This year, April 22-28 is National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week. "Who? What?" you may ask... so let me tell you.
Med Lab people are part of the healthcare system in America that doesn't usually end up in the spotlight. When a doctor orders tests, clinical laboratorians are the people who run them, interpret the results and get them back to the doctor. You may never meet them, never know their names - but what they do can make the difference between getting the right kind of treatment, or not. When things go wrong, they're often the people who have the job of figuring out how and why - and figuring out how to keep it from happening again. They work to maintain competency, and support the rest of the medical care system.
Here's a little more info from one of the over a dozen professional groups sponsoring NMLP week:
National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week originated in 1975 as National Medical Laboratory Week, or NMLW, under the auspices of the American Society for Medical Technology, now called the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS). In subsequent years, other organizations have served as cosponsors and campaign supporters.
SNIP
There are approximately 300,000 practitioners of clinical laboratory science in the United States. Since the development of this career group in the 1920s, the clinical laboratory science professional has played an increasingly vital role in the diagnosis and prevention of disease. Today, the clinical laboratorian is a key member of a health care team.
As team members of one of the largest industries in the United States, the dedicated efforts of laboratory professionals often go unnoticed by the general public, as well as by the very institutions employing their services. With the public now demanding the assurance of quality health care and professional accountability, organizations representing practitioners of this critical science have a responsibility to ensure that the public is well informed about clinical laboratory competency.
This covers quite a range of labs, from the small commercial labs supporting local practitioners to large labs operating across the country; internal labs in hospitals and health care facilities; and public health labs at the local, county, state, and national level.
This week's observation is intended to do several things. One is to make more people aware of who clinical lab people are, and the other is to celebrate the contributions they make to the overall health care system.
Now you know. More information here, here, here, and much more if you do a web search.
Do you work in a clinical lab or do you know somebody who does? Share a story, express congratulations, or make a statement in comments.