Volume 39 Number 6 | December 2025
Summary
This article explains how integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) strengthens laboratory teams, reduces burnout, and improves patient care. Through supportive leadership, cross-training, psychological safety, and clear communication, medical laboratories build trust, resilience, and collaboration. Applying DEIB principles creates healthier workplace culture and more effective, connected healthcare teams.
Dhara Parekh, MS, MLS in Leadership, ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor
Clinical laboratories play a critical role in the healthcare system, operating in hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, and reference facilities (Bayot, Lopes, & Zubair, 2024). Patient samples travel through multiple departments, including phlebotomists, technologists, supervisors, and pathologists. Every handoff depends on accuracy, clear communication, and trust. When any link in this chain weakens, all departments face consequences, and patient care can suffer.
Collaboration among healthcare professionals, including nurses, physicians, and pharmacists, is essential to deliver prompt results and safe and effective care. Strengthening these connections requires more than technical skill—it demands leadership that promotes respect, inclusion, and teamwork. Applying principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) helps build strong, connected teams that can perform effectively under pressure (Marshall et al., 2023).
Laboratory professionals often work long shifts of 10 to 12 hours under heavy workloads. During flu season, our team faced a flood of samples that pushed both our ability and strength to the limit. Miscommunication during one shift caused delayed results and increased stress and tension among team members. Experiences like this demonstrate how quickly burnout can develop and the importance of effective leadership and supportive practices.
“Teams that prioritize DEIB manage changing workloads, adopt modern technologies, and meet clinical challenges, while supportive leadership strengthens teamwork, reduces burnout, and improves patient care.”
Burnout often appears as exhaustion, cynicism, or a sense of helplessness that undermines morale and performance (Nowrouzi-Kia, Chai, & Casole, 2022). Laboratory culture often expects staff to perform continuously without errors, even though supporting peak concentration for extended periods is impossible. Leaders who prioritize rest, psychological safety, and team support make a real difference. Integrating DEIB into daily operations strengthens team resilience, encourages collaboration, and improves both staff well-being and patient care (Marshall et al., 2023).
At my urgent care facility, staff manage low- to moderate-complexity testing in-house while sending high-complexity tests to reference laboratories. Because patient volume fluctuates in this walk-in setting, employees share time across departments as needed. All staff are trained in emergencies and high-volume situations regardless of their primary role. I am trained to take vitals for all ages, perform EKGs, collect patient histories, and shadow providers for small procedures such as wound sample collections, biopsies, KOH and wet prep collection, and laceration care. I am also certified in CPR, commercial client’s drug screening, and breath alcohol testing.
This cross-training approach promotes diversity and inclusion by valuing each team member’s ability to contribute across multiple roles and perspectives. Leadership encourages staff to help wherever needed while respecting each department’s responsibilities, ensuring equity by sharing workloads according to established policies. During flu season or high-volume months, employees step in to support workflow even when demand exceeds capacity. Leaders actively support these efforts by providing extra staff and offering incentives, showing belonging by recognizing contributions and caring for staff well-being. These practices show how operational demands and staffing policies intersect with the human side of laboratory work. By promoting cross-training, supporting employees by reducing burnout and errors, and acknowledging individual efforts, leadership fosters a culture grounded in DEIB. Staff feel respected, included, and motivated, which directly improves patient safety and care quality (Nowrouzi-Kia, Chai, & Casole, 2022).
During my recent graduate studies, I learned about Simon Sinek’s leadership frameworks, including Start with Why. Initially, I struggled to relate to laboratory management. Over time, I recognized their practical value for aligning DEIB into daily operations. Sinek’s Golden Circle emphasizes starting with “Why,” or the organization’s purpose, before “How” (processes) and “What” (outcomes; Sinek, 2009). In the laboratory, the “Why” extends beyond producing accurate test result, it means serving patients, supporting colleagues, and promoting fairness in healthcare. For example, our urgent care team begins each day with a short huddle that frames our shared purpose as serving patients first. When DEIB aligns with this purpose, teams value not only technical skill but also the diverse experiences and perspectives of staff. Practical steps such as mentoring programs, flexible scheduling, and transparent communication reinforce inclusion and belonging.
The “Circle of Safety” emphasizes the leader’s responsibility to build secure and supportive environments (Sinek, 2009). Staff should feel confident discussing errors, propose improvements, and share ideas without fear of criticism. Leaders support trust by addressing microaggressions and exclusion directly, creating a workplace where respect and collaboration are expected (Yan, Zhang, Akhtar, & Liang, 2023). Leaders who show consistent behavior set the standard for teams in which all members feel valued.
The “Infinite Game” underscores that DEIB requires an ongoing commitment rather than a one-time effort (Sinek, 2009). Laboratories measure success through continuous progress, adaptability, and resilience. Teams that adopt this mindset collaborate effectively, adjust to changing workloads, and sustain high-quality patient care over time. In my urgent care lab, we apply this principle by refreshing cross-training annually, ensuring staff can flexibly cover shifts during peak periods. This approach supports the long-term development of resilient, inclusive teams.
In practice, integrating leadership principles with DEIB makes a visible difference. When staff feel respected, included, and that they belong, they are more engaged and resilient. For example, during peak flu season, leadership staggered breaks and provided rotating coverage to ensure no one worked a full 12-hour shift without relief. These adjustments improved morale and reduced errors. Teams that prioritize DEIB manage changing workloads, adopt modern technologies, and meet clinical challenges, while supportive leadership strengthens teamwork, reduces burnout, and improves patient care.
References
- Bayot ML, Lopes JE, Zubair M, et al. Clinical Laboratory. [Updated 2024 Jan 26]. In: StatPearls internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK535358.
- Nowrouzi-Kia, B., Chai, P., & Casole, J. (2022). Burnout and mental health in medical laboratory professionals: A review. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science, 35(4), 212–220.
- Marshall, A. G., Vue, Z., Beasley, H. K., Neikirk, K., Stephens, D., Wanjalla, C. N., Damo, S. M., Trejo, J., Rodriguez-Aliaga, P., Headley, C. A., Shuler, H., Liu, K., Smith, N., Garza-Lopez, E., Barongan, T., Scudese, E., Spencer, E., Heemstra, J., Vazquez, A. D., Murray, S. A., … Hinton, A., Jr (2023). Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Laboratory: Strategies to Enhance Inclusive Laboratory Culture. Molecular cell, 83(21), 3766–3772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2023.09.011.
- Yan, Y., Zhang, J., Akhtar, M. N., & Liang, S. (2023). Positive leadership and employee engagement: The roles of state positive affect and individualism-collectivism. Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 42(11), 9109–9118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02192-7
- Sinek, Simon. (2009). Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.
Dhara Parekh is a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Patient First, Urgent Care in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.