While attending a conference recently, I noticed there were several talks about the importance of lab advocacy. It’s an important subject- laboratorians have spent years in the basement performing the tests which lead to the majority of diagnoses provided for patients. While it seems fairly easy for larger groups (like nurses, for example) to get attention and accolades, I now understand that the people in the lab field have to do a better, stronger job of advocating for themselves. There are many ways to advocate for laboratory science, but it can even be done in small ways every day- when practicing laboratory safety.
One safety area where advocacy can occur falls in the realm of preanalytics. It is a fairly common site in hospitals to see non-laboratory staff transporting specimens to the department incorrectly with regard to infection control. OSHA requires specimens to be transported in a secondary container- usually a specimen transport bag. Often, the outside of that bag is treated as if it were infectious, and staff will wear gloves while transporting it. This should not be allowed for a couple of reasons. First, the message this practice sends to other staff and visitors in public hallways is not positive. While all lab specimens are to be treated as if they were infectious, they should not be treated as if they were all highly infectious. Second, the use of gloves creates a problem with door handles and contamination. Gloves should not be used when opening the laboratory door. Others will enter the department without gloves, and those surfaces should be left uncontaminated. (By the way, the inside door of the lab should also not be touched with gloves- staff should wash hands before exiting, and they need a clean door handle to touch to keep hands clean as they leave.)
You might wonder how talking to non-lab staff about proper specimen transport relates to lab advocacy, but it helps in a few different ways. Teaching proper safety procedures to other departments gives the lab some face time with others they don’t usually see, and that raises awareness of the department within the facility. Educating about specimen safety also raises awareness of proper safety practices regarding specimen processing, and it lets others know the lab’s level of concern about overall patient care.
Safety meets advocacy in other ways as well. Prioritizing safety can be about following rules, but it is also about fostering a culture where every laboratorian feels responsible for their own well-being and that of their colleagues. When we emphasize lab safety, we are actively advocating for better resources, training, and policies that protect everyone in the lab. This advocacy ensures that the importance of safety is recognized at all levels, from students to senior scientists and institutional administrators.
Advocacy for the laboratory strengthens our overall commitment to safety by pushing for the necessary support and infrastructure to maintain high standards. Advocates for the lab community work tirelessly to secure funding for state-of-the-art safety equipment, comprehensive training programs, and emergency preparedness plans. By advocating for these critical resources, we ensure that every lab member can conduct their work with confidence, knowing they are protected by the best possible safety measures. In essence, lab safety and lab advocacy are deeply intertwined, each one driving the other forward in our quest to create a safer, more productive laboratory environment.