It's National Medical Laboratory Week this week. One would think that it would be an ideal time to present a concerted front across the nation and promote our expertise. In addition, we should be discussing the future of our profession: the medical laboratory industry is slowly being degraded. Increasingly, clinical laboratories are becoming factories that churn out results without much independent judgement and interpretation. A supervisor recently remarked that an incorrectly reported result released on time was better than no result at all. Passing on our work to people of lesser credentials (high school diploma + on-the-job training) is further debasement not only from the perspective of professional reputation but also from capacity for clinical analytical flexibility. An instrument operator may know how to press all the right buttons, but interpreting a result in the context of a clinical situation requires a whole different knowledge set. It's frustrating to me to see educated and capable technologists (and technicians) cornered into a role of impotent peon as both the occasion and right to exercise clinical judgement evaporate. That's why NMLW should be important: laboratory professionals need to re-examine and refine their roles to meet the current reality of the clinical laboratory industry. This year's theme, "The Heart of the Medical Investigation Team," is in concurrence, stressing that we ought to have an integral role in clinical care as vital contributors.

So, what does my employer schedule to honour NMLW? Free food, stupid games, complimentary junk. Monday was free Cinnabon minibons, Tuesday was Einstein's bagels, today is mediocre "Chinese" food from a local restaurant. There's a draw for prizes on Friday and a guess-how-many-are-in-the-bottle game too. This year, the gifts they elected to provide are a beach mat and a flashlight--all so pertinent to our profession. How do all these gimmicks promote our profession to those around us who either take us for granted or are perhaps even clueless of our existence? I would wager that in spite of all the money spent on internal promotions, few people outside my field even know that it's National Medical Laboratory Week. (ASCLS, the organizer of the NMLW, did however receive a congratulatory message ostensibly from George W. Bush, but then again, the letter was about a month too early.) I suppose I really have nothing to complain about after all: I actually got to use my beach mat on the balcony this morning...