Medical Technology Alumna is Recognized by National Professional Organization

At the 2019 ASCLS Awards Ceremony. Susan Pang was recognized by the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) for her 50 Year Membership. This meant, she has been a continuous member since 1968. Susan and I sat down to reminisce about her past 50 years. Here are highlights.

She recalled that the University of Hawaii at Manoa Medical Technology Program Director, Pat Taylor encouraged all the students to join ASCLS. At this time, it was known as the American Society for Medical Technology (ASMT). Susan joined in 1968. There were activities to join in like local state meetings and Susan even went to several national meetings. She discovered that she liked continuing education and meeting colleagues from across the nation.

After graduation, Susan went to Colorado for seven years to work for a Catholic Hospital along with friends Sheila Ouchi and Shirley Nakamoto. Colorado is where these island girls first learned about snow, but after seven years of scraping ice off the car windshield, Susan decided to return to Hawaii.

When Susan returned to Hawaii, she worked at Straub under Grace Kagawa and Edith Maeda. Susan was attracted to the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) while working at Straub. After Clinical Laboratory of Hawaii (CLH) acquired Straub Lab, Susan was instrumental in converting the Straub Lab database to the CLH lab database. She also helped to network automated lab instrumentation to the CLH network. After the Straub Lab was networked to the CLH server and the Straub server was shut down, Susan moved to the IT Department of CLH located in Ewa.

Susan is now retired and is currently planning a trip to Kenya to photograph wildebeest migration. She is looking forward to enjoying traveling adventures around the globe.

Susan has seen the profession evolve from semi-automated three-cell Coulter Counters to fully automated counters, manual requisitions to Laboratory Information System (LIS), flame photometry to ion specific electrodes, mouth pipettes, and spit strings used in Thoma pipet dilutions, and so much more. She counts 26 years as a Med Tech and 22 years as a Laboratory Information System specialist. The profession may change but her dedication to providing the best laboratory service possible is reflected in her 50 years as an ASCLS member. When you see Susan out and about, congratulate her for 50 years of hard work and dedication in the medical laboratory profession.