Media Releases
Why you should care who does your blood test
First published October 21, 2013
The important role medical laboratory scientists play in disease diagnosis and medical decision-making will be explored in a public lecture by a JCU academic next week.
Dr Donna Rudd, lecturer in Microbiology & Immunology at JCU, will present Who is performing your blood test and why you should care, as part of JCU’s Science & Society in the Tropics Public Lecture Series.
The Public Lecture Series, hosted by JCU’s Faculty of Medicine, Health & Molecular Sciences, is free to attend and the wider community is invited.
Dr Rudd said pathology underpinned all aspects of medicine.
“Seventy percent of all medical decisions are made based on evidence provided by the pathology laboratory,” she said.
“Yet, unlike the high profile scientists seen in popular television serials, Medical Laboratory Scientists are relatively unknown and hidden from view.”
Dr Rudd said her presentation would give the public a glimpse of the contribution medical laboratory scientists make by following the journey of a patient suffering leukaemia.
This would provide some insight into the people responsible for performing blood tests; what happens behind the scenes and why it is important in the current climate of cost cutting in health care, she said.
“Behind the scenes, many scientists toil away in disciplines such as haematology, clinical chemistry, immunohaematology, microbiology, serology, molecular diagnostics and histology,” she said.
“This is all conducted in a highly regulated environment to provide medical clinicians with information on which to base their decisions.
“They are an important cog in the health care wheel yet most people’s impression of the medical laboratory begins and ends with blood collection.”
Details:
Date: Thursday 31st October
Time: 5.30pm Refreshments for 6.00pm start of presentation
Location: Education Central, Building 134-010, JCU Townsville campus
For more information, contact Kiara Cantamessa on (07) 4781 5179 or email Kiara.cantamessa1@jcu.edu.au
JCU Media contact: Caroline Kaurila (07) 4781 4586 or 0437 028 175