CLS Manifesto

A Clinical Laboratory Scientist's Manifesto

"Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world"- Louis Pasteur-1822-1895

      Over 200 years ago, laboratory pioneers in medicine like Pasteur paved the clinical highway so that modern technologists can continue to provide the utmost care in laboratory testing in hospitals and research to provide doctors data for treatment of their patients. Early challenges for Pasteur and his colleagues amounted to convincing fellow scientists as to the cause of disease, linking physician observations with known patient conditions, and tireless dedication to spread their findings to other experimenters in medicine throughout the world. It is this challenge that inspired me to serve the laboratory field as a scientist.

      As a clinical laboratory scientist one is trained to draw blood for patients, analyze the sample drawn, and if necessary provide critical results to physicians. We serve a vast community of patients with even a greater variety of medical problems. Couple that situation with the state of medical care in this nation, (if not around the world as well), this makes the obstacles even a higher ladder to climb to provide modern laboratory services. Other issues such as national licensing, further education to maintain certification, and updating research in the lab field in order to keep abreast of all the knowledge being performed everywhere at every minute.

      This is the cost factor of the education involved, plus managing a whole roster of technicians in a laboratory can up the dollar sign into the millions just for a small acute care hospital. Doctors want their lab results faster, better, more specific, and the utmost to be accurate. This issue revolves around quality control procedures that are governed by timed inspections by no less than two national organizations. The bottom line is that this part of medical care performed in the laboratory is one of the most expensive percentages of the health care system. This type of demand on the medical system requires high standards of its workers.

                Critical ideals for this profession must be kept in mind each and every day of work: 


Accountability for the quality and validity of laboratory services performed.

Adherence to all safety guidelines and protocol established for laboratory personnel.

Individual competence in judgment, technique, and willingness to learn new procedures.

Strict patient confidentiality and promotion to adhere to HIPAA regulations.

Willingness to serve the community at large regardless of race, gender, cultural differences, and the medical condition of patients.

Promotion of the team effort with fellow employees in the laboratory. This fosters a cooperative and respectful learning atmosphere that generates throughout the workplace.


      Even though there are times when the personnel in the laboratory field is minute in number it is these qualities of unique ideals that best fosters the learning situation at work. I find this occurs quite often in my workplace when there is illness on staff, overtime is needed, or simply taking more time to explain to a patient the procedure you are about to perform that their doctor has ordered. It is this quality of service that starts from the moment you greet a patient, state your name, and why you are here talking to them. Most often they recognize a worker from the lab simply because they have been there before and know they will receive good patient service. It is this excellence of service that clinical laboratory scientists should seek to provide, with remembering that at some point they too may be the patient themselves.