The Westgard Rules

AACC Convention: Day 3

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

And as quickly as the convention is under way, it's over. More than 500 people visited the booth, a very good number for us. But more than quantity, we appreciate the quality of the people who visited us:

 

Left to right: Pam Nash of the AACC, Gabriel Migliarino (translator), Dr. Westgard, M Laura Parna (verifier), and Sten Westgard. This was part of the crew that put together the Spanish Translation of Basic QC Practices, which received a warm welcome from the convention attendees.

 

Left to Right: Mac Fancher, head of AACC publications, Sten Westgard, and Joanna Grimes, AACC editor. Mac and Joanna took the translation across that last mile, from document to printed form (and CD).

 

Randy Young of Labcorp, bracketed by Westgards.

 

Gabriel Migliarino, Jorge Naya, Dr. Westgard and another Latin American colleague.

 

Dr. David Armbruster, Scientific Affairs at Abbott Diagnostics, and Sten Westgard. Sten spoke at an Abbott Industry workshop and at the Abbott stage at their booth [full disclosure: Sten was compensated by Abbott to make these presentations]

Once the convention was over, the Westgards retired to a nearby establishment to celebrate and relax.

 

 

We thank everyone who took the time to attend one of the Westgard talks, stop by the Westgard booth, or browse one of the Westgard books and products. This was one of the best shows we've had.

Raffle winners will be announced next week, when we return to the office.

AACC: Day 2

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

You meet a lot of people at the convention. Sometimes you see old friends. Sometimes you make new ones. And sometimes, strangers just come up and say, Thank you.

 

Gabriel Migliarino and Dr. Westgard. Gabriel did the Spanish translation of the Basic QC Practices, Third edition, and contributed a chapter to the book as well.

 
Dr. Westgard and Mike Toyoshima of Bio-Rad. While there is some finger-pointing going on, they were actually having a very friendly conversation. Mike is a great guy who has helped us tackle some perplexing questions on quality practices in the real world.

 

Dr. Erna Lenters-Westra, one of the authors of that seminal paper on HbA1c quality (6 out of 8...) and Dr. Westgard. While we have corresponded by email frequently this year, this was our first meeting face to face - a chance to thank her for doing such an important study.

 

Arirat Banpavichit and Nathaporn Charoenmitra, from ConnectDiagnostics, visiting from Thailand - excited to meet Dr. Westgard.

 

Dr. Anders Kallner. Diana Mass, Dr. Westgard and Dr. Linda Thienpont.

AACC Convention: Day 1

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

Pictured above: Carl Garber, Quest Diagnostics, James O. Westgard, and Caixia (Sasha) Bi, also of Quest Diagnostics.

The crowds are back at the AACC/ASCLS show. We were kept very busy throughout the entire day, and expect to soon run out of giveaways and possibly even order forms. More people than we expected, and certainly more enthusiasm for the new book, Basic QC Practices, 3rd edition.

Pictured above: Gordon Kapke, VP of Covance Central Laboratory Services, wearing an extremely abused "Westgard Rules" collectable cap.The picture doesn't do justice to the wear and tear that the cap has seen - it used to be a black hat. But Gordon claims that this has been an ideal hat to wear during his tromps through the woods around his house, and it is the only cap he'll wear when using his chainsaw. We have given him a replacement, but he would not part with the tattered original.

 

The award for Most Determined to Get a Picture with "the" Westgard goes to Xuehui Liu, pictured here. While we were trying to set up the picture, Xuehui's husband was ringing repeatedly on her cell phone. She would not be distracted by calls, and insisted on getting the picture. That's dedication to quality!

[Please also note that, as the son of "the" Westgard, I neither encourage, condone, nor quite comprehend the urge to have one's picture taken with my father. Like Westgard Wear, a picture with James Westgard is a kind of "inside baseball" situation that only a few people will really appreciate. Plus, I don't want him thinking he's some kind of celebrity. I still have to work with this guy, and it helps when he remembers his usual midwestern humility.]

AACC Convention: Booth is Ready

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

  The booth is up and ready for tomorrow's (Tuesday's) opening of the laboratory exposition. Many people are saying this is the largest exhibition floor ever for AACC, and the number 20,000 attendees seems to be bouncing about.

We at Westgard do not invest heavily in booth design - there are no eye-popping plasma screens, no gimmicks, and no theaters (although this year we will be playing videos of our May and June workshops). We do have candy, pens, and our "Westgard Wear" raffle, but it is clear we are a small fish in a giant pond of marketing effort here.

The main attraction is the content of the books, courses and training.  But we hope that is enough to bring visitors, either in person to our booth, or virtually to the website.

AACC Convention: Joan Gordon and Clark Rundell

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

Pictured Above: Joan Gordon MT(ASCP) and Clark Rundell, PhD of Main Molecular Quality Control

Joan and Clark were key authors in the third edition of Basic QC Practices. Their contributions for the chapter on Molecular QC - and their help in getting additional authors to contribute - made for one of the most important new additions to the manual.

the practice of quality control in molecular and genetic testing is a new frontier. We hope that with Joan and Gordon's help, we can start to explore what's going on in this area of testing and see what improvements are necessary.

AACC Workshop: Method Evaluation

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

I had the pleasure to take part in the longest-running workshop/short course in AACC history today:

Concepts and Practices in the Evaluation of Laboratory Methods

Pictured, left to right: Dave Koch, myself, R. Neill Carey and Daniel Hoefner.

The Method Evaluation Workshop has been around for about 34 years. "The" Westgard was one of the original speakers, as well as Carl Garber. This year the registration was supposed to be only 50 people, but due to high demand, it topped out at 75, every seat filled.

Testament to the fact that methods still need to be evaluated, errors still need to be assessed and goals still need to be set.

My thanks to Dave, Neill, and Dan for accepting a new guy into the ranks.

See you at Anaheim AACC/ASCLS, Booth 6708

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

Next week, July 25th through 29th, the staff of Westgard QC will be in Anaheim for the AACC/ASCLS convention. We'll be at BOOTH 6708.

Among other things, we will have copies of the new Basic QC Practices, Third Edition, manual. The AACC expects to have the Spanish Translation of this title available, both in book format and on CD. So there will be some special events involving the new book, including autographed copies available at the Van Slyke auction, raffle prize giveaway at some booths (check with us for details), etc.

We will also be demonstrating our EZ Rules QC Design software as well as our new online courses at http://www.westgard.org We will be offering registration specials for training, as well as coupons for the books and software available to attendees.

We will also be holding our annual "Westgard Wear" Raffle, a rare opportunity to win such items as a "Westgard Rules" baseball cap, shirt, or messenger bag. These items are not sold in stores (no store is willing to sell something this strange). Nor will these items be understood by the general public if you wear them. But for those seeking rare laboratory apparel, it doesn't get more obscure than this.

We also will have Special Discounts available at the show - but to find out how good those specials are, you have to visit us at the booth. Continuing the tradition from last year, however, we will also have a set of specials available online:

• Special #1: Use coupon code WISHYOUWEREHERE and you'll save $15.00 off any order at our online store
• Special #2: Use coupon code BETTERTHANATEESHIRT and you'll save $25 off any order over $100 at the online store
• Anyone who downloads, places an order, or simply sends us an email at [email protected] will be entered in the Virtual Westgard Raffle. Three lucky winners, chosen at random at the end of the raffle period, will win a Westgard hat, shirt, or bag. These unique items are not sold in stores - no store would have them. But for those who like obscure laboratory gear, there's nothing more obscure.

Fine Print for Special #1: one coupon per order, per customer, cannot be combined, online store only, special starts Wednesday July 21st and ends August 10th.

Fine Print for Special #2: void where prohibited, one entry per person, we cannot calculate odds of winning because we have very little idea of who will enter during this week. Again, this will end on August 10th.

Fine Print on the Fine Print: Why will the non-show specials last longer than the actual convention specials? Call it the AACC Show Hangover Effect. We'll be tired after the convention and need a few extra days to recover.

We'll post details from the convention next week.

Quality Requirements: Aiming at the Right Target?

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

In the iconic western film, The Magnificent Seven, there is a famous scene about marksmanship. [Quick set up: The Magnificent Seven are - you guessed it, seven - gunmen hired to protect a peasant village from a much larger group of bandits] Early in the film, the heroic gunmen detect three bandit scouts and want to capture them. In an abrupt exchange of gunfire, two bandits are killed, but the third bandit mounts his horse and attempts to escape. As the bandit flees, one of the gunmen, Britt, steadies his pistol and takes aim. The escaping bandit gallops farther and farther away. But just as he is about to disappear behind a hill, Britt shoots, hitting the bandit square in the back, killing him. The youngest of the gunmen, Chico, shouts:

    Chico: (in awe) That was the greatest shot I've ever seen!

    Britt: (sternly) The worst! I was aiming at the horse.

This scene reminds us that even when what one person thinks is great performance may not be acceptable by another person's standards. Indeed, what appears like an accomplishment may actually be an error.

And what, you may ask, does this have to do with Six Sigma?

Beyond 10,000

Posted by Sten Westgard, MS

I had meant to post this a while ago, but the event occurred during our Westgard Workshops in late May, just as we entered an extremely busy part of our year.

What the title refers to is the fact that the Westgard Web has reached 10,000 members.

Actually, however, as of this moment, in early July, we have actually exceeded 11,000 members.

Now, this is not a huge accomplishment, since, after all, we don't charge for membership. It's not too hard to get members if there isn't a financial barrier to joining. So while the AACC, CLMA, and ASCLS have smaller memberships, their members are committed enough.

All that said, 11,000 is a large number, particularly for laboratory professionals. There aren't that many of them in the world and to see so many visit one place is a good sign that we're doing something right. And since all of those 11,000+ members took the time to tell us something about themselves, we have a better idea of what type of laboratories, companies, and organizations are interested in our offerings, as well as suggestions on what we should address in the future. Your feedback helps us stay in tune with the laboratory marketplace and we always want to hear from you.

In sum, Thank You to the Westgard Web members. We hope that you'll keep coming back for more.