ARMC Lab Professional Says Laboratory Medicine

Do you ever wonder what happens to your lab specimen when your health care professional says your sample has been sent to the lab? The specimen goes to a licensed Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS), who performs complex tests on blood, tissue, body fluids, and other patient samples. Billie Burch, a CLS supervisor at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center’s (ARMC) clinical laboratory, recently shared her thoughts about the rewarding field of laboratory medicine. “There is a high demand for CLS’s because many of them are retiring,” said Burch, who started working at the lab in 1979, when it was located at the old county hospital on Gilbert Street in San Bernardino. The ARMC lab, which is accredited by the State of California, College of American Pathologists, and the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, averages 2,000,000 tests each year. “The CLS position here offers growth potential, because you need people to do the testing, and you also need people to supervise and to comply with the many regulatory requirements.” Clinical laboratory scientists play an important role in processing and analyzing data. More than 70 percent of all medical decisions rely on some type of laboratory data. CLS’s use automated equipment and computerized instruments to test specimens. After testing and examining a specimen, they analyze the results and relay them to physicians. ARMC’s lab has a Medical Technology school that educates and trains laboratory interns which makes them eligible to take a certification exam that qualifies them for CLS state licensure. It is a highly competitive one-year training program which prospective students may apply for after completion of their bachelor’s degree and required prerequisites. Clinical Laboratory scientists often have their pick of jobs, since these positions are becoming available faster than the jobs can be filled, said Burch. A career as a laboratory professional is a good choice for those who enjoy solving problems and have an interest in science.