A Career as a Laboratory Professional: Why Medical Technology is so Important to Healthcare

Physicians rely on laboratory data to diagnose and treat many conditions. Without the information supplied by laboratorians, doctors have only signs and symptoms to determine the causative factor of the patient complaints. When a person goes to their provider complaining of fever and weakness, the physician needs to determine the reason why these symptoms are occurring, and this is where the laboratory, and the medical technologist comes in.

The role of the medical technologist is wide and varied. Laboratory personnel are trained in multiple disciplines. Each discipline requires extensive knowledge and training regarding laboratory values, both normal and abnormal, and disease states associated with each. Lets take a look at each area of the laboratory separately.

Microbiology

The microbiology laboratory primarily looks for infectious agents of disease. That is, the technologists who work in this department look for bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, and other microorganisms that have evaded the patient's immune system, and are causing illness. To perform these duties, one must be trained to recognize the visual and chemical properties of thousands of different "bugs". MRSA infections, foodborne illness, and sexually transmitted diseases are just some of the infections that are primarily discovered through microbiological analysis. The microbiology laboratorian must then test many of these agents against a battery of drugs, to determine what medications the doctor can prescribe for the patient. Due to the growing problem of drug resistance, this task becomes even more important to ensure that the patient has a successful outcome.

Blood Banking (Immunohematology)

The main focus of the blood bank technologist is to make sure that those needing transfusions, receive blood products that are safe, and compatible with their blood type. To do this, the blood bank staff will perform what is called a cross-match, that is they will test the patient's serum with the red blood cells from the donor unit to determine if the patient has pre-formed antibody to any of the antigens on the donor cells. Many people are familiar with the ABO blood antigens, but there are many other antigens present on a human red blood cell that can also cause problems during transfusion. The blood bank technologist also performs many other tests such as blood typing on newborns, determining whether a transfusion reaction has occurred, and looking for other types of red blood cell destruction called hemolysis.

Urinalysis

For centuries people have been analyzing urine to help diagnose medical conditions. Characteristic odors and colors were indicative of many disease states. As technological advancements were made, urine became a non-invasive way to help doctors figure out what was going on with their patients. Urine can now be analyzed both microscopically and chemically by the all important medical technologist to aide in the diagnosis of such illnesses as diabetes, urinary tract infections, anorexia, and kidney malfunction. It is the job of the medical technologist to evaluate the urine specimen and inform the doctor of both normal and abnormal properties found.

Chemistry

The human body relies upon many chemical interactions to function properly. These interactions depend on healthy, correctly functioning organs, as well as a diet that supplies the body with all of the appropriate vitamins and minerals. Medical technologists in this department can use a small tube of blood to look for a wide array of electrolytes, hormones, enzymes, and breakdown products. Liver function tests performed here can help to diagnose diseases such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, and liver failure. Cardiac problems, electrolyte imbalance, kidney failure, and thyroid malfunctions are just a sampling of some of the conditions that these technologists help to investigate.

Hematology

The hematology technologist is mainly concerned with the study of blood at the cellular level. They utilize both automated equipment as well as microscopic analysis to determine if there is an imbalance or irregularity with blood cell production in the bone marrow. Their testing can help to diagnose diseases such as anemia, lymphoma, and leukemia. By visually observing red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a patient's blood, they can inform the physician of abnormalities in shape, size, and quantity of these cells, giving the care provider a better idea of what may be causing symptoms.

Coagulation

Medical technologists working in the coagulation laboratory are focused on looking for abnormalities in a patient's clotting abilities. Any deficiencies or overproduction of these clotting factors can lead to conditions such as hemophilia, stroke, and blood clots. Automated equipment, in conjunction with extensive training and knowledge can offer a clear picture of potential health issues that have yet to be considered in a patient's clinical picture.

By combining all of these specialties, and the information supplied by each, a physician can gain a much better understanding of what is causing a patient's clinical symptoms. In a way, physician's act like detectives. They put all the pieces of the laboratory puzzle together, and combine that information with signs and symptoms, to aide them in their diagnostic evaluation.