The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science
The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) is a national certification and professional body for medical laboratory technologists and assistants. The society sets qualification standards in medical laboratory science and provides professional development and continuing education programs to its 14,000 members in Canada and abroad.
CSMLS hired D&D Inclusion Consulting to develop customized, on demand diversity and inclusion (D&I) training for front-line staff and management. The goal of the training was to facilitate the integration of internationally educated medical laboratory technologists post-licensure into the workforce.
D&D Inclusion Consulting proposed the development of an online learning video that identifies the key inclusion issues in Canadian medical laboratories and the solution to mitigate each issue.
We took the following steps to create the online learning tools:
Step 1: To create evidence-based customized resources, the D&D Inclusion Consulting team consulted with the project’s Advisory Committee to identify the top inclusion issues in their workforce. Through a previous project, CSMLS had identified 25 online D&I resources and of that, 6 to inform the online video. We reviewed all of the online material and drew from the 6 resources.
Step 2: To make the training engaging and relevant to the CSMLS workforce, we developed a customized script and hired the media company, New Horizons, to develop an animated video.
The video is called ‘Enhancing Communication in a Diverse Team’ and is divided into two modules:
Managing Workplace Communication In a Diverse Team, and
Enhancing Communication to Create a More Inclusive Workplace.
Watch Video:
Step 3: In addition to the video, we developed an infographic that provided tips on how to foster a healthy work environment. Lastly, we compiled relevant resources in case the membership wanted to delve deeper on issues covered in the video and/or infographic.
Step 4: We piloted the video, infographic and resources to the membership and received over 100 responses. Over two-thirds of the membership found the resources to be helpful. The video, infographic and resources are now available on CSMLS’s website for their membership to access.
“CSMLS hired D&D Inclusion Consulting for our Diversity Training Project. The consulting team was hired to customize three diversity and inclusion products to facilitate the integration of internationally-educated medical laboratory technologists (IEMLTs) into Canadian medical laboratories. Dipal and Ted brought to the project in-depth knowledge, experience and expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion. With a diverse advisory panel, they were thoughtful in their approach; identifying the key inclusion issues that our workforce faces and developing the customized diversity products. The team worked closely with all stakeholders to ensure the project was on time and high quality throughout the process. I am very pleased with the quality and uptake of the online training video, infographic and resource links Dipal’s team developed for CSMLS.”
