My last day as your director

Seems like just last week when I first told you I'd be stepping down before the end of the year and letting fresh talent take over the Center for Phlebotomy Education. Well, things have unfolded quickly. My last day as the Director of the Center for Phlebotomy Education is tomorrow.

Effective October 1, the new owner of the company takes her rightful place in the Director's chair I've been occupying since, well, before the company even had a chair for me to sit in. We first started the discussion with my "heir to the throne" way back in April when I reached out to see if she was interested in any new opportunities. Turns out she was and I about fell off my chair... the one I'll  no longer occupy after tomorrow. I never expected my search for the perfect replacement would end so soon. A smoother path from our first conversation to last week's official signing could not have been possible. That alone tells me she meant to be the new director from the get-go.

In the image to the right I've juxtaposed portraits from 1998 and today. (My wife and I started out as Ernst & Associates Healthcare Consultants in 1999, then incorporated as the Center for Phlebotomy Education in 2000.) They've been the best years of my life.

The new director spent last week with Catherine and I learning the ropes. During that time we filmed a video that will be launched Friday introducing her to you and the rest of the world. I can tell you that when we stood at the end of the driveway and watched her and her husband pull away with the company's inventory, equipment, and furniture it was a really strange feeling. What started out as an idea and a spare room in our home just drove away as a fully functional international enterprise that has changed the way hundreds of thousands of people draw blood, maybe millions, and will continue to do so well into the future. 

And quite a future it will be. The new owner/director is young, full of enthusiasm and ideas, and the same fire in the belly I had when I first started the company. Rest assured I will continue to contribute in many ways. I'll still be writing this blog and filming YouTube videos for the company as well as mentoring the director for a year or more on the complexities of our vast product portfolio, web site, and partnerships. 

Although Thursday, September 30, will be my last day as your director and personal phlebotomy guru, I will not be retiring. I fully intend to continue helping the company succeed and expand as well as a handful of select companies I've been consulting for and with in the preanalytic world over the years, relationships that bring me great joy and much satisfaction. For you and for them, I have launched my own web site, www.dennisernst.com, where we can continue to interact. It's still rudimentary, but I wanted you to see what the dawn of my new day looks like. You'll be happy to know I'll be launching a new blog called "On a Personal Note,"  that refreshing diversion from technical content you've come to enjoy in my Phlebotomy Today column. It's the kind of writing I enjoy far greater than technical writing and a style I've longed to further pursue and perfect. I don't have the first blog post written yet, nor have I configured the subscription process, but I trust you'll come back often. You will see it grow quickly in content and functionality.

In the meanwhile, don't forget the parting gift I announced here yesterday. Get all six of our Smart Charts with the purchase of the complete set of our Abbreviated Teaching Modules, our in-house CEs. Act by the close of business Thursday. When I depart as the Center's director, the special expires. 

Lastly, my next post will be Friday, but not my last on these pages. I'll continue to write Phlebotomy Today posts while the new director gets her legs. There's a lot of moving parts to this company, so I'll be around for a while. The big reveal is Friday. I'll send out a blog post linking you to the YouTube video that announces and introduces the next Phlebotomy Guru! You're going to love her!