Episode 15: Unlocking the Secrets to Winning Professional Awards: Tips from Forty Under 40 Winners

Intro [00:00:00]:

Welcome to the Elaborate Topics podcast, where we focus on lab specific strategies for medical laboratory professionals. We're proud to be the healthcare detectives that work behind the scenes to get the results needed to influence medical decisions. Let's grow together and jump right into the lab.

Tywauna W [00:00:21]:

Welcome, friends. Here we are with another episode of Elaborate Topics. I am your host and leadership mentor, Tywauna Wilson. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. I'm happy you landed on this podcast and on this episode. Do me a favor. Share this podcast out with your colleagues, with your network, with your fellow medical laboratory professionals and those that are friends of the laboratory. This podcast is a weekly podcast where we bring myself and my cohost Stephanie Whitehead and Lona Small, bring you new guests, new topics each week. You will find us on Directimpactbroadcasting.com. We are also on the Lab Vine platform, or you will find us on your favorite podcast platform. So there is no reason why you can't get this podcast on demand and catch up on our over 145 episodes that are in the catalog. Well, today we have a special show for you. I am super excited to bring you past ASCP 40 under 40 award winners. These two ladies that I will be interviewing today are two of my favorites that I feel like you all will be able to get some leadership tips. They'll talk to us about their laboratory journeys, but also how it feels to be an ASCP 40 under 40 and what that journey has been like. How has that affected them in their professional careers and give you some. Tips because maybe you're interested in being a 40 under 40 honoree and you're not exactly sure where to start or not exactly sure if you should submit your name. And so they will give you some tips based off of their journey, and I'm excited for you to hear from them. So, without further ado, I'm excited to bring our guests to the stage this week. We'll be interviewing, well, fellow co host Stephanie Whitehead, and we'll also be interviewing Tiffany medical lab lady, Gill. So I hope you are excited, ladies. I hope you are excited to be here. And let's jump right into it. Stephanie, we'll start with you, and then Tiffany will follow up with you with the same question. Tell the listeners a little bit about your laboratory journey. And we're not looking for your bio version of your journey. Tell us a little bit about how did you find this career? What are you doing now? What do you enjoy most about being in the profession and how long have you been doing it? So, Stephanie, I'll let you start, and then, Tiffany, you can jump in and share with the listeners how you found out about this career path.

Stephanie W [00:03:40]:

I've been in laboratory medicine for almost 20 years. Over 15 years. It's hard to count. I mean, there's been so many wonderful parts of my journey that I've started to lose track of time. But not unlike many of you listeners, I found laboratory medicine by accident. My brother actually did a Career Day report on being a laboratory scientist, and he practiced his public speaking skills on me. And as he was going through his report, many elements of the profession that he was speaking of really spoke to me. And so when I arrived at undergraduate, I decided to go into this as my career field. I felt like it perfectly coupled my passion for science and Stem, as well as my empathy and compassion for people and really my desire to want to play a part in the entire healthcare team. And so I've been going strong in this field since 2000. So shout out to all of the people who've been doing this as long as me. What do I enjoy most about the profession? I think I enjoy most is the investigative part, really the parts about being able to be a part of a patient's medical story, helping them find a way to an end, whether that's helping them find a diagnosis or a medication that will work for them or working in the laboratory to find processes that will be more efficient or to find ways to make our team more successful and to make our culture stronger. I think right now, I really just like the problem solving and investigative parts of process improvement. I love what I'm doing now. It gives me an immense amount of joy, and not only professionally, but outside of my career and outside of my day job. I really enjoy the things that I do outside of work, mentoring others, helping other people find their way in this career motivating, and inspiring people to go deeper in this career and exceed what they originally thought they could do with their clinical or medical laboratory science degree.

Tywauna W [00:06:09]:

And Tiffany, how did you find out about this career profession? What led you to being an awesome medical laboratory scientist?

Tiffany Gill [00:06:16]:

Originally, I thought I wanted to be a physician, and I was a biochem major, which was the pre med major at my institution that I went to in Pennsylvania. And I tried to get a job after I graduated from my undergrad. And since I live in an engineering town, the only job that really was available for someone who wasn't going to med school anymore was the local laboratory at the hospital. So I went to my local hospital, and I asked them if I could get a job. I was looking for a position at their laboratory, and they said, we can't hire you because you're not certified. And I said, what are you talking about? And they said, you need to have ASCP certification to work here. And I said, well, how do I get that? And they described to me that there was the local MLT program that was trying to get off the ground at the local college and that they would train me as a phlebotomist, and I could work as a phlebotomist while I was going to the MLT school. And that way I would be eligible to sit for the ACP exam. And I said that I didn't want to have something that was an unsure thing. So where was the next closest program? And they said the MLS program at a hospital within DC. So that was 2 hours away. And I said, well, I'm going to do that. I'm going to apply to that school, and we'll take it from there. And they said, okay. So I ended up finding a job at a different lab that was an hour away from where I live. And it was honestly just down the street from the MLT program that they were talking about. And I was the sendouts person in that laboratory for about a year. And I was also basically a medical lab assistant. So I helped out in the core lab and in blood banking and micro. They knew that I had been accepted to the program in DC. And I was just waiting before that program actually started. So at a great time, I learned a lot about the laboratory. I learned a lot about specimens. So when I went to the MLS program at the hospital in DC. I did really well. I was also doing work study in their cytoa section of the lab. And that was really great too. I enjoyed all of it. I was able to work in the anatomic pathology side because that's where the cyto UA section was. It was really only one of ten locations in the entire I think it was the entire world, or maybe it was the nation, I'm not sure that offered that type of service. And so I was doing really a clinical side, but we were housed in the anatomic pathology side of the lab. I got to see grossing of specimens that were excised from people's bodies and really got to be friends with some of the pathology assistants there because they were doing all the grossing. And then I got to meet the pathologists and learn about where those tissue sections go after the histologists and histotex section, it off. And I thought, you know what, I might still want to do something past this, even in the future. So I was investigating becoming a pathologist assistant versus a physician's assistant afterwards, which is a master's degree. And that was while I was a student. And then after I was a student, I ended up going and accepting a position in the core laboratory at that same facility because I had a three year contract after the program that I completed. So I had two years of experience already in the laboratory, and I was working in the core lab and really taking to the laboratory and doing well and was really ambitious. And there was a senior tech position that was coming up and it was as a training coordinator through the entire core lab and eventually also the point of care area. And this was over 900 bed hospital, so it was like a small city and we had a really big core lab section and I ended up getting the position. So in under a year, I became a senior tech medical laboratory scientist. And I forgot to say I was certified. And it was really wonderful. I was teaching all of the students in the hospital program that I had completed. I was doing the chemistry, the chemistry course, and then I was also teaching the students that would come to our teaching hospital and in the laboratory. So that included pathology residents, that included medical lab assistant students from a program that was near the hospital and other laboratory students like medical laboratory scientists and medical laboratory technician students that were rotating through our institution. So it was really wonderful. And I was training the new techs and scientists that were coming in for the first time working in the field or in our core lab, but also if they were already employees that were cross training, I was training them and doing their competencies as well. And I really enjoyed having both opportunities. And then I ended up noticing that there was this position at the local college where I lived because 2 hours away was becoming very hard for me. I was having a hard time starting a family with my husband and so I wanted to have a place that was a little bit closer to the lab or closer to where I live. And I ended up taking the position as the MLT program coordinator at the college that the original hospital tried to get me to go to, to be eligible for the ACP certification. And I've been there ever since I started teaching there and putting the program together and getting it accredited back in 2011. So I have been in education of medical laboratory education for the last twelve years and I've been a laboratorian for almost 20 years now. And I love it. I try to help other educators throughout the country. I also teach on a global stage through my YouTube channel, Medical Lab Lady Gill, and I am trying to help the greater community to learn about the laboratory, spread awareness about the different professions within the laboratory, and also what you can do with certification and that background even outside of the medical laboratory. So all the options that are available for anyone who wants to become a medical laboratory scientist or a phlebotomist or laboratory assistant or a histologist. And I'm not really well versed with the anatomic pathology side. I have some experience with it, but the main focus of my channel and the mentoring that I do is basically on the clinical side.

Tywauna W [00:15:41]:

Wow, what a great journey, Tiffany. And your YouTube channel and resources are amazing. Anytime I have new staff members or if we have students, I always say you need to go out to Medical Lab Lady Gills YouTube page where she has tons of resources. So I use your channel as training AIDS for some of our new employees and for some of our students. So thank you for just being a gift and a blessing on that side. With what you are doing with your platform, it's pretty amazing and you are impacting more people than you would ever know. Earlier this season, here on elaborate topics, it was actually episode ten, and the podcast was titled Elevate Your Career the Do's and Don'ts to Pitching Yourself. And when I think about that podcast, it was a roundtable where we gave some practical tips and being able to pitch yourself for awards, for opportunities and things of that nature. So thinking about that, it made me think about this question of why do you small think that you were actually selected for the award and you can give the year that you did actually receive the 40 under 40? And then I guess the second part to that was, was this actually your first nomination? Because sometimes people on the outside looking in might think this is your first time applying, and maybe it was, but they probably think it's your first time applying and everybody gets selected on the first time, and if they apply and don't get selected, then not to apply again. So talk to us a little bit about why you think you were selected, and if you don't mind sharing, if it was your first time being nominated for the award.

Stephanie W [00:17:41]:

I was named 40 under 40 Honoree last year, actually in 2022, and it was not my first time applying. I had applied two previous times, I believe, and it's odd to say, but I really just had a feeling that 2022 was going to be my year. And don't ask me why. It was just a feeling that I had. I had really been intentional from 2021 when I previously applied and didn't get selected about really what was going to be my role in terms of visibility and advocacy and assistance and mentorship and all of those things, and what did those things really, truly mean to me? And how could I exude those things, not just through my application, but through my work on social media, through my brand, et cetera. And I think really the secret to it is, I think in 2000 and 22,021 when I applied, I put a lot of pressure on myself to get selected and I built it up in my mind like it was going to be some stamp of approval to what I had been doing in my career. And I think in 2022, and perhaps because 2022, honestly, for all the listeners, was the last year I would have qualified, because it was also the year that I was turning 40, so I would have not qualified after that. Year anymore. But I think in 2022, I really just let it be an application, something that I was applying for to really solidify the things that I was doing in my career, in both outside of my career. But I didn't let it define me. I really took that expectation off of it and went into it knowing wholeheartedly that whether I got it or not, that I still played a very important role in the laboratory medicine profession. And I knew that I was making an impact. Whether this award solidified that for me or not. Why do I think I was selected? Again, I think that there was just more authenticity behind my application. I actually also took the time to talk to a couple of 40 under 40 honorees who had previously won and really kind of just, I must say, like, hone in or refine my application and my responses to the questions a little bit. But I think, too, I think the most important thing is I took that pressure and that expectation off of myself to allow the award to define what I was doing or who I was or some kind of way make me. And I really just let it be the icing on the cake for what I was already doing. Coincidentally, in 2022, I was also named Voices Under 40 for ASCLS. So it was a very great year for awards.

Tywauna W [00:20:49]:

I really like that. Stephanie, don't let the award define what you are doing, but let it be the icing on the cake. I thought that was awesome. I am happy that you were candid and transparent about this not being your first time applying for this award. I know for me, I'm a class of 2017 ASCP 40 under 40, and it was not my first time applying for that award that year either. It was the year that I was selected, but it was the year that I but not the first time. And so I totally agree. Sometimes taking a step back and figuring out how to really sell yourself on paper and make yourself stand out on paper and really exude all the great things that you are doing, putting everything that you're doing in your community, in your organization, in your state, your involvement with the professional societies. How do you put that into words and put that word translate onto paper? But I really like that allowing the award to be the icing on the cake. Tiffany, what are your thoughts?

Tiffany Gill [00:22:10]:

I was 40 under 40 for the class of 2022, and that was really amazing because it was the 100th year celebration. So I got to go out and experience that whole annual meeting where the focus was the 100 years, and that was incredible. So thankful that I got to be a part of that. And I feel like I was honestly meant to be in that class. I was also one of the top five, which was even better but I had tried three times. This was my third try to be 40 under 40 honoree, and I wasn't really sure for a while why it was that I wasn't getting the honor because I was doing a lot of my community, a lot of extra things with committees, mentoring and being the blood program leader at our institution for blood drives and really doing a lot with the medical lab Lady Gill YouTube channel as well. So I was doing a lot of wonderful things, but I wasn't really sure why that wasn't being noticed maybe by the committee for the 40 under 40. And then I started the Sell Bowl, and that was my second time that I tried to get 40 under 40. Didn't get it then either. So I was very secretive about my third go around because I wasn't sure that I was going to get it and I didn't know what to do. And then it came to me that, you know what, I really needed to redo my CV because there wasn't a section that talked about all of the extra stuff that I was doing. I put it in the narratives, but I didn't have it represented on my CV. So I put down this really large section of all this extra stuff that I was doing. It included the YouTube channel, it included the Cell Bowl, it included all of the mentoring that I did as a faculty member and for ASCP and all the committees I'm on for ASCP and the public speaking I've done at different ASCLS events. So I just put it all there, working with a Red Cross, all of that. And that was the year that I finally broke through. So I think what I try to tell everybody is to be persistent and know that even though you don't get it the first time, it doesn't mean you're not doing wonderful things, but there are a lot of other people doing amazing things out there as well. It's an international award, so it's not very few people that are trying for this. There's a lot of people that are trying for it. And in the town hall that we just recorded for the 2022 Honorees and Lessons learned type of situation, the main thing that I tell everybody is, and I told everybody in that town hall, was to make sure that your CV reflects the things that you do and that you're writing in the narrative. Because if those two things don't match, then there are probably some questions about what you're really disclosing in those two things. So make sure not only do they match, but also make sure that what you're doing and what you're highlighting also represents the mission, vision and goals of ASCP as well. So those are my suggestions, and I think that's really why I got it this time, ladies.

Tywauna W [00:26:35]:

There could be people out here that are listening to the podcast and they're wondering, since you've been selected. How has it impacted you either personally or professionally after you've received this award?

Tiffany Gill [00:26:50]:

Being a 40 under 40 top Five in the 2022 class was really amazing because not only was the class a really great combination of professionals internationally represented, but in the top five, four out of the five of us were educators. And to me, that was a monumental step forward, maybe is the word I'm looking for, I'm not really sure, but it was a monumental experience because that's never happened before. So I felt like there was validity to the educators out there to say the laboratory and medicine doesn't start at the practicing professional level, it starts with the educational level and that there is importance to that part of the profession. And it just was wonderful to be a part of that. It's brought validity to the brand that I have of Medical Lab Lady Gill where I'm providing medical laboratory education globally and helping educators to empower their students and to be seen by their local communities and supported by their local communities and to hopefully really spread awareness of what the medical laboratory does within the healthcare team to other practicing professionals, local communities, corporations that rely on the laboratory. It just has such a far reaching effect. I'm so excited that this honor has been a springboard even for that, and it just has brought a lot of awareness and validity to what I'm trying to do. And I'm so thankful for me personally.

Stephanie W [00:29:10]:

Achieving the award of 40 under 40 for ASCP and Voices Under 40 for ASCLS were just personal career milestones that I had set for myself. And so I felt a level of personal pride in where I had come to that point in my career and the things that I had done and the fact that they were noticed on such a large platform. And so I was so visible nationally to be selected for those awards. And I also felt when I looked at the other individuals that were selected in my same cohort, a personal sense of pride, because honestly, I felt like, wow, I really am comparable to these other gifted and highly talented laboratory professionals in this field. So just a great sense of pride of what I had done in my career to that point and some of the accomplishments that I had done and that recognition. I think personally, the 40 under 40 Award has allowed me to network with some really great individuals that have allowed me to kind of push forward on many of the endeavors and things that I've been wanting to do in the laboratory profession. And networking, I mean, you can't do anything alone. Everything has to be done in a group. And it just put me in a room with so many talented, forward thinking individuals that I think I'm so grateful and blessed to have shared knowledge with and shared space with and shared think tanks with. And so again, I'm just really grateful for that as an opportunity in my career.

Tywauna W [00:30:53]:

Do either of you have any advice you would give to those who might be thinking about applying for this award? And what tips also would you give for them that they can use to increase their chances of being selected? As we know, it's a very competitive process, and there's more applications than there are spots in the class. So what advice would you give to somebody who's interested?

Stephanie W [00:31:22]:

The best piece of advice that I have for a person applying for award right now is don't be bummed if you don't get it. I know very few people who applied their first year and got it also that same year. So if you don't get it the same year that you apply, please retry again, because if you feel the need to apply, then you obviously have confidence in the things that you're doing in this profession, and you deserve that recognition. So don't stop at applying once until you're 40, or I guess until you're 41, continue to apply. Listen to this podcast and take notes and connect with the other people on here who have applied several times and ultimately achieved that honor. And talk to us about ways that you can increase your chances of being selected by allowing yourself to really come through on that application. I mean, hundreds of people apply for this ward each year, and the selection committee really only has what they have to review what they have there on paper. And so if you don't really jump off of that piece of paper, then it's hard for that selection committee to really know about the things that you're doing in your laboratory or in your community or in your state that have been so immensely impactful. So talk to one of us about ways that you can really make your application come to life and shine so that you are selected, but don't take no as your final answer. I would say I'm a big believer in things happen when they're absolutely supposed to. I think that I was supposed to win 40 under 40 exactly when I got it and not the other times that I tried. And so many things in my career and in my life have lined up to really show me that that is true. And so everything will happen exactly the way it's supposed to happen, exactly when it's supposed to happen. I'm a big believer in that. And so if you don't get it this time, there's always next time. But definitely connect with others so they can assist you and help you, because that's what we're all here for. We're all here to support and help move each other forward.

Tywauna W [00:33:38]:

Stephanie and Tiffany, it's been an honor to sit down with both of you today. You truly are leaders in our industry. And before we wrap up today's show, I would like to know what advice would you give some of the young leaders who are just entering the industry that may need a few pro tips or leadership tidbits in order to be on their journeys? What would you all give them?

Stephanie W [00:34:06]:

The advice that I would give to the future leaders of laboratory medicine is, thank you for choosing laboratory medicine as your career field, because we know that the individuals who are choosing this as a career field are fewer and fewer. So thank you and stick with it. There won't always be easy days, there will be winding roads and there will be times where you question yourself. But I would say stick with it. It's a very fulfilling career. You won't regret it. But I would also say take the strides to make yourself visible. And so when as a profession, when we talk about needing others to see us and we need advocacy and people need to know about this profession, my response is always, that starts with us. If we want people to see what we do and who we are, that starts with people seeing you and knowing you and knowing who you are and knowing what you do and knowing why what you specifically do is important to the patient and is important to healthcare as a whole. And so I would encourage you to step out from behind the scenes. And it's a great mantra, the behind the scenes hero, but it doesn't serve us well when we talk about visibility. It's actually the opposite of being visible. And so I would say take the early steps to network, take the early steps to get involved, volunteer, find a support system in a professional organization that will continue to motivate you and inspire you in this profession and help be your pathway forward as you grow into whatever role you determine will be your pathway in laboratory medicine.

Tywauna W [00:36:03]:

Stephanie, that was great advice. We are absolutely thrilled of the future leaders and happy they chose laboratory medicine, so I couldn't agree with you further. Tiffany, what are your last pieces of advice that you would give for future leaders?

Tiffany Gill [00:36:20]:

The laboratory is not a one size fits all type of mold. You are the only you that is out there. You have so many wonderful, unique qualities that have a combination that nobody else has in the world. And if you're ever at the point where you think you're settling for a position that you're in or just settling in this daily routine that doesn't meet all the ambitions and desires of what you have within you, then that's not everything you're meant to do. It doesn't mean to stop what you're doing. It means that there is something else that you could be doing that will help spread your talents and awareness and meet the purpose that you have for being on this planet and in the position that you're in. So keep looking out for opportunities and technologies that will help you to reach those goals. And use the talents and desires and hobbies that you have in order to spread the word about the lab, increase awareness out there, encourage others to become part of the profession or be allies of the profession. We are past the days where the laboratory is the unseen healthcare team member. That's not acceptable anymore. It's not how it's happening anymore. You have trailblazers out there like myself and TaiwanA and others on this episode that are doing things that previously would have been unheard of, and you have the opportunity to expand on that, to continue building on the foundations that we're putting out there and even start something that maybe is expanding that foundation. Just don't be afraid of it not being your traditional experience, because the traditional experience is gone. It's not the typical laboratory in anymore, because even if you just look at the profession, we're expanding, we're improving, and we're changing maybe even more rapidly than any other member of our team. The profession is using technology that is starting to gain such amazing improvements and advances that are just beyond what I've ever been hoped for or even thought of. So let that be you. Continue to rise. Continue to shine. Don't ever stop.

Tywauna W [00:39:41]:

Don't ever stop. I like that. I think that's a great way to end the show. Continue to rise, continue to shine, and don't ever stop. As Tiffany Medical lab lady Gill has told us so. This has been great, ladies. Thank you so much, Stephanie Whitehead and Tiffany Medical lab lady Gill, for joining me on this podcast today. I have truly enjoyed you. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Elaborate Topics where I, your host, Tywauna Wilson, was able to sit down with two previous ASCP 40 under 40 award winners. I hope you were able to get some practical tips that you can use if you are considering applying for the award or if you just wanted some pro tips on how you as a future leader can stand out in the laboratory. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you could give us your feedback, your thoughts on this episode, as always, we greatly appreciate it. Tune in next week to listen to another podcast with another amazing topic. Until next time, my friends, have an awesome day.

Outro [00:41:00]:

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Elaborate Topics where your hosts discuss relevant strategies for laboratory professionals. Please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast platform and listen to us on direct Impact Broadcasting.com. Stay tuned for another episode with information you can use to excel in your laboratory career.