National Medical Laboratory Week celebrates lab professionals

Hamilton, ON- This week is National Medical Laboratory Week, which is sponsored by the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) and runs today until Friday. Since 1985, CSMLS has sponsored this special awareness week to highlight the vital role of medical laboratory professionals in Canada’s health care system.

“Lab professionals are an essential part of the patient care system but their work is done behind closed doors so the public does not really understand how valuable it is,” says Tania Toffner, CSMLS president.

Over 1.2 million lab tests are performed on a daily basis in Canada and each one tells a story. Lab tests are crucial tools regularly used by medical practitioners to diagnose, monitor and treat patients. Each test provides vital information that guides medical decisions. Without lab tests, and the professionals to conduct them, quality patient care is impossible.

As part of this year’s campaign, the CSMLS has produced a short video to illustrate the contribution lab professionals make to patient care, every day and all through the night. The video can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0640nFfIrw

“National Medical Laboratory Week is an opportunity for lab professionals to acknowledge and celebrate their contributions,” says Christine Nielsen, CSMLS’s CEO. “We feel that it is important for our profession to come together as a community and let the public know that we are here for them.”

Across the country, medical laboratory professionals will be holding events and setting up informative displays at local hospitals and private laboratories. Joining this nation-wide celebration will be medical laboratory technologists, diagnostic cytotechnologists, clinical genetics technologists and medical laboratory assistants.

For more information on medical laboratory professionals, visit www.medlabprofessionals.ca