Karim Bhaloo, medical laboratory technologist, LMP has once again moved up the ranks at the Ontario Society of Medical Technologists (OSMT) being named the new president at last week’s annual general meeting.
Over the last six years Karim has been actively involved with OSMT, holding multiple positions including, district director, director at large, chair of the editorial committee and most recently vice-president. But now, Karim has a much larger role to play in advocating for the profession and is accountable for the society’s board of directors and is also the primary liaison between the board and executive director, Blanca McArthur.
Karim identified a couple key priorities that he will focus on over his two year term, one of which is to increase OSMT’s presence on social media. He notes that there are a lot of opportunities to engage with stakeholders through channels such as Twitter, and sees it as a good forum to advocate for the profession and connect with related organizations.
Another focus of Karim’s will be engaging medical laboratory technicians/assistant (MLA), and encouraging more involvement with OSMT and MLA regulation.
Karim started as OSMT’s district 5 (greater Toronto region) director roughly six years ago, and he laughs, saying despite his climb up the ranks to president, there is still no limo or security detail (though he doesn’t seem to mind).
It’s an exciting time all round for the OSMT with new appointments on the board of directors, a new president, and as of January 1, 2017 the society will also have a new executive director in Michelle Hoad, former director of marketing and communications at The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS).
For those on the fence about joining organizations like OSMT, Karim would strongly encourage you to go for it. Whether it’s OSMT, CSMLS, the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario (CMLTO), or any one of the other organizations tied to the medical laboratory 
profession, Karim says, “it doesn’t matter if you’re involved for two year or two days, you’ll be able to learn from the experience and grow as a professional.”
About the OSMT
The Ontario Society of Medical Technologists (OSMT) was founded in 1963, and is a member driven, non-profit society advocating for laboratory professionals and acting as a voice for medical laboratory technologists and medical laboratory assistants/technicians in Ontario.
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