Promoting Clinical Laboratory Science

Extract

It is a Sunday afternoon, early fall, in southwest Wisconsin. The leaves are a panorama of colors. The weather is still balmy but forecast indicates a change is on the way! I am debating what message to convey in the Winter issue of Clinical Laboratory Science. So much has happened since September 11, 2001, to us and our secure life style. Life will never be the same, yet our workday has not changed significantly.

We manage the quality of laboratory testing and/or educate future laboratorians. It is the educated rather than the ‘trained’ laboratorian that will be the first person to recognize unusual patterns in laboratory results that could indicate biological or chemical terrorism. We hear of the need for doctors and nurses to be able to detect threats of bioterrorism. However, we do not hear mention of the clinical laboratory scientist. Why? It is the same answer as to why we are experiencing a critical shortage of laboratory personnel. Everyone of us has failed to promote our profession and make it visible to the public. Even today, we are waiting for someone to take the lead.

As an example, thousands of individuals donated blood and we missed the opportunity of explaining to the public just who is doing the testing and what is detected. We have pride in our profession yet we have failed to share this pride with the public. We must communicate to today's youth all the reasons that selecting a career in the laboratory is a…