find a way to do it!”
Tim Dumas
Professional
President of TLD Consulting LLC
aka Tim “The Lab Guy” Enterprise
Raleigh, NC.
Professional Speaker and Board Member
of National Speakers Association;
professional magician, humorist, and improvisational actor; certified sales
professional, United Professional Sales Association.
Education
Lab training in the U.S. Air Force, MLT;
Lab science program at MidWestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX;
Completed AAS with lab specialty;
CCC, USAF NCO Academy.
Personal
Married to Lisa, who operates the business. We have four grown sons
(what were we thinking?). Perform comedy magic shows in the Raleigh, NC, area.
Teach and perform improv acting.
Hobbies include guitar, photography, magic, and working on adding a
25th hour to the day.
Dubbed “The Lab Guy.”From
1978 to 1986, I was enlisted in the Air Force as a laboratory
technologist. Like most military techs, I worked civilian labs
as well which gave me a wide range of experience. I worked in
hospitals after my discharge and even started my own POL. Then a
local medical office asked if I could help it comply with the
new CLIA '88 regulations. Soon, other offices, associations, and
medical groups started asking my advice on in-house lab testing.
While my day job was as a lab tech and consultant, I studied and
performed magic, comedy, and improvisation in my spare time. So,
when I was asked to give a presentation about financial
feasibility in the POL (one of my favorite subjects), I used my
ability to entertain while teaching, which soon made me a
sought-after speaker. Naming the company was easy. I remember
from day one, repeatedly hearing a doctor or nurse approaching
the lab saying, “I don't know. Go ask Tim, “the lab guy.”
Life is about attitude — make it
positive. Physicians, laboratorians, lab managers, and
manufacturers all have important roles when it comes to their
common purpose — patient care, but they each have to fulfill
different needs in order to meet this goal. I help them relate
to their specific needs with a variety of program topics: POL
start-up and operation to produce quality lab results and
service as well as generating practice revenue; financial
feasibility; CLIA/COLA accreditation; LIS/EMR integration;
stress management; and patient care and customer service. My
sessions are always threaded with magic and humor related to the
subject. Believe it or not, I have had other trainers say that
an OSHA class should not be fun to sit through. I disagree. I
use the philosophy that humor can stimulate a positive attitude.
A positive attitude has the power to create people who are
happy, work well with others, and like the work they do. A
person who enjoys doing his job will do it well!
Mixing science with magic.
Anyone entering the lab field must appreciate that it is a
mentally and spiritually rewarding job. Not enough young people
see that as a benefit, so emphasizing the role the laboratory
plays in the diagnosis and treatment of disease as a vital link
in health and patient care is important. Basic lab skills can be
a valuable steppingstone to other careers in medicine.
Laboratory medicine is connected to and keeps pace with
advancing scientific and computer technologies. Now is a good
time to capitalize on today's pop culture. Television dramas
like “CSI”support the importance of our field in solving
mysteries, which is intriguing to young people. How about using
the current popularity of vampire movies? I think young people
might jump at the chance to work with blood (just kidding)! At
schools, I promote to students the importance of positive
attitude and personal responsibility as key factors to anything
they choose to do in life. I use my own story of growing up as a
foster kid, learning the necessity of an education, which led to
a career in laboratory medicine, which then contributed to
owning my own successful and gratifying business. Plus, a funny
science guy doing magic tricks tends to grab kids' (and other
people's) interest.
Published: May 2010
