Bostic receives ASCP Member Excellence in Education Award
Dana Bostic, clinical assistant professor, clinical laboratory sciences, won the 2019 Member Excellence in Education Award from American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).

Dana Bostic, MBA, M.S., clinical assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, has received the 2019 Member Excellence in Education Award from an organization of more than 100,000 pathologists and laboratory professionals.
The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) chose to honor Bostic only three years after first selecting her as a Top Five Honoree on its Forty Under 40 list.
Her career in laboratory sciences has roots in her family. Medical conversations were the norm around the dinner table, Bostic said, since her aunt and her grandmother were both nurses and her mother was often ill.
"I wanted to enter health care, but I wasn't sure how I could help. I wanted to do something that was supportive in the management of my mother's care, but I didn't learn about the (medical technology) profession until I came across it in the course catalog my sophomore year in college," Bostic said.
Path to teaching
After graduation, she worked as a part-time instructor at a local technical college while also employed at a clinical laboratory. Her passion for education led to a role as a training specialist at the lab. That, in turn, led to full-time teaching and recruitment to the School of Health Professions, where she is beginning her third year as faculty.
Bostic is a strong advocate of interprofessional education and was responsible for integrating clinical laboratory science (CLS) students into health care simulation.
Simulation allows CLS students to be a part of the patient's team, to practice what they've learned and understand its importance, she said.
"We may not be patient-facing, necessarily, but we are still patient advocates, and we are the gatekeeper to ensure we are releasing quality lab values that will then determine the type of treatment that patients receive," Bostic said.
Value of struggle
One of Bostic's favorite sayings is "You grow through what you go through," and she regularly introduces the quote on the first day of class to remind students of the value of struggle.
Student Ashley Chrisman said Bostic also makes herself available to talk about that struggle. "Professor Bostic is approachable and willing to provide help whenever necessary. She even offers a shoulder to cry on when things are just not going your way," Chrisman said.
Chrisman's memory of that first day of class was a lesson in shaking hands. "She has all the students form a line to shake her hand and state our names," she said. Bostic told them to make eye contact and grasp hands firmly. "She's preparing us for our careers," Chrisman said.
Service to profession
In addition to her classroom commitments, Bostic's list of accomplishments includes:
- Active membership in the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science and AABB
- Participation on the ASCP Council for Laboratory Professionals and ASCP Social Media Team
- Active engagement with the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the Kansas City Regional Simulation Alliance
- Career presentations to local high schools
- Scholarly presentations at national conferences
She said she's "stunned and humbled" by the ASCP award, "especially considering I'm still considered a junior faculty member, so I know that I'm just scratching the surface of my career in education. I'm honored, certainly, and I know it's not just a representation of me as much as a representation of the people that I've worked with throughout my career and the mentorship that I've received."
Bostic has a bachelor's degree in medical technology from Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia; a certificate in medical technology from Armstrong Atlantic State University (now Georgia Southern University - Armstrong Campus) in Savannah, Georgia; an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management, Atlanta, Georgia; and a master's degree in healthcare simulation from the University of San Francisco, San Francisco.
Currently, she is pursuing a doctorate of education in curriculum and instruction at the University of South Carolina, Columbia.