Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 18, 1990                   TAG: 9005180722
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

THE SHORTAGE ISN'T ONLY OF NURSES

The media focus attention continually on the shortage of nurses and annually print a large Sunday supplement to honor Nurses' Week. Good for them! But what about the rest of us?

Medical technologists are a dedicated group of professionals on whom physicians depend heavily to make accurate and timely data available for use in diagnosis and treatment of illness. Our contribution to the diagnosis and subsequent therapy usually goes unseen by the patient.

Nevertheless, medical technologists continue to practice their profession quietly, as unseen members of the health-care team.

Proportionately, there is an even greater shortage of medical technologists in Virginia than of nurses. More than 250 techs are needed in the state now.

Nurses are important, no doubt. But there are great shortages today in all the other health professions.

We call these the caring professions, and feel they need some recognition from the public. If the public knew what we do, perhaps more pepole would consider entering the professions. SANDRA K. BLADE, MT (AMT) LEXINGTON