For Your Health
For Your Health

News from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences

MLS celebrates Medical Laboratory Professionals Week April 23-29

The 48th annual Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (MLPW) will take place April 23-29, and the UND Department of Medical Laboratory Science is celebrating! MLPW provides an opportunity to celebrate the important role of medical laboratory professionals in healthcare, diagnostics, and patient advocacy.

Please join the Department of Medical Laboratory Science in commemorating this special week with the following events:

  • Monday, April 24: Altru Health System Dak-Minn Blood Drive, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., SMHS Rm. E311.
  • Tuesday, April 25: A pizza social at noon at the SMHS for MLS students, faculty, and staff with lab-themed games and prizes.
  • Wednesday, April 26: A “Be The Match” drive to recruit donors to join the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry, scheduled at the UND Memorial Union.
  • Thursday and Friday, April 27-28: ASCLS-ND State meeting for Medical Laboratory Professionals in Minot, N.D.

Facts about Medical Laboratory Science

  • Medical Laboratory Professionals Week (MLPW) is a time of recognition for the over 320,000 medical laboratory professionals and 21,000 board-certified pathologists who play a vital role in every aspect of healthcare.
  • Over the past 48 years, the goals for MLPW have been to recognize these professionals’ dedication their vital contributions to the field, to call the public’s attention to the medical laboratory professional’s role in patient care, and to enhance their overall image.
  • The diversified employees of the laboratory include pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, histologists, cytotechnologists, microbiologists, medical laboratory technicians, laboratory assistants, phlebotomists, medical secretaries, transcriptionists, and laboratory clerical staff who perform their duties 24 hours per day every day of the year.
  • These highly trained and dedicated professionals make an invaluable contribution to quality healthcare and save countless lives each day by providing reliable laboratory test results required for prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.
  • Laboratory test results are vital to the diagnosis and treatment of illness and disease and comprise an estimated 94% of the patient’s medical records.
  • More than 14 billion laboratory tests are performed in the United States each year and 26,000 new laboratory professionals will be needed annually to meet the growing need of the United States population, while only 4,000 to 6,000 graduates will join the workforce each year.
  • The UND Department of MLS graduates around 90 laboratory professionals each year through its various program routes.