of Merrill Associates. These benefits include: Learning or developing a new skill. Volunteering is a great way to build your skill set and fosters lifelong learning. CLSI provides opportunities to gain experience and tools that may advance a career. Being part of your community. Volunteering helps build bridges between people and connect a society that is becoming increasingly disconnected. New experiences. Volunteering is an amazing way to broaden life experience. CLSI has opportunities for volunteers to have an impact in developing countries and see the direct results of their efforts on some of the most vulnerable populations in the world. labmedicine.com March 2009 j Volume 40 Number 3 j LABMEDICINE 147

3 Meeting a diverse range of people. It is through volunteering that one can meet and get to know many different people, network, develop interpersonal skills, and even make a new lifelong friend. Networking is an exciting benefit of volunteering, and you can never tell whom you will meet or what new information you will learn and what impact this could have on your life. CLSI s balanced consensus process means volunteers from interested parties in government, industry, and professions share ideas and concerns. This interaction fosters a mutual respect for the challenges faced by each constituency. Working with others helps open one s mind to the day-to-day experiences that generate each person s opinions. Volunteering With CLSI CLSI is immensely proud and appreciative of its more than 2,000 volunteers who collaborate and share their knowledge by writing documents and developing tools for the worldwide health care community. These volunteers log tens of thousands of hours every year. This large number of contributed professional volunteer service hours would equal over $2.7 million if CLSI were to pay for their services. CLSI gratefully acknowledges sponsoring organizations who share its commitment to bettering health care around the world. At CLSI, volunteers can become involved in many different areas, and their levels of involvement should match their comfort levels with the projects. The CLSI Web site lists volunteer opportunities under Calls for Nominations. Any interested individual can volunteer to become an observer, committee member, or advisor on a document-development committee or as a partner in CLSI s Global Health Partnerships programs. With regard to document development, most people start out as observers, gaining experience through watching the consensus process develop while providing comments to the document-writing committees. In addition, volunteers can also simply provide comments on the proposed-level documents, and those comments will be incorporated into the final approved version. As one gains experience with CLSI, there are opportunities to be nominated and appointed to the Board of Directors and be a leader in making decisions for the organization. Anyone may propose a new project to CLSI, as well; CLSI encourages new project proposals to fill the unmet needs of the health care testing field. James H. Jorgensen, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center, and longtime CLSI volunteer, said his volunteer work with CLSI has allowed him to witness very tangible results. He said, I think volunteering with CLSI gives you an opportunity to contribute to your professional field and to do something to improve clinical practice. You can join and contribute to other professional organizations. However, I think this one gives you an opportunity to see the very positive results of your contributions. Fellow volunteer Luann Ochs highlighted the personal relationships formed by working closely with others on CLSI committees, saying, Volunteering for CLSI gets people out of their isolated environments and allows them to view laboratory medicine from many different perspectives. It is a great venue for establishing working relationships with opinion leaders, and Image 3_CLSI Global Health Partnerships mentors from left to right: Anthony LaPorta, Pamela Melcher, Barb Unger, Patrick Mateta, and Donna Watsky. 148 LABMEDICINE j Volume 40 Number 3 j March 2009 labmedicine.com

4 Image 4_CLSI Board of Directors. it is very personally rewarding to help establish standards that represent best practice. Anders Kallner, MD, PhD, a CLSI volunteer from Karolinska Hospital, Sweden, added, I think my volunteer work has paid back much to me through my stimulating and challenging discussions with colleagues and the possibilities I have had to influence the development of the recommendations. I come from a small country with different traditions and scientific views than the U.S. mainstream, and I believe that non-u.s. input has had a great impact on recent revisions and acceptance of the CLSI recommendations. In addition to the document-producing committees, project proposals, and commentary, CLSI also has exciting volunteer opportunities with its Global Health Partnerships for individuals who are willing to work in several countries around the world. With support from the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), CLSI is working with government agencies and selected laboratories in sub-saharan Africa and Asia providing ongoing advisement, assessment, accreditation preparedness assistance, training, education, and technical support services to improve the operational quality of the laboratories. This Laboratory Strengthening Program has already had an impact on laboratories in Tanzania, Mali, and Namibia, while work is underway in Cote d Ivoire, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Nigeria. CLSI plans to expand its Laboratory Strengthening Program to additional African and Asian countries. Volunteers of the Global Health Partnerships projects remark on how rewarding it is to help in a part of the world so devastated by disease, and where an accurate laboratory test can mean life or death. Yashwant Chudasama, MS, FIBMS, SM(AAM), Microbiology Supervisor at St. Luke s Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, and a volunteer with this program, reflected on his experiences: I have benefited both personally and professionally. My knowledge and horizons have been broadened by this experience, in that I have met so many people both here in the United States and also abroad, and have seen their level of expertise. I have also built a great network of experts in the field, who I can call should I ever need their expertise. These experts have also become good friends. I have also benefited because I have fulfilled a lifelong goal of giving back and providing community service to the people of my country. I was born in Tanzania and I left that country to further my education. Now, I am able to use my knowledge to help the staff improve laboratory procedures and provide guidance. This experience has left me with a great sense of professional and emotional fulfillment. I can truly say that I got 10 times more satisfaction and knowledge than what I gave. All laboratory personnel should volunteer for such a great organization because you are able to give so much knowledge, but you also gain a great deal. CLSI Projects in Development CLSI has many new projects in development and encourages input on its pending documents. Some of these current projects include the following: Method for Antifungal Disk Diffusion Susceptibility Testing of Filamentous Fungi (M51). This document will provide guidance on how to perform an agar diffusion disk method for susceptibility testing of filamentous fungi, making this testing more readily available to the clinical laboratory. Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Principles, Practices, and Potential Problems (X07). This report will describe the characteristics of methicillin- labmedicine.com March 2009 j Volume 40 Number 3 j LABMEDICINE 149

5 resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates; methods of detecting MRSA in clinical samples, surveillance cultures, and other potential reservoirs of MRSA; epidemiologic issues surrounding the spread of MRSA isolates in health care and other settings; interventions to halt transmission of MRSA; and public health aspects of MRSA transmission. Newborn Screening Guidelines for Premature and/or Sick Newborns (I/LA31). This guideline will address the best practices for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) personnel, as well as primary health care providers, and laboratory and follow-up personnel to provide all NICU infants with valid newborn screening within a reasonable amount of time. Accuracy in Patient Identification (GP33). This guideline will describe the essential elements of any system, manual or electronic, for patient identification appropriate for a particular health care venue, comprehensive program design and implementation, as well as validation and monitoring of programs to help a provider validate its patient effectiveness. Presentation of Manufacturer s Risk Mitigation Information for Users of In Vitro Diagnostic Devices (EP22). This document provides guidance to manufacturers on the establishment and disclosure of information they may choose to share with users regarding the scope and effectiveness of risk mitigation features, and recommended user interventions intended to prevent the production or release of incorrect patient test results. Laboratory Quality Control Based on Risk Management (EP23). This document describes how users can integrate manufacturer s risk mitigation information with the unique characteristics of their environment to develop effective quality control protocols for in vitro diagnostic devices. Quality Management Procedures: Systematic Approaches to Reducing Errors at the Point of Care (PoCT7). This guideline will provide POCT laboratory sites with a framework of potential sources of error, corresponding performance indicators, and suggested solutions or metrics to address each analytical phase of testing. For more information about these projects and all the volunteer opportunities at CLSI, please visit LM 150 LABMEDICINE j Volume 40 Number 3 j March 2009 labmedicine.com