RL0121 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I recently accepted a BB Supervisor for a 250 sub acute hospital and will start in 2 weeks. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. How I got the job? Pure luck i guess. I have over 10 years of BB experience but still rotate to other areas in the lab. About 2 mod ago, I transferred to a smaller entity within the hospital system and was appointed to take charge in BB. Compare to where I came from, the hospital I was transferred to is BB limited. No DAT, No AB ID , no Ag testing. So far I was also asked to take care of our QA for the entire lab and POC. Although the position was a lateral move, the experience will definitely help me out in the future. I finished my MBA in HCM 6 yrs ago and worked as a BB lead for a testing lab but it was only for a very short period of time. The lab was relocated 100 miles where I live so I went back to my previous hospital. Then, comes marriage, pregnancy and now have a toddler, this opportunity came knocking at my door. It was very unexpected but my new lab director/ medical director and BB pathologist feels I can do the job. My current lab director was very encouraging and gave me her blessing to advance my career. I offer to stay per diem to help them out. So, now I realized what the heck am I thinking? 2 jobs plus I'm also in the process of gathering all the necessary requirements for SBB program at Gulf Coast. My previous BB boss offered to mentor me. She already helped me by forwarding this amazing site. Anyway, looks like my first big BB project is to have the facility get their CAP accreditation. I'm quite confused how come they're only JCAHO and AABB certified but not CAP accredited? I thought hospital BB's should be CAP accredited to fully operate. Any word of advice is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Needs ☆ Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 As a UK worker, I have no idea about the need for CAP, but what I will say is, welcome to this brilliant site, and every good luck in the new job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auntie-D Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 If you have a look at some recent posts you will see there are a few of us 'newbies' to management here - I've been doing the job now for 2 and a half years and I never expected it to be hard - but definitely rewarding. One tip - don't try and change thing straight away, it won't gain you any plus points. Make lists and creep the changes in! Also if it doesn't break CAP standards don't worry about it - you will have plenty to deal with without worrying about the smaller details And ask people what they would like changing - you could make people happy Welcome and enjoy the support from this site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassinnc Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I have been a BB supervisor for 15 years. One thing that has worked for me is to include the staff in the changes that you intend to make. Tell them your ideas and get their feedback. Sometimes they have good ideas that you may not have thought of. Another thing that has worked for me is to be a team player. Let the staff know that you are approachable. Always be willing to help when they really need you. If you show yourself as a team player, you will always have their help when you need to get projects done. " Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."As far as your family life, make sure you make time to enjoy your family. Your toddler will soon be in first grade and you will look back and wonder where did the time go. Do not take work home with you, if at all possible. Once you clock out, your time should be dedicated to you and your family. I wish I had done this. I tried so hard in the beginning to do the impossible and I have so many regrets. For your CAP accreditation, take each checklist question and answer it with references from your SOP's, documents, and records. Have this documentation ready and available for your inspector. It will show that you are prepared and the inspector will not be so eager to find a problem area. If your facility is AABB accredited then you should be in good shape for a CAP inspection.I hope all goes well for you! You made a great choice and it appears that you have a good support team.Welcome to BB talk. This site offers great information! Auntie-D 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMcCord Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 CAP is voluntary. A hospital lab/blood bank can be Joint Commission inspected rather than inspected by CAP. We are CAP inspected, which has 'deemed status' with Joint Commission - meaning that when JC comes into our hospital, the lab sees very little of them. They look at our CAP inspection paper work, check on a few things that they are keying on and that's the end of it. If blood bank is AABB inspected on top of that - bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likewine99 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 cassinc has nailed it! Start with a high level perusal of the CAP checklist, make notes the first time around. The next time around reference all of your procedures, if you want to get really fancy put it all on a spreasheet. If there is something missing either add it to an existing policy or procedure or create a new one and educate your staff.When you get word of when they are coming get organized. Have everything at your fingertips, manuals, QC records, etc. If your hospital is part of a group, reach out to the other BB sups. Figure out who your "stellar performers" are and get them engaged in the CAP process. This will make them less nervous the day of the inspection.When CAP comes and they are asking you questions, answer the question, be brief, don't ramble on, you might hang yourself. If you give them an answer they "don't like", ask them how they do it in their lab. Chances are good that you are doing what the reg says, it's just not in a format that is familiar to the inspector.If you get someone who is just "out to get you" be as nice as you can, take the deficiency and remember you can always contest it after the inspection if you truly feel you have fufilled the reg.It sounds like you have a lot going on. Remember, you can't/shouldn't do everything. Get your staff to help and when you leave work, don't answer e-mails, do work at home, or whatever. It's a straight path to burn out and with your abilities and skills you want to be an asset to the lab and not become a liabitliy. GOOD LUCK, keep posting! Auntie-D 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RL0121 Posted December 3, 2011 Author Share Posted December 3, 2011 I will start in the next 2 weeks . In the meantime, I'm reading the hospital's current BB P and P's. Luckily, I'm familiar with Cerner classic as I used it for 6 years in BB. Thank you all for the tips. I'm really looking forward to this new exciting opportunity. I will definitely keep on posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkaw Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 We are not CAP certified either. Only AABB and JCAHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkaw Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I am a new BB supervisor as well, and new to this forum (Hi Everyone!) I am in a ~300 bed, 3-hospital system in North Carolina. I have been a Med Tech for 25 years. I worked in a tertiary care medical center for 9+ years in the blood bank at the beginning of my career. Then I took a hiatus from blood banking and came back to it part-time in 2004. As a new supervisor, I am anxious to make sure that everything is done 'by the book'. I am finding that compared to the big medical center where I worked years ago, our smaller hospital is procedure deficient. But as several others suggested, I am reticent to make big changes quickly. My 2 previous predecessors were SBB's but I am not. As I get more familiar with this forum, I am sure I will have lots of questions for this group.Regards, Amelia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Needs ☆ Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Welcome to this fantastic site Amelia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deny Morlino Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Welcome Amelia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L106 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Welcome to PathLabTalk, Amelia. This is a great site to ask questions and bounce ideas off of each other. Looking forward to your participation.Donna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Pepper Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Welcome Amelia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Saikin Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Welcome Amelia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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