The third week of each April happens to be National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week. So, what this celebration all about? National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (NMLPW) is an observance that takes place once a year with the overarching goal of recognizing the hard-working lab technicians, medical laboratory professionals and pathologists who play indispensable roles in each facet of the healthcare system.
This year (2019), the noble week-long observance is slated to be celebrated from April 21st through the end of the day on April 27th. In addition, the NMLPW observance has several goals associated with it. The first goal is to make the general public aware of the importance of the contributions of lab workers to the medical field and health system. Another goal is to recognize lab technicians for their diligent work.
A third goal is to spread awareness to other members of the healthcare community regarding the vital tasks that lab techs, histologists, pathologists and other lab workers perform on a day to day basis in their workplace roles. Unfortunately, many healthcare colleagues such as doctors, nurses and therapists may not know the specifics of lab professionals’ duties. Thus, NMLPW provides chances to fill these knowledge gaps.
An additional goal of NMLPW is to bestow upon the medical community and the public multiple opportunities to display their support, thankfulness and overall gratitude for the myriad of workplace tasks that lab professionals always do. The activities that lab techs and other professionals in the medical laboratory field perform are essential to the well-being and proper diagnoses of millions of patients in the United States.
A number of differing actions can be taken by the members of the public and medical colleagues to show their steadfast support for and respectful observance of NMLPW 2019. Some of these actions have been listed below, and all of them are very much doable. No action that is listed will take more than a few minutes of a person’s valuable time, so support the hard-working lab professionals.
- Utilize the #LABWEEK hash tag on a regular basis during the last two weeks of April in order to spread awareness of the NMLPW observance on social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
- Do some self-education on the multitude of workplace roles that exist in medical labs. Some of these roles include the medical laboratory scientist, medical lab technician, phlebotomist (a.k.a. phlebotomy technician), hospital lab microbiologist, histologist, and so forth.
- Send “thank-you” greeting cards to various hospital labs and medical laboratories in the local area. Address the greeting cards to the laboratory workers and/or laboratory department if you plan to mail them. The lab professionals at your local hospital system will appreciate these displays of gratitude.
- Donate blood and/or plasma if possible. Virtually all medical lab professionals are fully aware of the sheer importance of keeping the blood supply replenished. The public’s continual donations of blood and blood products such as plasma will be greatly appreciated due to their life-saving potential.
RESOURCES
Clinical Laboratory Management Association. (2019). Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (MLPW) April 21-27, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019, from http://www.clma.org/labweek
Legacy Healthcare Careers Medication Aide & Nursing Assistant Programs 