What a day! It’s Saturday. In case you’re curious, the wonderful folks who put out the CLM wait patiently each weekend for everything to come trailing in through email and web submissions and then they get it ready for Monday morning release. Even though I would like to get my message typed up on Friday, it’s invariably Saturday. This time, it’s a Saturday with me flying to New Orleans to attend the ASCIA meeting that starts Monday and I am coming in early to visit with my Coast Guard son. I truly thought that I would write my message while I sat in the airport at my layover.
Well you know what they say about “best laid plans.” The first flight landed and I gathered all of my stuff and waited to deplane. To make a long story short, I went to move the aisle seat armrest upward so I could get out more easily with my backpack. It wasn’t the usual button. It was a finger sized hole and my finger went right on in and there it stuck; seriously stuck. Embarrassing, especially as everyone else on the plane had to pass by me as they exited. After 45 minutes, I did finally get loose with my finger intact, bruised and still numb even now hours later, but intact. It took the assistance of the flight crew, the plane mechanical staff, the fire department, and an EMS unit. Sigh. While stuck in my seat and trying not to panic about my increasingly painful situation there were 12 folks trying every which way to get that finger unstuck. The EMT sat across from me where he could keep an eye on me in case I passed out or something and/or to respond if they accidentally sliced my finger off. He asked what I do for a living. I’m a Crime Lab Director and you all know how that conversation goes on from there. He turned the conversation from there to the vicarious trauma conversation and self care. He was more worried about what we encounter daily, weekly, annually than what he and other EMTs see. We talked about working plane crashes and it brought tears to my eyes remembering the Comair 5191 crash of 2006 in Lexington, KY. It has been 15 years and it still choked me up. Noting my teary eyes, and making sure it’s not the pain which is significantly increasing in my finger, he told me that WE have to take care of ourselves or WE lose our ability to help others. He had a captive audience and it was a great conversation to distract me. My thoughts shifted to a colleague from the Miami, FL area who made comments last week on a conference call about dealing emotionally with the condominium collapse. I remember thinking how horrible it would be if the condo disaster indirectly caused a great Lab Director to leave her job and how horrible that would be to the Miami area and our ASCLD community. It would be a true loss. The departure of any of us due to the stress of what we deal with is avoidable. Please, please, please… take care of your emotional health and that of your staff. Crime Lab and CSI careers may be something that people think are fascinating but the job does affect you. Asking for help is required. Reach out. We are here. I am here. Laura.Sudkamp@ky.gov
So after the finger stuck in an armrest hole “thing” was over, the message I want to share with you is what that EMT shared with me. What we do each and everyday is stressful. Some events will always stick with you but many of the smaller exposures add up to something larger. Take care of yourself. You are needed. (And never ever ever put your finger in the hole under the armrest on an airplane!)
Laura
Laura Sudkamp
ASCLD President
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ASCLD monthly board meeting
Friday November 19th at 1:00pm EST
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Weekly News and Resources
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Plans are coming together for ASCLD 2022…what could we be planning for YOU???
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Join us for the ASCLD Symposium 2022
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Registration opens in a few weeks! Please join us April 24-28, 2022 in Reno where we will be Facing the Challenge: Mission Possible!
https://na.eventscloud.com/website/31106/home/
Thank you to our 2022 Gold Sponsors:
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ASCLD 2022 Leadership Academy Registration is OPEN!
As many of you know, the ASCLD Leadership Academy is a program offered by ASCLD forensic science management personnel. It is designed to deliver training of the highest quality at a cost that recognizes current strained budgets of forensic science laboratories. The Academy is open to members and non-members with a mission to train managers in becoming LEADERS. The Level I course is specifically for newly appointed supervisors or supervisors who have had little formal management training. ASCLD is excited to announce the Level II Academy is back! Level II builds on Level I and is designed for leaders responsible for entire programs, multiple sections or teams, or an entire forensic laboratory. Level II qualifies participants to test for the Certified Forensic Manager Level 2 Exam (CFM-II). Spots fill quickly and these courses sell out every year- reserve your spot today!
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Please send all CLM submissions to our new electronic form!
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Please continue to tag your photos on social media with the hashtag #ASCLDfun
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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
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Opt Out.
ASCLD sells your email information to vendors for marketing and promotional material purposes. You may ‘opt-out’ of receiving vendor information not directly related to ASCLD by emailing executivedirector@ascld.org. If you do not opt out then your acceptance of this Agreement will constitute your affirmative consent to receiving marketing and promotional material from ASCLD.
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New Reads (and Podcasts) for You
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The following is a list of suggested books, podcasts, and other media that have inspired ASCLD members in their leadership Journey:
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Primal Leadership Daniel Goleman
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Daring Greatly Brene Brown
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Seeing Around Corners Rita McGrath
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Calling all FS Laboratories with DNA Services!
The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE), led by RTI International and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is conducting a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) study and developing an accompanying CBA calculator to support evidence-based decision making for the considerations of implementing a Direct-to-DNA approach for the processing of sexual assault kits and sexual assault evidence in accordance with recommendation #27 in the NIJ National Best Practices for Sexual Assault Kits; a Multidisciplinary Approach guidance document. See attached announcement for how your lab can assist!
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NIJ Forensic Science R&D Reports for ASCLD Crime Lab Minute Vol 13
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There are many standards open for comment on the ASB website. Be sure to check them out and provide your valuable input!
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ANAB Trainings
With the ability to reach wider audiences, we are expanding offerings of current courses in Spanish.
The following courses will be available live online in Spanish:
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Forensic Technical Assessor
- Forensic ISO/IEC 17025 Internal Auditor
- Risk-based Thinking for Forensic Service Providers
We are also excited to introduce our courses:oratories and Inspection:
Basic Statistics for Laboratories and Inspection Bodies. This course will introduce basic statistical techniques for collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data. Participants will strengthen their knowledge base of statistical techniques and their application to ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO/IEC 17025, and build confidence in the validity and reliability of their results. More..
Verification and Validation for Laboratories and Inspection Bodies. This course provides an introduction to the validation and verification of analytical methods and the common elements of a validation or verification plan. In addition, a general approach to performing a validation or verification will be reviewed along with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements for validation and verification of methods. More…
Webinars:
We continue our monthly Webinars and stay tuned for information about upcoming Feature Sessions.
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Save the dates (October 5 and November 10) for the first Global Collaboration of Forensic Scientists (GC-FS) Webex webinars that are free to everyone! The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) has collaborated with the Department of Justice International Criminal Investigation Training and Assistance Program (ICITAP) to provide educational sessions worldwide. The first two educational collaborations will be both introductory and advanced for digital evidence and non-digital evidence forensic practitioners. For more information about the GC-FS and the upcoming webinars, click HERE
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Donations to ASCLD can now be made online! This is a great way to honor the memory of a forensic colleague, to commemorate a life event for that person who has everything, or to otherwise assist in supporting the tireless efforts of the ASCLD organization in the pursuit of excellence in forensic science management. The donation page can be accessed by clicking HERE or by visiting the ASCLD website and clicking on "Donate to ASCLD" under the "Member Site" tab (this donation page is accessible even to non-members). Please consider donating and do share this information with anyone you think might be interested.
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The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
65 Glen Road, Suite 123
Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.773.2044
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