Week Highlights Contribution of Medical Lab Professionals
Thursday, April 28, 2005
The patient feels lousy. She’s tired, feverish. A clinician orders a complete blood count or CBC, the standard blood test.
The white blood cell count comes back at 47,000/microliter; the reference range is 5,000 to 10,000. The clinician suspects leukemia and orders a bone marrow test.
To confirm the clinician’s suspicion, the marrow is tested using tools such as histology and special stains, cytogenetics and flow cytometry, all of which are performed each day by the laboratory professionals at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Medical laboratory professionals are the heart of the medical investigation team.
This week is National Medical Laboratory Week, when the contributions of laboratory science professionals are recognized. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital would especially like to recognize Martha Smith, Laboratory Director, who was named the 2005 Laboratory Manager of the Year by the New Jersey Society of Clinical Laboratory Science.
Laboratory staff at RWJUH provides testing in chemistry, hematology, microbiology, transfusion services, histology, cytology and cytogenetics. Subspecialties include virology, molecular pathology and immunohistochemistry.
Last year, the laboratory staff performed more than 1.8 million tests and reported more than 4.6 million test results. The lab’s transfusion service is one of the busiest in the state, last year providing more than 30,000 units of blood/blood products for more than 6,000 patients. This year, a new robotics system promises to cut turnaround time for many hematology and chemistry tests.
At RWJUH, the majority of the technologists hold a bachelor’s degree in medical technology with national certifications. The professionals in the 192-member lab range from clerk/phlebotomists and transcriptionists, to system analysts, technical specialists and pathologists.
There currently is a shortage of medical lab professionals. The Federal Government estimates that 13,000 lab professionals are needed nationally, while the number of graduates of accredited programs stands at about 4,000. The laboratory staff at RWJUH is responding to the shortage by providing an interesting work environment and automating some processes. The hospital is a clinical training site for one of the three medical laboratory technician programs in the state and actively participates in professional societies.
To encourage students to explore this varied field, staff also provides tours and programs for grammar, high school and college students. For more information or to arrange tours of the laboratory, call Director Martha Smith at (732) 937-8586.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Selected as one of four hospitals nationwide to offer the world's first self-contained implantable artificial heart, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.rwjuh.edu) is a 600-bed academic medical center and the principal hospital of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. Robert Wood Johnson is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care in medicine. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women's and children's care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.
The hospital has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for both heart and heart surgery and respiratory disorders, according to U.S.News & World Report's 2008 ranking of "America's Best Hospitals." The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital among the nation's best comprehensive cancer centers. The Leapfrog Group rated Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the 50 exceptional U.S. hospitals, as published in Consumers Digest magazine. Harvard University researchers, in a study commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, identified Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for clinical quality. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is also a recipient of the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence for more than 10 consecutive years.
Attention members of the media: For more information on this release, please contact the Department of Public Relations (732) 937-8521.
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