Friends,

As we've announced earlier, CLSI has finally released GP42, the skin puncture standard. It's a work of art, I must say. Not because I participated in its development as a member of the committee, but because it was painstakingly deliberated, masterfully reorganized, and thoroughly scrutinized by some of the foremost phlebotomy authorities on the planet. The list of authors is like the Who's Who of phlebotomy. Almost four years in the making, this, the seventh edition of GP42, is the most rock-solid of them all.

In case you haven't noticed, there's a great deal of attention being paid to skin punctures in the literature. In this issue of Phlebotomy Today I share the results of a published study shedding light on the threat to potassium and bicarbonate results in samples drawn by fingerstick when performed incorrectly. Next month I will share a fascinating report on how skin puncture blood is being used for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. I don't think I have to tell you just how important sample collection is for that.

The changes in GP42 are too numerous to mention in this column, but rest assured they are significant. Just to tease you, you'll find it interesting to know the decades-old restriction against fingersticks on infants less than 12 months old has been substantially modified. Bottom line: you need a copy of this standard if you're going to continue performing within the standard of care. (NOTE: CLSI has made a recording of a webinar on the newly revised GP42 available to members and non-members at a reasonable price. Click here for more information.)

My participation on GP42 marks the 11th phlebotomy-related standard or guideline in which I've been involved, six of them as chairholder. It's likely my last for two reasons: 1) it's time for fresh voices to step up and be heard; and 2) I will be helping CLSI grow in other ways. At the moment, those "other ways" include my position on the Board of Directors and member of CLSI's Finance Committee. A finer organization you will never find. I cannot begin to tell you how being a volunteer for this organization can change your life and the lives of every patient whose blood you draw or test, or those to train to do so.

I first became involved with CLSI in 2000 as a conference attendee when I drove my rickety old pickup from Indiana to North Carolina just to attend a seminar on the newly released 4th edition of the venipuncture standard. At the time, I wondered how obnoxious I must have seemed to the presenters with all my questions and comments. I couldn't have been too annoying, though, because they invited me to join them for dinner. A few years later they invited me to be on the committee writing the 5th edition, and subsequently chairing the 6th and 7th editions. Over the 20 years I've been involved with CLSI, I've come to know them as an organization of many rare and positive attributes. Two of them, however, I find particularly unwavering, embedded in their DNA: welcoming and appreciative.

I urge you to become a CLSI volunteer. Not just because our preexamination documents need fresh voices and leaders, but for what involvement can do for you personally and professionally. To learn more about opportunities with CLSI, visit the CLSI volunteer web page. If your expertise or passion is phlebotomy, consider asking to be on a committee the next time a preexamination document needs revision or an opening on the Preexamination Expert Panel is announced. Expert Panels don't accept experts only, but collectively become expert because of people like you.

On a personal note, Many of you have inquired as to my well-being during the pandemic. I am happy to tell you no one in our family, immediate or extended, has contracted the virus. Not even my 95-year-old mother who is in an assisted living center in one of Michigan's most infected counties despite our governor's order for such facilities to house Covid-positive patients. There are currently eight Covid-19 -positive patients where she resides. Either they're doing an excellent job of quarantining them, or mom must have a supernatural immune system. Probably both. My siblings and I gathered outside her window last weekend to sing her Happy Birthday and visit by phone. It was a glorious celebration, albeit a little weird because of the restrictions. We made the most of it.

The Center for Phlebotomy Education is largely unaffected by the virus since we interact with all of our customers and clients remotely. Our business is not one that has walk-in traffic, so it's pretty much business as usual. As you might expect, there's been a significant increase in interest in our online training materials, especially our video streaming platform (The Phlebotomy Channel) and our content-rich membership section (Phlebotomy Central).

As you know, I've been posting videos regularly on our YouTube channel ever since it was returned to us in March after some n'er-do-well from Singapore hijacked it in January. I am also working feverishly to finish the 3rd edition of our Preventing Preanalytical Errors video. All the filming is complete, and now we're assembling the elements to bring you an entirely revised training video in December if all goes well. As you might imagine, the detail and elements in such a video are significant and the final product must be impeccably accurate and flawless before I approve its release. That's what you've come to expect from me and I intend to deliver.

I hope this finds all of you doing well, too, and making the most of a really bad---and bizarre---situation.


Take care, my friend,

Dennis