Medical Lab Professionals week gets under way tomorrow

WESTERN BUREAU:The Western Regional Health Authority will celebrate International Medical Laboratory Professionals Week with a series of activities at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, beginning tomorrow.

According to medical technologist and public relations officer of the event, Syrie Sinclair-Mitchell, the week will be commemorated under the theme 'Laboratory Professionals: Get Results'.

Sinclair-Mitchell said Medical Laboratory Professionals Week is an annual celebration of laboratory professionals and pathologists who play a vital role in all aspects of health care.

She said due to the fact that laboratory professionals often worked behind the scenes, many Jamaicans were unaware of the critical role they performed in the health sector. Every year in Jamaica, laboratory professionals carry out and interpret hundreds of thousands of tests of blood and other body samples such as fluids, stool, urine, swabs, and tissues as well as Pap smears.

"The week is particularly important because many persons are unaware of who medical technologists are and our role as it pertains to health care, so with that in mind, we would like to highlight what persons in our profession do," she told Western Focus.

"If there were no laboratory professionals, you would not be able to conclude the presence of a disease, or map the course of the disease, or determine whether it is present in the system, the quantity, and how it affects other body functions," she added.

- C.G.

Laboratory Professionals Week Activities

Sunday, April 21

Church service, St Paul's United Church

Monday, April 22

Opening ceremony and exhibition, Third Floor, Cornwall Regional Hospital

Tuesday, April 23

Exhibition continues

April 24-26

In-house activities