Bioingeniøren (Apr 2018)
The biomedical laboratory scientist as a diagnostic collaborative partner in the health service
Abstract
Background. The aim of this study was to examine the role of the biomedical laboratory scientist (BLS) as a diagnostic collaborative partner (DCP) and thus a natural part of the interprofessional team consisting of nurses and medical doctors (MD) in health care. Methods. The study had a qualitative design based on focus-group interviews that were transcribed and analyzed by the Graneheim and Lundman method. Before carrying out the interviews, the BLS attended interprofessional teams. The BLS took part in morning meetings for doctors, in pre-visitations with nurses and doctors and occasionally participated in clinical rounds when recommended by the MD. Subsequently, three focus-group interviews involving nurses and MD’s in both heterogenous and homogeneous groups were carried out, using a semi structured interview guide. Results and conclusion. The results revealed quality, communication and knowledge as central topics. The study indicates that health professionals experienced that the BLS had complementary expertise and made a valuable contribution to the interprofessional teams involved in diagnosis and treatment. MD and nurses experienced that the BLS has knowledge that is not available in the department, and that this knowledge was useful to give patients the best possible treatment. Health professionals found that the BLS has important knowledge about handling, analysis and assessment of results of biological material, which they found useful to be able to give patients more efficient patient care with increased quality, leading to improved patient safety. The study shows that BLS as a DCP have a natural place in the interprofessional team in healthcare.
