Many individuals may envy the salary of someone who owns a funeral parlour, however, they might not think it delightful to embalm the dead. That is the dilemma of many professions. There are professions with excellent remuneration that may have unpleasant elements. Certainly, there is the prestige and the sense of achievement in becoming a medical doctor - they do earn good salaries - however, not may of us are fascinated by the idea of amputating a limb or performing open heart surgery. Many professions that are rewarding and fulfilling with elements that are exciting and interesting may be forbidding. Medical technology is one such exciting and rewarding profession.

Medical technologists are health care professionals who work in all areas of the clinical laboratory including blood banking, chemistry, hematology, immunology, and microbiology. They perform diagnostic analyses on body fluids such as blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, sputum, peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid and synovial fluid, as well as other specimens. Medical technologists perform an array of laboratory tests - from simple blood grouping, to more complex tests to unearth disease conditions such as HIV/AIDS, autoimmune disorders, and cancer. They are also responsible for confirming the accuracy of test results, and reporting laboratory findings to pathologists and other physicians. The information that a medical technologist gives to the doctor influences the medical treatment a patient receives.

fascinating profession

Any parent would be proud of an offspring with such skills. In fact, if you are a parent, you probably should call Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Mandeville, a choice institution for preparing your child for the fascinating profession of a medical technologist. These professionals also belong to a prestigious organisation.

The Council of Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM), under the charge of The Caribbean Association of Medical Technologists (CASMET), requires that medical laboratory professionals complete laboratory continuing education hours each year. This continuing education is a means for practitioners in the field to maintain licensure and certification. On September 20, CASMET, in partnership with the Medical Techno-logy Department of NCU, will host a seminar for medical laboratory professionals. The seminar will be held in the main auditorium of NCU on the Mandeville campus, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The seminar provides practitioners in central Jamaica the opportunity to earn continuing education hours towards retaining their licensure. It also gives laboratory professionals in training a chance to be part of a professional body allowing for continuum and dynamism in the field.

mutually beneficial

At the seminar, Dr Felix Omoruyi, associate research director and professor in the College of Allied Health and Nursing, will present on the topic, 'Point of Care Testing: The Role of Laboratory Professionals'.

NCU is delighted to host this seminar in collaboration with CASMET which represents medical laboratory professionals throughout the Caribbean, Central America and the Dutch Antilles. This partnership is mutually beneficial since it allows for the decentralisation of CASMET's activities and opens up access to medical laboratory professionals who live and practice in the central and western regions of Jamaica. Medical laboratory practitioners will do well to appreciate the efforts of CASMET and NCU for their commitment to lifelong learning in a world where "leaning never ends". Indeed, the world of the medical technologist is exciting and fulfilling.