Volume 39 Number 1 | February 2025
Ryan Tom, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, ASCLS Diversity Advocacy Council Chair
The most important aspects of laboratories are the four Es: efficiency, exactness, effectiveness, and expediency. However, smooth operations within the lab are the result of the ways in which each individual working there is respected, treated fairly, and recognized for their skills and contribution to the institution they work for. This is where diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is important. It is recognizing and understanding each person’s skills, abilities, personal growth, achievements, and goals.
There have been changes in the laboratory over the years. The laboratory profession that used to employ a preponderance of white males is now occupied by two-thirds females with a variety of race and ethnicities. There have been many changes in the laboratory since inception. Diversity can be identified as many things, such as skin color, experience, gender, etc. These factors can also help in recruiting and retaining technicians, because individuals who are being on-boarded feel an instant belonging among individuals with similar race, ethnicity, gender, age, orientation, or background. Team members will feel that they are working in a safe space and are willing to contribute ideas and solutions when working in an environment that supports them.1
“Team members will feel that they are working in a safe space and are willing to contribute ideas and solutions when working in an environment that supports them.”
Although more and more diverse people are going into allied health professions, they have found that women have chosen this field 4 to 1. They have found that different individuals enter the field because you can start with a two-year degree and complete a bachelor’s degree while working. There are six reasons why some chose this field:
- A love of science
- Detailed-oriented
- Repetition- or routine-oriented
- Little interaction with others
- Career stability
- Easy to enter with only a two-year degree2
Because a two-year degree in some cases is acceptable as a medical technologist, it is attractive to diverse people. In most cases, if the individual goes back to school for their bachelor’s degree, they can take advantage of paying for school while working. However, there are factors that allow these individuals to feel that they belong or feel a part of the group. Every person should:
- Welcome new individuals into their lab and remember or understand how it feels to be someone new.
- Appreciate, pronounce, and understand an individual’s name, pronoun, and diverse identification.
- Engage individuals you work with.
- Be helpful and remind coworkers about lab values and review of documents.
- Provide information regarding lab expectations.
- Try to come to know and understand the person you are working with.
- Congratulate or reward individual accomplishments.3
The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) strives to promote better working environments for their members by providing committees, conferences, and informative articles and documentation easily accessible to everyone. The ASCLS Diversity Advocacy Council (DAC) is a safe space for people to express concerns or provide proactive information regarding working in a diverse environment. The council ensures inclusion, appreciation, and respect to all their members. It is a “no judgement” space where individuals can speak freely without concerns of worthiness, denial, or repercussion. Its goal includes promoting inclusion and belonging. The environment allows individuals to express concerns they might have regarding DEIB in their laboratory they might otherwise be reluctant to say at their workplace. It offers suggestions for positive motivation for that individual to willingly and comfortably voice their concerns at their workplace.
The people who have been more impacted by better professional opportunities are black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). In more than a decade there has been an uptick of employment in BIPOC. Out of the 39.7 percent of organizations with dedicated DEIB roles, more than half of that was created in the past year. It is when organizations make efforts to promote acceptance of diversity and wield equitable opportunities for everyone that includes all voices and fosters belonging.4
It is necessary for laboratory professionals to understand patient care. “The laboratory, perhaps more than any other department, has a crucial role to play in almost every process and service that a healthcare organization provides,” according to James Tiesinga, MD, laboratory medical director at Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. “Whether it’s emergency services, antimicrobial stewardship, critical care, surgery, outpatient services, you name it.” This is most important for indigenous people who have long since struggled to attain access to quality healthcare in the United States.5
Because our patients are diverse, it helps when there are medical laboratory professionals with such diversity in the very same way. They want to know that the facility is ensuring their care is diverse and will treat them as they would every other person.
References
- Diversity in the Laboratory, E Blair Holladay, PhD, MASCP, SCT(ASCP)cm, 07 June 2019, https://academic.oup.com/criticalvalues/article/12/3/3/5512414
- 6 Signs a Medical Lab Tech Career is Right for You, Will Erstad, on 02/05/2018, https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/healthsciences/blog/medical-laboratory-technician-career-is-right-foryou/
- Ten Simple rules for creating a sense of belonging in your research group; Nidia Ruendas-Gracia, Crystal M Botham, Amber R Moor, Courtney Peňa, PMCID: PMC9731414 PMID: 36480509; 2022 Dec 8; 18(12):e1010688.doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010688; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9731414/
- DEIB: Who is impacted & Why It’s Important, Sydney Bucholtz, Dec 12, 2022. https://www.inclusionhub.com/articles/why-deibis-important
- The Importance of Cultural Competence in the Laboratory for Indigenous People, Jordan Rosenfield, Oct 14, 2024, 00:17 AM. https://criticalvalues.org/news/all/2024/10/14/the-importanceof-cultural-competence-in-the-laboratory-for-indigenous-people
Ryan Tom is a Lead Technologist at Garnet Health Medical Center Catskills Branch in Harris, New York.