About Us
Bringing Laboratory Professionals Together in North Carolina
ASCLS-North Carolina is a constituent society of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS). Membership with the ASCLS-NC chapter is facilitated through the ASCLS national organization (if you are not a member yet, join today at www.ascls.org/membership).
We are also a member of ASCLS Region III, which consists of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The Board of ASCLS-NC meets four times each year (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) to plan and direct the activities of the state society. Activities and opportunities for professional interaction and growth occur frequently throughout the year.
Purpose
As described in our By-laws our purpose, “shall be to support in this state the purpose and principles of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science and to promote the educational and economic interests of its members. It shall be a non-profit organization.”
Committees
There are numerous opportunities for laboratory professionals to both participate in and further the growth of the activities of ASCLS-NC so that the purpose of this society may be fulfilled.
For example, if you are interested in policy and government relations, the Government Affairs and Licensure committees may be just the right fit. Like meeting people and spreading positive information about our profession and our society. Our newsletter, The Filter Paper wants to know how laboratory professionals are making a difference in our state. Ever wanted to write for your school paper (and certainly if you’ve won a Pulitzer!)? And, if you want to help make the decisions that affect the future of our community, the Board of Directors would like to see you become engaged. See our Committee pages for more information.
ASCLS-North Carolina Districts
Our chapter is divided into eight districts headed by a District Chair.
Code of Ethics
Preamble
The Code of Ethics of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science sets forth the principles and standards by which clinical laboratory professionals practice their profession.
I. Duty to the Patient
Clinical laboratory professionals are accountable for the quality and integrity of the laboratory services they provide. This obligation includes maintaining individual competence in judgement and performance and striving to safeguard the patient from incompetent or illegal practice by others.
Clinical laboratory professionals maintain high standards of practice. They exercise sound judgment in establishing, performing and evaluating laboratory testing.
Clinical laboratory professionals maintain strict confidentiality of patient information and test results. They safeguard the dignity and privacy of patients and provide accurate information to other health care professionals about the services they provide.
II. Duty to Colleagues and the Profession
Clinical laboratory professionals uphold and maintain the dignity and respect of our profession and strive to maintain a reputation of honesty, integrity and reliability. They contribute to the advancement of the profession by improving the body of knowledge, adopting scientific advances that benefit the patient, maintaining high standards of practice and education, and seeking fair socioeconomic working conditions for members of the profession.
Clinical laboratory professionals actively strive to establish cooperative and respectful working relationships with other health care professionals with the primary objective of ensuring a high standard of care for the patients they serve.
III. Duty to Society
As practitioners of an autonomous profession, clinical laboratory professionals have the responsibility to contribute from their sphere of professional competence to the general well being of the community.
Clinical laboratory professionals comply with relevant laws and regulations pertaining to the practice of clinical laboratory science and actively seek, within the dictates of their consciences, to change those which do not meet the high standards of care and practice to which the profession is committed.
Pledge to the Profession
As a clinical laboratory professional, I strive to:
Maintain and promote standards of excellence in performing and advancing the art and science of my profession.
Preserve the dignity and privacy of others.
Uphold and maintain the dignity and respect of our profession.
Seek to establish cooperative and respectful working relationships with other health professionals.
Contribute to the general well being of the community.
I will actively demonstrate my commitment to these responsibilities throughout my professional life.
(Source: ASCLS Code of Ethics)