official title at Montgomery General Hospital (MGH) in Olney, MD, is Administrator of Clinical Laboratory Services. There she is responsible for the daily operations of the hospital’s high-complexity, 24/7 inpatient laboratory, as well as two satellite outpatient Service Centers. But on days when she juggles her myriad duties as administrator, supervisor and medical laboratory professional, she thinks her real job title should be “Chief Problem Solver.”
“Each day is different, and I am always learning something new, as my team and I creatively work through the challenges of healthcare,” said Barbara.
A graduate of Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology, Barbara first entered the profession in 1978 as a Medical Technologist at Montgomery General, a small, community not-for-profit hospital in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. But, as much as she loved her first job as a bench technician, it wasn’t long before her interest in pathophysiology – the science of functional changes that accompany disease – inspired her to accept an additional role at the hospital -- that of teaching medical technology students on clinical rotation at the hospital lab.
Teaching so appealed to her, that when she learned of a job opening in 1983 for an instructor in the Medical and Research Technology department at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, she applied for the position. For the next 18 years, Barbara taught at the university, as a Clinical Assistant Professor. Having summers off gave her the flexibility to pursue a Master of Science degree from the school’s Laboratory Management Program, while also maintaining a part-time weekend position at MGH as a Hematology Supervisor.
Then, in 2001, with her children “out of the house,” she decided to go back to her roots, accepting MGH’s offer to be their laboratory’s Administrative Director. “The medical technician field has always been exciting for me, and I felt it was a natural step to take in furthering my career,” said Barbara. “Combined with my years of teaching, I feel lucky to be experiencing the best of both worlds.”
Barbara loves the tremendous variety of her job, including planning, monitoring and providing oversight of all lab activities, budget management, strategic planning, regulatory compliance and performance improvement activities. And in many ways she is still teaching. “I love training new grads, and also giving folks who have been out of the field for a while a chance to get back into the workforce,” said Barbara. “To be able to introduce a subject to students, participate in their learning, and watch their mastery and confidence grow is such a joy. It is very rewarding to be present and somewhat responsible for the ‘ah-hah’ moments.”
She also relishes her role as laboratory representative to various hospital task forces, especially a leadership development initiative, as well as her volunteer work with the American Association of Clinical Pathology (ASCP). For the Association, she serves as Chairperson of the Hematology Examination Committee that reviews hematology test questions for the national certification exam. She also contributes to medical textbooks, as well as reviews articles for national laboratory journals.
Barbara frequently encourages fellow laboratory workers to advocate for their profession. “Laboratorians can have such a positive impact on quality patient care,” she said, pointing to the tests that professionals perform every day that identify potentially life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, leukemia and other cancers. “I encourage laboratorians all the time to get beyond the four walls of the lab and become involved in the hospital environment, with professional organizations, and in their community to spread the word about our worthwhile profession.”
Meanwhile, Barbara sees exciting changes coming to the career field, many of them ushered in by growing automation in laboratory testing. “So many routine tests can now be performed electronically, that the idea of training for two years then becoming a lab technician is starting to change. What the field increasingly needs are more highly trained critical thinkers who can handle the ‘abnormal’ testing.” She added that she fully expects that the field will incorporate a doctorate degree in response to growing skill requirements, and that salaries for the profession across the board will continue to increase.
“I’ve worked in every single area of lab medicine over my career, and I’ve never been bored,” she said. “If you like puzzles and solving mysteries, this can be a very rewarding profession.”
