Many people think that lab professionals just take blood and have little effect on patient care. They couldn't be more wrong. You may never see them, but their impact on patient care is broader than you may think.
Scroll down to challenge your perspective of the lab.
As a patient, the care you receive is supported by a team of medical laboratory professionals. They focus on your results, so you can focus on what's important. Just look what would happen if that lab wasn't there for a single day.
The number of lab tests performed every day in Canada is equal to one lab test for every person living in...
Ontario Yukon Territory Manitoba Victoria, BC
It's estimated that more than 20 people are diagnosed with diabetes every hour of every day2. All three types of diabetes are diagnosed through laboratory tests. Three laboratory tests; the fasting glucose test, the glucose tolerance test, and the hemoglobin A1c test, play a critical role in diagnosing pre-diabetes. Lab tests are vital when monitoring risk factors such as changes in diet. Laboratory testing can help prevent complications from diabetes such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, amputation, and even death.
While lab professionals do analyze blood samples, they also analyze many other bodily fluids and tissue. Hover over the images below to see what a lab professional might see.
These cells are found in only one place in your body, your heart. These cells may be tested after a heart transplant to check for signs of rejection. A biopsy of the heart is sent to the lab where it's processed and stained (coloured) by laboratory professionals and then given to the pathologist to examine. The stain in this image is called Hematoxylin and Eosin.
Medical laboratory professionals are proud of their important work and they want everyone to know about it.
Believe it or not, lab tests are the most accurate way to diagnose a heart attack. Heart attacks are difficult to diagnosis because the symptoms may be similar to other conditions. But lab test can measure specific subtances in the blood that are only released when there is heart stress or damage. Without these tests, victims of heart attack could go undiagnosed or experience a delay in treatment, causing permanent heart damage and even death.
Many laboratories are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, processing lab tests and getting the results out as quickly as possible. Lab professionals often work shiftwork and are performing intricate and sophisticated tests, late into the night or early in the morning.
Scroll through the gallery to see that no matter what time their shift is, these lab professionals love their jobs and take your results seriously.
@Dani_cali87: rocking some PPE in the morning and trying to look as geeky as we can! #labtech #shields #gloves #labcoat
@labtech1971: 6am. Providing exceptional care 24 hrs/day.
@labtech1971: working hard at 2am to answer your questions. Providing exceptional care 24/hr day.
@night_tech: grinning like a loon, it's nightshift!
Working the evening shift in Hematology Lab at QEH ,Charlottetown ,PEI
Working the evening shift in Hematology Lab at QEH ,Charlottetown ,PEI
@labtech1971: 2pm working hard on Easter Monday at RVH
@labtech1971: 2 pm more work on Easter Monday no rest for lab techs :) at RVH
@labtech1971: at the beginning of night shift 12am.
@Dani_cali87: early morning in the lab for some monthly maintenance! #labtech
@ccabruce: here's me - spot checking reagent labelling!
Working the day shift
Working the day shift
Working the day shift
Working the day shift
Working the day shift
In Canada, how many units of donated blood are required on a daily basis?
485 units 900 units 1,600 units 2,000 units14,065 major traumas are treated every year5. In the case of major traumas, physicians must quickly assess the injuries to develop a course of treatment. Laboratory tests provide the answers they need. Each lab test will tell a story. It could be that the patient is bleeding internally, or they have A+ blood type, or if they have low levels of oxygen in their blood. Without these lab tests, physicians may have to rely on less trustworthy means to find answers.
Take a moment to read the one thing lab professionals want you to know about the work they do in the lab.
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