MLO and The Dark Report award scholarship to Medical Technologist from Uganda
During the next five years, experts predict a significant turnover of senior executives and administrators in the nation’s clinical laboratories and pathology groups. One big reason why this will occur is the surge of retirements expected as members of the baby boomer generation turn 65.
That makes it ever more important for all medical labs to prepare their next generation of clinical laboratory managers . That is also the goal of a unique collaboration between Medical Laboratory Observer (MLO) and The Dark Report. Each year, for more than five years, the two publishers have teamed up to offer a full scholarship to the Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management. This scholarship includes travel and hotel expenses.
Scholarships for Clinical Laboratory Managers
Each winter, both MLO Magazine and The Dark Report put out a call for scholarship applicants. Specifically, we encourage laboratory professionals wanting to advance their management career to apply. For an up-and-coming lab manager, the Executive War College is a rich learning experience. It features more than 80 speakers and sessions across the full gamut of clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology operations. Equally valuable is the ability for the scholarship winner to network with innovative and forward-looking laboratory leaders over the course of the conference.
MLO and Executive War College Scholarships winner announced.
The scholarship winner is picked by an independent panel of advisors. They evaluate the responses submitted by the different applicants and select the individual who they believe has plenty of potential to development into an effective management leader.
Normally, applications come from laboratory professionals working in the United States. So the big surprise this year was an applicant from the continent of Africa. The bigger surprise was the quality of his application, which earned him the award of this year’s scholarship.
It is time to meet Ali Elbireer. He is an American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Medical Technologist. He hails from Uganda, Africa, where he also is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), as well as a certified Six-Sigma Green Belt.
Not only is Elbireer an interesting fellow in his own right, but he is actively involved in advancing the quality of laboratory services in Uganda. His story is fascinating. Born in Egypt and raised in Sudan, Elbireer immigrated to the U.S. in his youth. He earned his undergraduate degree in Laboratory Medical Technology Science, and then went on to complete his Masters of Business Administration (MBA). At present, Elbireer is working on his Ph.D.
Building the Top Medical Laboratory in Uganda
Elbireer returned to Uganda in 2004 and became the Laboratory Administrative Director for the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at the Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University (MU-JHU) Core Lab in Kampala. The MU-JHU Core Laboratory is the first lab to be accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in West, Central and East Africa.
Elbireer also is a founding member of the Becton Dickinson (BD) Laboratory Training Program at the IDI. Along with managing the operation and administration of the laboratory, Elbireer ensures compliance with CAP, FDA, IATA, CLIA, GCLP international regulations, as well as local Ugandan regulations. He has successfully maintained CAP accreditation since 2005.
“I am delighted to accept this scholarship, and the great opportunity to attend the Executive War College this year to learn the latest advancements in laboratory, and to help transfer the knowledge to my laboratory colleagues in Uganda,” said Elbireer upon learning that he had won the scholarship. “Thanks again for this great opportunity!”
Elbireer’s attendance at the Executive War College is one more sign of the globalization of clinical laboratory operations and management. Because of PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a host of medical laboratory professionals from North America have been assisting laboratories in Africa with the goal of improving operations and raising the quality of the laboratory testing services they deliver to physicians in their countries.
Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers reading this Dark Daily e-briefing who would like to know more about this year’s Executive War College, which takes place in New Orleans on May 3-4, can visit the website at www.executivewarcollege.com. The full agenda can be viewed, and there is still time to register.
And if you do come to this year’s Executive War College on Lab and Pathology Management, make sure you take the time to say hello to Ali Elbireer. He’s ready to make new friends and learn all that he can about best practices in clinical laboratory management.
—By Michael McBride
Related Information:
16th Annual Executive War College
Ali’s awe-inspiring African lab (Medical Laboratory Observer)
Meeting the Needs of Labs throughout Uganda: The Becton-Dickinson Laboratory Training Program
