Supporting You at Every Stage

Virtual Career Day — June 17

PHOTOGRAPHY: YuriArcursPeopleimages/ENVATO

At CSMLS, we understand that building the career of your dreams takes effort and support. We’re here to offer the tools and opportunities that can help you thrive as a medical lab professional in your workplace. Many decades of experience have taught us that your career questions are best addressed through community, open dialogue and shared experience. To meet that need CSMLS facilitated a Virtual Career Day on June 17. Over 30 participants joined us to hear about medical lab experiences from individuals at various stages of their careers, and in diverse roles across the profession. Alexis Iob, MLA and Regional Project Coordinator with the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN), told attendees about the surprises, challenges and honest insights of working in the lab for the first few years. Iob gave practical advice that students can use to build confidence, adapt quickly and start their careers strong. Mikalis (Miki) Mousouliotis, MLT and Western Canada Director for Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, transitioned his career from education to medical technology sales. He shared his experience exploring opportunities outside the traditional laboratory path, which was particularly helpful for MLPs wanting to understand how their lab experience fits into the diagnostics innovation and manufacturing environment. Stephanie Fenech, MLT, shared her tips and tricks for taking your career from technical expertise to effective leadership. Participants heard about her career journey and learned the skills, mindset and experiences that shaped her success in a leadership role. Fenech has 19 years of experience and currently works as an Application Technologist at Unity Health Toronto. Finally, Maria Klement, retired MLT and IFBLS Board Director, closed the event by reflecting on her 40-year career journey. Klement shared her experience volunteering both locally and internationally and offered attendees a rare opportunity to learn from an experienced peer who built a meaningful career and left an inspiring legacy for future MLPs to learn from. We hope participants left with a renewed sense of purpose and inspiration to help them think out of the box when considering future roles. If you missed Virtual Career Day this year, don’t worry — we plan to make this an annual event.

Portrait of Alexis Iob, a white woman with long dark brown hair and black glasses wearing a white blouse

Alexis Iob

Portrait of Mikalis (Miki) Mousouliotis, a white man with light brown hair, a moustache and beard

Mikalis (Miki) Mousouliotis

Portrait of Stephanie Fenech, a black woman with short dark brown hair wearing a navy blue blouse with white polka dots

Stephanie Fenech

Portrait of Maria Klement, a white woman with shoulder length blonde hair wearing a black top and a scarf around her neck

Maria Klement

Supporting Canada’s Medical Lab Educator Community

Educators’ Virtual Symposium – July 22

On July 22, we invited Canada’s medical laboratory educator community to join us for an insightful afternoon. The second annual CSMLS Educator’s Virtual Symposium centred on new teaching tools, paths to improving communication among professionals, and competency assessments that effectively evaluate practice. As the evolving health care environment continues to be more demanding, educators are increasingly aware that students need to learn stronger communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. To address this issue, Tammy Hardie, MLT, opened the event with a session exploring how AI tools and virtual simulations can help prepare students to acquire these competencies, all while minimizing additional pressure on educators. Adding to the conversation, Rosina Mete, RP, shared how communication styles and interpersonal interactions can impact conflict from a psychological perspective. Participants learned effective strategies for de-escalating conflict in educational settings and for improving collaboration and well-being among co-workers. Adding to Hardie’s points on the expanding need for critical thinking skills, Lorna Zilic, CSMLS Certification Exam Manager for 15 years, explored a practical framework for moving from recall-based multiple-choice questions to application and judgment level items aligned with competency-based education. Attendees engaged in a collaborative “fix the question” activity, where they learned practical tips to improve consistency in question evaluations. Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the discussion. The Educators’ Symposium continues to grow into a space where the community explores emergent and current educational topics that help shape the medical laboratory profession at large. We strongly believe that supporting students and educators helps future professionals thrive in their careers.

Portrait of Tammy Hardie, a white woman with wavy grey hair and glasses wearing grey jacket and white blouse

Tammy Hardie

Rosina Mete, MSc, PhD, RP, University Director and Psychotherapist shown from the neck up, wearing glasses and smiling

Rosina Mete

Portrait of Lorna Zilic, a white woman with long dark brown hair wearing large black glasses

Lorna Zilic