National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, held April 22-28, is a time to honor the more than 280,000 medical laboratory professionals across the nation who perform and interpret laboratory tests that save lives and keep people healthy.
Using state-of-the-art technology and instrumentation, laboratory professionals help to prevent disease by detecting unknown health problems and by aiding in the diagnosis and treatment of existing conditions by giving accurate, timely test results.
At Tyrone Hospital, the laboratory process approximately one quarter of a million tests each year.
To celebrate National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, the laboratory staff at Tyrone Hospital wanted to do something extra for their patients. Throughout the week the Lab staff provided refreshments for patients who received lab testing.
“Patients often need to fast for a period of time before they have blood testing,” said Vicki Dugan, Director of the Laboratory at Tyrone Hospital. “We thought it would be nice to provide them with snacks to enjoy after their blood testing was completed.”
\”We are very proud of our laboratory staff,\” said Dugan. \”They have to be painstakingly meticulous in performing their jobs to provide dependable answers to physicians.\”
Doctors rely heavily on lab tests to make diagnoses, thus laboratory professionals are critical components of the health care system. Results of laboratory tests often identify the presence of disease in its earliest stages, when the possibilities of a cure are greatest and when treatment is least costly.
Dugan said the staff at Tyrone Hospital also wanted to use Lab Week as an opportunity to call attention to the career opportunities for those interested in becoming a laboratory professional and the current shortage of individuals with these special skills.
Despite the important roles laboratory professionals play, and increasing demands for laboratory services, the profession is undergoing stress.
In its most recent survey of laboratory wages and vacancies, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) reported that nearly 44 percent of laboratories report they are currently experiencing difficulties recruiting or hiring medical laboratory personnel. There are several reasons for this phenomenon including rising retirement numbers among laboratory technicians, fewer schools of laboratory technology and the concomitant decrease in the number of graduates.
With that in mind, laboratory organizations, including professional societies such as the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and even laboratory equipment manufacturers, are mounting active campaigns to recruit students to the profession.
Locally, the Tyrone Area High School offers a Health Occupations Technology Program and other programs at the school to give students an opportunity to learn more about health care careers, including laboratory careers. The school also works with Tyrone Hospital and other local health providers to give students exposure in an actual health care setting. These students may choose to spend time at Tyrone’s laboratory to investigate these professions.
Medical laboratory professionals represent a variety of specialties, including pathologists (specialized physisicans), medical technologists, clinical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicians, histotechnologists, histologic technicians, cytotechnologists, cytopathologists, phlebotomy technicians, clinical chemists, microbiologists, laboratory managers, and medical educators.
These professionals can be found in hospitals, doctors\’ offices, clinics, research facilities, blood banks, public health centers, the Armed Forces, universities, and industry. Within the laboratory, these highly educated and experienced medical laboratory professionals may work in chemistry, serology, hematology, cytology, microbiology, immunology, coagulation, histology, urinalysis, molecular biology, or the blood bank.
For more information about Tyrone Hospital’s laboratory services contact Dugan at 684-1255 extension 1533.
