Tag: health science students

National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week 2019: April 21st through April 27th

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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

Four Reasons Healthcare Workers are Crucial!

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Healthcare workers are of the utmost importance here in the United States as well as around the globe. Healthcare workers include every single person in the health system who delivers care either directly or on an indirect basis. Those who fall under the realm of healthcare workers would include physicians, nurses, physical therapists, patient care technicians, nursing assistants, physicians assistants, and other types of clinicians.

Why are healthcare workers so important? They are crucial for a number of compelling reasons. For one, they serve as patient advocates. Advocacy, defined as the earnest promotion of a cause, is an activity that healthcare workers routinely perform. Clinicians who render patient care regularly advocate for their patients to ensure that all of their needs regarding health are met in a timely manner. Effective advocacy requires a set of soft skills in addition to a degree of social finesse.

In addition, healthcare workers are crucial since they provide education to patients, families, communities and entire populations. Healthcare workers educate people on how to prevent health problems. They teach people how to properly manage disease processes, too. It is essential that patients receive education on proper disease management since dealing with chronic illness in the right manner can ward off deadly complications.

Moreover, healthcare workers are very significant because they deliver the ongoing care, assessment and observation that makes the ultimate difference in the outcomes of patients. In fact, competent healthcare workers are quite possibly the most vital elements in the recovery or stability of a patient’s health status (Stevens, 2009). In essence, healthcare workers provide patient care and keenly observe for changes in condition.

Finally, healthcare workers are important due to the therapeutic relationships they establish with patients. Healthcare workers do things to build relationships with clients that are cemented by trust, rapport, warmth, caring, compassion, human connection and honesty. These elements help patients feel confident and reassured regarding the care they are receiving. Patients will be more likely to care about their health statuses when they perceive that their health workers care.

Again, why are healthcare workers so crucial? They are important because they engage in patient advocacy. They are important since they provide lifesaving patient education. They are important because they deliver care and simultaneously observe for changes in patients’ conditions. They are important because they develop therapeutic relationships with patients that demonstrate caring, warmth and the ultimate level of compassion.

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RESOURCES

Community Tool Box. (2018). Overview: Getting an Advocacy Campaign off the Ground. Retrieved April 8, 2019, from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/advocacy/advocacy-principles/overview/main

Stevens, A. (2009, June). What Role Do Healthcare Workers Play in Determining Quality Care? Retrieved April 8, 2019, from http://blog.sunbeltstaffing.com/medical-ethics/what-role-do-healthcare-workers-play-in-determining-quality-care/

Scholastic Spotlight: the Art of Taking Notes

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We know. It is a widely known fact that not all pupils enjoy the tasks of writing or taking notes. To some students, writing and note-taking are tedious activities they would simply prefer to not do at all. On the other hand, note-taking is one of the most crucial actions students can take to promote their own active learning. This rings especially true for those enrolled in healthcare training programs and health science coursework.

Alas, a multitude of convincing reasons exist for the sheer importance of taking notes in school. Thus, for the sake of time, only the most significant rationale will be pointed out here: taking good quality notes tends to help students remember and recall important material that they would have otherwise forgotten. Recall and remembrance of crucial material is very essential when studying for quizzes, tests and the state exam.

To reiterate that point, taking notes is a really important task. This fact has already been established. However, taking notes correctly and efficiently is not always as simple a task as it appears to be on the surface. Good, effective note-taking does not just call upon students to write down every word the instructor or professor says in a haphazard way. In fact, effectual note-taking entails capturing main ideas in the student’s own words.

One recurrent theme most good students share is the fact that they adhere to a specific way of taking notes in class. A specific note-taking style assists students to focus and organize prior to class; in addition, it helps them effectively review and recall crucial concepts long after class has ended. Adhering to one note-taking style and sticking with it will help students pay attention during class while capturing important information.

Sticking to one specific style of taking notes has an array of other study-related benefits, too. For some students, it bestows more than enough motivation upon them to stay attuned to class discussions, pay close attention and participate in an active manner. It helps students reword their notes effectively so they do not lose focus of the main concepts and ideas once they start studying for final exams.

The following list provides an overview of the different styles of taking notes in school settings. It is advised to pick one method and try to stick with it unless another style of note-taking seems more suitable for the topic of study. Of course, now that this information is out here, students may take it and utilize it as they wish. Students are also totally free to avoid using any of this information at their own peril).

  • Flow-Based Note Taking Style: a way of taking notes in which the pupil writes down the main concepts instead of verbatim paragraphs and sentences. The student connects the written notes and concepts by drawing arrows, boxes and diagrams to link them together as interrelated ideas.
  • The Cornell Note Taking Style: a method of taking notes that organizes class topics of discussion into easily memorable summaries. This style works since the main concepts and summaries are all written in one place. In the Cornell Method, the note paper is divided into 3 sections: a 2.5” margin to the left, a 2” summary section on the bottom, and a main 6” in-class note section.
  • The Bullet Point Style: this is a method of taking notes that involves simply jotting down each noteworthy detail as a bullet point sentence. This style of note-taking works particularly wonderful for capturing important points in class discussions that are moving along quickly, as wells as fast-paced lectures that are filled with a great deal of information.
  • The Outline Style: this method is, in all likelihood, the most popular way to take notes in schools. This style of note-taking involves an outline to organize the noted material in a structured, logical manner that forms somewhat of a skeleton of the textbook chapter or lecture subject and serves as a wondrous study guide when preparing for tests (Missouri State University, n.d.).

REFERENCES

Missouri State University. (n.d.). Outlining Method for Note Taking. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from https://www.missouristate.edu/assets/busadv/p.24.pdf