Medical Lab Professionals Week
April 18-24 is Medical Laboratory Professionals Week! Medical Laboratory Professionals play a big role in helping our hospital run smoothly. While you might not meet them face to face, our Medical Lab staff play a huge role in healthcare. They conduct the tests that provide vital information for detecting, diagnosing, treating and monitoring diseases. Medical Laboratory Professionals are specially educated for their role and most positions require special certifications. Hegg Health Center is proud to be a clinical externship site for phlebotomy and medical laboratory technician students.
At Hegg Health Center, we are fortunate to have a lab right on campus. Our Medical Lab team is made up of a few different positions which include phlebotomists, Medical Lab Technicians, and Medical Lab Assistants. All of these staff members work together to help in diagnosing and treating patients, along with physicians. Our Lab Team not only works during the week, but they also work on call hours during the evenings and weekends.
Medical lab technicians are problem solvers. The tests and procedures they run produce results that directly impact patient care. Every day presents different problems as different tests are needed. Some typical responsibilities and daily activities medical lab technicians perform include preparing solutions and reagents, collecting samples, examining cells, analyzing data and test results, charting, reporting, and graphing, discussing and reporting results to doctors and other medical personnel, and operating, cleaning, and adjusting lab equipment.
Phlebotomists are another crucial aspect to the medical lab team. Phlebotomists’ main job is drawing blood from a patient so that tests can be performed. The phlebotomist might often be the only team member from the lab that a patient sees. It is important that the phlebotomist helps calm nerves and explains the procedure to the patients. They can also answer questions about the testing process that patients might have.
We are so grateful for all of our Medical Lab Professionals here at Hegg! They play a crucial role in the healthcare we provide.