Bioingeniøren (Mar 2015)
Research areas for biomedical laboratory scientists within medical biochemistry
Abstract
Introduction. There is a need for more research in the field of biomedical laboratory science. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into what biomedical laboratory scientists understand as their field of research in medical biochemistry. Materials and methods. The Delphi method was used as our research method. The chief biomedical laboratory scientists at 28 Medical Biochemistry departments were asked to arrange a meeting where participants were requested to draw up three lists of key research areas that they believe should be researched. The questions were: 1) Which challenges do you experience as a biomedical laboratory scientist in contact with patients, 2) Which challenges do you experience as a biomedical laboratory scientist when working with other health professionals? and 3) In your opinion, which areas of biomedical laboratory science need further research? Results. In total 99 research suggestions/proposals arrived. These were divided into four main categories: patient-related challenges, organizational/psychosocial factors, analysis/quality assurance and the future biomedical laboratory scientist. Within each category there were more meaningful themes, four of which stand out with a higher response rate than the other themes. These are: Relational aspects, information, interprofessional collaboration and preanalysis. Conclusion. The study shows that biomedical laboratory scientists see the need for more research in a variety of fields. The topics that are considered particularly important are either directly related to the tasks biomedical laboratory scientists perform in the laboratory, or to special challenges arising when taking blood samples from patients.
