MEDICAL LABORATORY PROFESSIONALS WEEK
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Health’s medical laboratory professionals have been present behind the scenes meeting the needs of fellows 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This group of highly trained professionals guides and informs patient care every day, demonstrating their dedication and commitment to patients across our country.
The Society for Medical Laboratory Science has designated a week in the last week of April (18-24) to promote awareness and understanding of the role of medical laboratory professionals in the healthcare system. Medical laboratory professionals work to provide critical information that helps guide medical decisions about our health. They sort, prepare and analyze samples from virtually every part of the body – from head to toe. Medical Laboratory Week is a significant week for medical laboratory professionals as it provides an opportunity to celebrate successes and achievements.
Since the start of the pandemic, Diagnostic Services laboratories have supported urgent COVID-19 testing to assist with the management of patient care, patient flow, and hospital outbreak activity. They provide molecular testing for patients admitted to the hospital or patients who approach the medical laboratories to ensure infection prevention and control staff can make clear decisions on the precautions needed for the admission of each patient and they support the testing of our dedicated staff working on the front lines.
Staff from all laboratories volunteered to help where and when needed and their ability to bend and sway as a team to meet testing demands was a substantial feat.
Laboratory staff includes the phlebotomy team (those who do samples such as blood work) who often work directly with patients and who have remained flexible and professional in the face of regularly changing protocols and procedures needed to keep themselves and their patients safe. The laboratory team also includes members whose work on non-COVID priorities has continued during this busy time, making every effort to improve services for everyone. Labs across the country have installed new equipment, adjusted transport schedules, and implemented quality improvement projects to promote efficiency.
Medical laboratory professionals provide accurate and timely laboratory test results to help diagnose and treat health issues such as cancer, auto-immune diseases, diabetes, and COVID-19. In Iran these dedicated health care professionals perform more than 1 million lab tests a day, saving countless lives along the way.