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

DATE: FRIDAY, April 19, 1991                   TAG: 9104190693
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARIBETH GREENWAY
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WORKER SHORTAGE

AN EXTREME shortage of medical-laboratory personnel is developing. Inadequate monetary compensation, decreased training programs and potential transmission of blood-borne viruses (such as AIDS) have all contributed to this shortage. So has lack of understanding of the profession.

As a long-term employee of a local hospital, I can assure you that only a small percentage of the general public actually knows what medical-laboratory personnel do for a living.

How our profession of clinical laboratory science became cloaked in so much mystery baffles me. The mere mention of my occupation conjures up visions of vampires stalking helpless victims in the night for a mere few vials of blood. Yes, we do collect blood, but this is a vital necessity to enable physicians to confirm a diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Many health problems begin slowly and without visible symptoms. Changes in blood, urine or body cells may identify a problem in time to take preventive action.

Through both manual and automated laboratory testing, physicians utilize employees of the laboratory as medical investigators to hunt for clues to the absence, presence, extent and cause of disease. Medical-laboratory employees are highly trained individuals who utilize knowledge, skill and dedication to help patients on a daily basis.

If this trend toward a shortage of personnel is allowed to continue, the consequences will affect each of us. Medical care will be compromised, with a greater percentage of error in laboratory testing due to overworked, undertrained employees.

Immediate action must be taken to prevent a crisis. The first step in is for the public to be familiarized with the medical-laboratory field.

Science teachers can call local hospitals to arrange speakers to come to their schools, or to arrange tours of hospital-laboratory facilities. Parents can encourage their children to undertake science projects related to medical laboratories. College students can check into obtaining degrees in medical technology or cytotechnology. High-school graduates can investigate careers as medical-laboratory technicians or phlebotomists.

Employees of medical laboratories work together to provide for your continual good health. Each separate area is dedicated to providing the special services that add up to quality health care. Health-care professionals would like to see this caliber of medical care continue, and invite the public to discover the laboratory and become a vital part of the allied health-care field.

\ AUTHOR Maribeth Greenway , a clinical-laboratory worker, lives in Roanoke.

by CNB