National Medical Laboratory Week raises awareness of lab professionals

Hamilton, ON – The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) has launched a national public awareness campaign which asks everyone to consider what would happen to our health care system if lab professionals were not there for one day. The impact on this hypothetical day is wider than many might think.

“Surgeries, trauma care, cancer diagnoses and treatment, newborn care, and heart attack diagnoses are just a few of the examples of patient care dependent on the lab,” says Christine Nielsen, CSMLS’ executive director. “The sheer number of procedures and patient treatments that are affected by the lab on any given day are staggering.”

The Our Focus Is You campaign (www.OurFocusIsYou.ca), which is part of the lead-up to National Medical Laboratory Week in late April, serves to illustrate and quantify the vital contributions medical laboratory professionals make to Canada’s health care system each and every day. The website includes a one-minute video and eye-opening statistics.

Every day in Canada, life-saving diagnoses and treatments are dependent on work done in laboratories. The dedicated professionals who work in the lab often go unnoticed by the public because they are rarely seen by patients.

“Despite their vital role, our members are often over looked by the public as key contributors to patient care,” says Tricia VanDenakker, CSMLS’ president. “As National Medical Laboratory Week draws nearer, our campaign will help shed some light on these hard working and dedicated professionals.”

National Medical Laboratory Week will be taking place from April 22 – 28, 2012. Since 1985, CSMLS has sponsored this special week to educate the public about the important role that laboratory testing plays in the health and well-being of Canadians.

Joining in the celebration will be medical laboratory technologists, diagnostic cytotechnologists, clinical genetics technologists and medical laboratory assistants from coast-to-coast.

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science is the national certifying body for medical laboratory technologists and medical laboratory assistants, and the national professional society for Canada’s medical laboratory professionals. The society has over 14,500 members in Canada and in countries around the world.