Yale Pathology celebrates the vital contributions of its laboratory workers during National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, April 20 to 26. The annual event is designed to raise awareness of this important profession, highlight the key role laboratory professionals have in the healthcare system, and promote career opportunities in the field.
Yale Pathology will recognize its lab professionals during the week with lunch and other tokens of appreciation. A dedicated team of laboratory professionals perform vital tests daily in Yale Pathology labs, with their findings informing physicians of the proper treatment for patients. Their work has a profound impact on the quality of patient care provided at Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS).
“Every day, our laboratory professionals bring their expertise, precision, and meticulous attention to detail to ensure accurate and timely results,” said Chen Liu, MD, PhD, Anthony N. Brady Professor of Pathology, Chair of Yale Pathology, and Chief of Pathology, Yale New Haven Hospital. “Their efforts often go unnoticed behind the scenes, but they are crucial to the diagnosis and overall care of our patients. Their hard work and professionalism make a significant difference in the lives of so many.”
For Cassandria Mitchell, a grossing technologist with 16 years at Yale, including the past 13 in the Frozen Department, the job is never dull. Mitchell, who performs biopsies on samples that arrive in the frozen section, provides a description of the sample and stores it in a cassette for the Histology Lab.
“We help to pull the process along for the pathologist to read the slide to diagnose it,” she said.
Mitchell likes the variety of her job as well as the urgency of her work. “There’s always something going on and it’s always a (priority),” she said. “There’s never a dull moment.”
Mitchell said she’s fortunate to like her work and her fellow lab professionals. “We work very well together as a team. If we are short-staffed on one part of the lab, we pitch in and help out. We basically help each other around the entire lab.”
Whitney Johnson, who started as a laboratory assistant in 2013, was promoted to a grossing technician and now works as a histotechnician. Johnson has many responsibilities including embedding, cutting, and staining slides. She says the best part of her job is interacting with co-workers “and the fact that the work we do helps a patient get a result and care.”