4.0.

Rights and Obligations of

Medical Laboratory Professionals:

1
 Objectives
Upon completion of this session the student will be
able to:
– Describe rights of medical laboratory professionals
– Discuss obligations of medical laboratory
professionals

2
Rights of Medical Lab Professionals
• Safe working environment

• Appropriate wage, allowance

• Legal protection

• Security

• Insurance for occupational hazard

• Access to medication

• Professional risk allowance

• Standard work load 3

 Rights of Medical Lab Professionals
• Proper annual leave (maternity/paternity leave)

• Right to exercise our profession ethically and legally

• Testing by the professionals not non-laboratory

professionals
• License for Med Lab personnel

• The right to participate in health facility management

and policy making
• Vaccination 4
 Obligation of medical laboratory
professionals
4.1. Honesty
4.2. Dependability
4.3. Kindness and firmness
4.4. Humanity and Justice
4.5. Maintaining good reports
4.6. Adaptability
4.7. Co-operation
4.8. Ethical behaviors

5
 4.0. obligation of medical laboratory professionals:
4.1. Honesty
– In performing lab testing
– In reporting lab results
4.2. Dependability
– Taking your position seriously
– Being at work when you assigned to be

4.3. Kindness and firmness

– Use compassion with patients and co-workers
– Remain firm in your duties and in doing what is right and
best for your patient
6
 Right and obligation of medical laboratory
professionals cont’d
4.4. Humanity and Justice
– Be fair in running all patients’ laboratory tests
– Put yourself in the patient’s position before you argue
or say something you will regret
– Put yourself in your co-worker’s position before you
argue or say something you will regret
4.5. Maintaining good reports
– Use good handwriting when signing out patient results
– Take your time to record all patient information in all
log books
– Be honest in all your reporting
7
 Right and obligation of medical laboratory
professionals cont’d:

4.6. Adaptability
– Be willing to change work hours to help a co-worker
– Be willing to stay at work a little longer if patient
work is not completed
– Be willing to make changes in testing procedures and
other areas as needed

8
 Right and obligation of medical laboratory
professionals cont’d:
4.7. Co-operation
– If you expect others to co-operate with you, you
need to co-operate with them
– Team work will finish lab work quicker than an
individual

4.8. Ethical behaviors

– In all that you do, base your actions and decisions on
ethical behavior

9
 Chapter 4 Review Questions
• What are the obligations of a medical laboratory
professional?

• What are the rights of a medical laboratory

professional?

10
 Chapter 5.0.
Duties and responsibilities of
Medical Laboratory Professionals:

11
 Objectives
• Upon completion of this session the student
will be able to:
– List the duties of a medical laboratory professional
– Describe the responsibilities of medical laboratory
professionals.

12
 5.1.1. Duties to yourself
The medical laboratory technologist should:
• Maintain and improve the standard of your performance
– Keeping your professional knowledge and skills up to
date throughout your working life.

• Acknowledge the limits of your professional knowledge

and competence. Do not pretend to know everything.

• Use equipment and laboratory ware correctly and with

care

14
 5.1.1 Duties to yourself, cont’d
The medical laboratory technologist should:
• refrain from engaging in activities that may affect your
health and lead to impairment
• be aware of laws and regulations governing medical
laboratory technology
• not waste reagents and other laboratory supplies
• not drink alcohol during laboratory working hours or when
on emergency stand-by
• follow safety procedures and know how to apply first aid
• never taking anything from place of work that does not
belong to you
15
 5.1.2. Duties to your profession
The medical laboratory technologist should:
• uphold and maintain the dignity and respect of
medical laboratory profession

• contribute to the advancement of the profession by

– improving the body of knowledge,
– adopting scientific advances that benefit the patient
– maintaining high standards of practice and
education, and
– seeking fair socioeconomic working conditions for
members of the profession.
16
 5.1.2. Duties to your profession
• strive to maintain a reputation of honesty, integrity
and reliability.

• promote the image and status of your profession

– by maintaining high standards in your professional practice
and through active support of your professional bodies.

• take responsibility for your professional acts

• not misuse your professional skills or knowledge for

Personal gain
17
 5.1.3. Duties to Society

The medical laboratory technologist should:

• Deal responsibly with scarce health care resources

• Dedicate themselves to serve the healthcare needs

of the public

18
 5.1.4. Duties to the environment
The medical laboratory technologist should:
• protect the environment and the public by assuring
that health care waste is disposed of legally and in an
environmentally friendly manner

19
 5.1.5 Duties to Patients
• always regard concern for the best interests or well-being
of your patients as your primary professional duty.
• honor the trust of your patients
• be mindful that a medical laboratory science practitioner
is in a position of power over a patient and avoid abusing
your position.
• respect patients’ privacy and dignity
• treat patients politely and with consideration
• apply the principle of informed consent as an on-going
process

20
 “Remember the patient is the
reason, and the only reason for
your professional existence: In
order for a patient to receive the
best care possible, you must
make proper diagnosis.”
21
 Chapter 5 Review Questions
• What are the specific duties of a medical
laboratory professional?
• Give some examples of duties to protect the
environment.
• What are some duties of medical laboratory
professionals to society?
• What are responsibilities of medical laboratory
professionals?

22