Many of us certified in this field have credentials from one or more organizations, including the American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB) American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) and the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel (NCA). Those of us certified before 1988 also may have credentials from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) Moreover, a large percentage of lab personnel belongs to multiple professional societies, including those mentioned above, in addition to the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) and more specialized groups, such as the American Association for [Clinical Chemistry (AACC), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and/or Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA). (See Table 1 on page 40.)

With the existence of so many organizations, each with its own voice and agenda, many in the field believe additional benefits would be attainable through closer affiliation between the various societies.

Among these possible benefits:

* Strengthening of the infrastructure. A cooperative relationship among the various organizations could provide a larger pool of volunteers willing to work on special committees and projects. The current situation dilutes this pool among several groups that are likely to be working separately on related affairs.

* Additional CE opportunities. Elimination of duplicate courses could encourage the development of new programs targeted at leading-edge technological advancements.

* Shared scientific meetings. Organizing and sponsoring annual scientific meetings is an expensive undertaking. Sharing space and resources would help manage these costs. Vendor support might increase as well since the focus of time and money would be at one meeting in one location. Some organizations have begun conducting joint meetings already.

* Unified voice on governmental issues. Increased collaboration between organizations could result in a larger, more effective team better equipped to lobby for legislation critical to the success of the profession.

* Increased public awareness. Because members of our profession work "behind the scenes," the public has limited understanding of the level of technological skills needed to...