Leveraging the Laboratory

Outreach operational plans are designed to provide excellent customer service, support staff efficiency, and maintain high quality. As with any business, laboratories may face unexpected circumstances that temporarily impact operations.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with outreach solutions strategists Ellen Dijkman Dulkes and Brianne Newton about how to establish processes that allow outreach programs to efficiently recover from road bumps and minimize visible impact to the customer.

Their discussion topics include:

• Navigating inclement weather and adverse events that may impact courier services.
• Managing disruptions and outages to the information technology systems.
• Preparing effective downtime plans.
• Maintaining operations during a staffing shortage.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, speaks with Camille Jewell, outpatient laboratory service technician at Mayo Clinic. They discuss how laboratory outreach programs can incorporate outcall or home phlebotomy to help prevent hospital readmissions, support patients with mobility challenges, and provide patient-centered care to the community.

Specific topics of discussion include:

• What to consider when developing a home phlebotomy program, including patient criteria, physician collaboration, community need, scheduling, logistics, and staff training.
• Real-life examples of home phlebotomy scenarios.
• Lessons learned through Mayo Clinic’s home phlebotomy program.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, is joined by Mark Kjer, supervisor of technologist support at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. They discuss the different perspectives of the outreach program from the laboratory’s operational and technical levels.

Their discussion topics include:

• Challenges related to the outreach program from the lab's perspective.
• How to support staff so they can successfully manage the variations in the pre-analytic phase.
• The distinct roles of the laboratory staff in the outreach program.
• The importance of staff and client feedback in developing effective workstreams.
• How to be an advocate for both the hospital and outreach laboratory programs.

Learn more best practices at the Leveraging the Laboratory conference on Sept. 17 and 18, 2024, in Rochester, Minnesota. Register online.

At 16 years old, Isak Schmidley is the youngest person to have passed the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s (ASCP) Medical Laboratory Scientist certification exam. In addition to attending high school, Isak is enrolled in college graduate classes and works as a medical laboratory scientist at a hospital in Louisiana.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, Isak joins the Mayo Clinic Laboratories outreach team — Jane Hermansen, Ellen Dijkman Dulkes, and Brianne Newton — to talk about his unique experience in joining the lab profession at a young age.

Their discussion topics include:

• Favorite aspects of medical lab science and working in a hospital lab.
• Raising awareness of the lab profession among the younger generation and engaging students at an earlier age.
• Why a career as a medical lab scientist may be a good fit for individuals with an interest in healthcare, science, engineering, and technology.

Learn more about connecting with the next generation of lab professionals at the Leveraging the Laboratory conference on Sept. 17 and 18, 2024, in Rochester, Minnesota. Register online.

In this episode of Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ “Leveraging the Laboratory” podcast, host Jane Hermansen, outreach manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, is joined by colleagues Ellen Dijkman Dulkes and Brianne Newton. They build on their previous discussion about customer service by focusing on service recovery.

They discuss strategies for responding to mishaps in the laboratory in a way that supports your broader customer service goals. Specific topics include:

• Common breakdowns in the laboratory outreach environment that may require service recovery.
• Four parts of an effective response: listening, acknowledging, apologizing, and actions to rectify the situation.
• The power of turning service breakdowns into problem-solving opportunities that make your laboratory outreach program better.
• The importance of a quality management plan and empowered staff in effective service recovery.

Additional resources mentioned during the podcast include Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ outreach articles on customer service and a free, on-demand customer service training module.