APHL 2022 POSTER ABSTRACTS
Workforce Development
What Have You Done for Me Lately ? Expanding the APHL Reach
R Randolph 1 , J Ramirez 2 , C Benton 3 , M Cone 4 , H Blankenship 5 , A Gorzalski 6 , N Brinkman 7 , J Lee 8 , J Maitland 9 , J Danzeisen 10 ;
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Association of Public Health Laboratories , 2 Los Angeles County Public Health Laboratory , 3 New Hampshire Public Health Laboratory ,
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Florida Public Health Laboratory , 5 Michigan Public Health Laboratory , 6 State Public Health Laboratory , 7 U . S . Environmental Protection Agency , 8 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ,
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Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services , 10 Minnesota Department of Agriculture
APHL ’ s Emerging Leader Program ( ELP ) Cohort 15 is striving to improve awareness among public health laboratory professionals and offer easier access to APHL-developed resources , tools and information . The ELP is a 12-month leadership development program that provides public health , environmental and agricultural laboratory professionals with an opportunity to learn and enhance effective leadership capabilities . Cohort 15 is comprised of 10 individuals from state , local and federal public health laboratories . As the cohort discussed possible project ideas , a recurring theme emerged : APHL has invested significant time and resources developing materials to support every facet of PHLs , and while APHL markets these materials through various platforms such as Lab Matters and eUpdate , this information often fails to be distributed from the originally emailed recipient ( often Laboratory Management ) to other PHL staff . This inconsistent dissemination of information fails to provide a cohesive picture of what APHL has to offer and how to access these resources ; it also has potential to negatively affect future PHL workforce training and retention in the face of the currently aging workforce . Cohort 15 aims to promote and highlight existing resources provided by APHL to PHL professionals of all levels by :
• Cataloging the offerings from APHL to both members and nonmembers
• Surveying employees in Cohort 15 laboratories as well as current APHL Fellows on awareness of APHL resources
• Developing a quick reference document and poster , “ What is APHL and What Can it Do for You ?”
• Evaluating APHL web traffic to detect an increase in resource awareness and use
Every resource developed by APHL addresses a public health challenge , and by raising awareness of and familiarizing PHL professionals with these available resources , the benefits of already developed content will be amplified , which may lead to APHL membership growth and increased training and retention of current and future PHL professionals .
Presenter : Christopher Benton , New Hampshire Public Health Laboratory , christopher . benton @ dhhs . nh . gov
Understanding Public Health Laboratory Practices Across Generations
A Wright and L Kurimski , Association of Public Health Laboratories
Objective : Provide public health laboratory ( PHL ) members and stakeholders with data findings , highlights and next steps from the Understanding Public Health Laboratory Practices across Generations survey , launched in spring 2021 . The poster content will highlight how APHL members view their laboratory practices within five different topic areas .
Background : In 2020 , APHL held a full-day focus group discussion with millennial laboratorians who expressed that there were apparent generational differences in the laboratory when it came to knowledge retention and transfer , team building , communication and workplace culture . In response to this discussion , the Knowledge Management Committee , in partnership with the Workforce Development Committee and the Quality Systems and Analytics program , fielded a survey to gain a better understanding of effective generational practices across APHL member laboratories while at the same time , identifying barriers and opportunities for improvement . Survey findings will also support the development of new resources .
Conclusion : The survey was fielded to all roles within APHL member laboratories and collected 482 total responses . Forty-seven percent of respondents were technical / scientific staff , 81 % worked in state or territorial public health laboratories and the generational breakdown put millennials as the highest respondents , followed by Gen X , Baby Boomers , Gen Z and the silent generation . The poster will include graphics and summary top lines in the following areas : knowledge retention and transfer , team building , communication across generations and workplace culture .
* This is work done by the APHL Knowledge Management Committee in partnership with the Workforce Development Committee .
Presenter : Andrea Wright , Association of Public Health Laboratories , andrea . wright @ aphl . org