ABCs of Laboratory Medicine is an outgrowth of an effort to provide early exposure to laboratory medicine, called the STEM to STAT framework, an education-focused outreach model developed by laboratory medicine professionals and emphasizing the importance of role-model exposure, the ultimate aim of which is long-term workforce development.
“By the age of six, kids begin making plans for their future,” according to the published literature, says ABCs coauthor Melody Boudreaux Nelson, DCLS, CC(NRCC), MS, MLS(ASCP), section director of point-of-care testing and assistant director of the core laboratory, University of Kansas Medical Center, and clinical assistant professor, University of Kansas School of Medicine. Thus, she and coauthor Stephanie Whitehead, MBA, MPH, MLS(ASCP), vice president of pathology and laboratory services, University Health, San Antonio, decided they would start with the elementary school setting.
“We wanted to create that awareness early on and have representation and literacy at that elementary level so we can inspire people to go into this. It’s a pipeline pathway,” Whitehead says.
The book begins with “A is for antibodies—tiny proteins in blood that fight germs” and ends with “Z is for zone of inhibition—a clear circle on a Petri dish where bacteria have stopped growing,” which is “important for the selection of antibiotic therapies.” Jair L. Artis, MLS(ASCP), of the University of Kansas Health System, is the illustrator.
The STEM to STAT goal is to reach people in every age group. “Students often must choose academic tracks in middle school to be able to access magnet programs or specialized high schools,” says Aaron Odegard, MS, MLS(ASCP)SM, QLS, laboratory quality coordinator, Baptist Health, Jacksonville, Fla., a business partner and book co-creator. “Without early exposure, laboratory careers may never be part of that decision-making.”
Creating content that is engaging and thoughtful in its approach to help all ages understand lab medicine is what STEM to STAT is about, Dr. Nelson says. “At its core, that’s what it is,” and the aim is to “cultivate a pipeline of professionals in our field.”
The secondary purpose of the book, Odegard says, is to help children faced with illness “grasp the information. The book conceptualizes it in a way they can understand it.”