For the holiday season, may I take a different tone than is usually found in this spot? I'd like to tell you about a friend who spent a decade as a medical technologist, and the kind of healthcare worker he is. I think he is representative of laboratorians as a profession.
Eric came to the United States from his native Singapore in 1998. He attended college in Michigan, majoring in medical technology while minoring in his second love, the organ. (I don't play, but I share with him a love of classical music, and we met through a mutual friend who knew of our common interest.)
In 2001 he graduated, and a few months later began working in the lab at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital in suburban Chicago. A versatile laboratorian, he served in Chemistry, Hematology, and Blood Bank, manning all three benches during the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. That shift often was understaffed, and Eric was busy indeed as morning rounds approached.
Though he suffers from migraine headaches, in nearly a decade of work at Hinsdale he literally never missed a night. That is his work ethic; he wouldn't know any other way to do it. (Under pressure, he'll admit that a couple of times—no more—he asked his supervisor if he might leave an hour or two early, because he felt that the throbbing in his head might interfere with the quality of his work.)
He constantly grew in his profession, and not just through formal continuing education. More than once he was sent by the hospital to seminars to learn the workings of new analytical or LIS systems, in order to then train his fellow techs on the new equipment. His curiosity about the way the lab worked, and the function of the medical laboratory within the hospital and within the healthcare delivery system in general, increased steadily.
Ironically, that is what eventually led Eric out of the profession: As he became more interested in the pharmacologic aspects of his work, and in how the functions of the hospital pharmacy and the lab dovetailed, he gradually found himself gravitating to a new career goal. In summer 2010 he tendered his resignation, and he began working toward a PharmD that autumn. His background as a laboratorian has given him a leg up on some of his fellow pharmacy students, as he has an understanding of the scientific and institutional contexts of his studies that few of his colleagues can match.
But I digress. What made me think of Eric and of dedicating this column to his story is that, being only human, he did grumble now and then when he had to work on Christmas Eve or other holidays. At the same time, however, he genuinely felt proud to serve the patients of the hospital on those nights, knowing that their medical needs took no time off.
As the holidays approach this year, I reflect that Eric's work ethic and dedication to his calling are not atypical. Most who read this are the same way. You may not be able to sit down at the Rodgers Trillium at your church and bring a hush over the congregation by playing Bach's Passacaglia in C Minor at an almost-professional level—but you have hobbies and interests as well. And you have sacrificed for your profession, which is a noble one and one of great importance to our society and to your fellow men and women.
And some of you, I am sure, are sacrificing time with family and friends to work holiday shifts this year. Thank you for doing so. At the same time, congratulations that you have the opportunity to do so. Service to others is in the spirit of the season, and every season.
Very best wishes,
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