Specimen collection by medical laboratory technologists

Abstract

Following the partial amendment of the Act on Clinical Laboratory Technicians in June 2014, clinical laboratory technicians are now allowed to collect specimens other than blood. Consequently, in our hospital, they now have a wider range of duties. As clinical laboratory technicians are assigned as members of nurse-support teams, they are now in charge of ward blood collection, which was previously performed by nurses. With respect to skin and nail collection, owing to the lack of full-time dermatologists, patients with suspected scabies or ringworm had to either wait to be examined until a dermatologist is available or have their skin and nail specimens collected by nurses. Many of the skin samples collected by nurses keratinize. In 2011, an increase in the number of ward patients with scabies led to an increase in the frequency of microscopic examinations; thus, clinical laboratory technicians took charge of skin sampling. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our hospital began to conduct PCR and antigen tests in 2020; laboratory technicians are now in charge of taking nasopharyngeal swabs. Clinical laboratory technicians are responsible for the entire process of collecting suitable specimens for tests and data reporting, and this has improved the quality of tests. The shortage of physicians and nurses may become a serious problem in the future. Therefore, the collection of specimens by clinical laboratory technicians does not just represent a mere shift of tasks, but may also promote team-based medical care by enabling clinical laboratory technicians to utilize their specialized skills and capabilities.