Dr Naheda Alkazemi Dr Naheda Alkazemi

The world is filled with unsung heroes who have forgotten their importance due to their work routine. Working for long hours in front of laboratory machines makes lab workers, technicians and specialists forget their crucial role in saving the lives of others, and how without them, doctors can never diagnose their patients to the fullest.

April 15 marked International Biomedical Laboratory Science Day, which focused this year on 'Patient Safety First.' Also, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is celebrated on April 28. In Kuwait, Amiri Hospital has taken charge to celebrate both days in an event that is being planned since the end of 2015.

"When the team gathered in the first meeting, I asked each member to tell me who they are," said Dr Naheda Alkazemi, Amiri Hospital's Safety and Quality Improvements Manager. "All of them talked about how they were doing their jobs. None of them were able to define themselves. Then, I said: 'You are scientists - you are the science behind the interpretation of the numbers and without your solid base of knowledge and experience, no result will ever come out.' I had to pull them out of the system."

Scientist

A piano player is a pianist, a geology expert is a geologist, while a science specialist is a scientist. "I am a scientist. In fact, all lab workers are scientists. However, in Kuwait, there is a reluctance to use this designation," she said. Alkazemi's first job at Amiri Hospital was as a lab specialist. Later, she got a scholarship to complete her master's and doctoral studies by the hospital and graduated in 2014, majoring in biomedical sciences and chemistry from the University of Dublin, Ireland.

"I got my bachelor's degree from Kuwait University in medical lab sciences. I studied biochemistry, microbiology, histopathology, hematology and more. Therefore, I was eligible to get into any department at the hospital. But from the beginning, I was sure that I wanted to be in the hematology department. Once I joined, I was trained in all the departments before working in the hematology department," Dr Alkazemi said.

"The hematology department is where blood gets tested for types, anemia, blood thinners, blood cells and platelets, hemoglobin ratios, thalassemia (genetic or non-genetic), iron deficiency and leukemia. Our examinations are very critical to determine the healing process after surgeries. Moreover, our blood bank is always on standby, ready for emergencies. We get supplies from the central blood bank. By the way, not every group A blood type matches another A. There are subgroups of A and we cross match the patient's blood sample with the blood we have to choose the right one. Because if it is not the right one, it will cause a reaction in the body, like fever. We also give platelets or plasma and provide all types of blood components," she explained.

Sacrifices

It is often said that professions like medicine involve a lot of sacrifices, especially from the social side. Dr Alkazemi admits that it is a stressful work environment. "This is Kuwait, a social country. Social significance overshadows the importance of your job. If you are a woman, your identity is connected to who you have got married to or how many children you have. Your career is just a job to get a salary from. For this reason, I know many great lab workers who have given up their passion because of social pressure. Some of them now work at clinics, while some left their profession to become bankers and others opened home businesses. These jobs need great sacrifice and greater understanding," stressed Alkazemi.

"However, I now take care of administrative tasks more than laboratorial ones. No night shifts - but I still do not have a social life. Becoming the safety and quality improvements manager means creating a safer lab environment for lab workers to accomplish their jobs in a safe manner, and equally being responsible for waste management and biohazards. We deal with all samples as if they are infected with AIDS or hepatitis. If a lab worker gets injured or has a blood splash incident, he gets treated for infection immediately and examined. Then we do a follow-up check a week later to check his blood to make sure he is OK. We deal with a heavy load as a government hospital. Therefore, it is our duty to be careful that samples don't get mixed with each other, and ensure that our patients get an accurate result," she added.

Amiri Hospital performs over 4,500 diabetes tests monthly. In 2015, the hospital did 4,544 blood transfusions and 6,100 blood cross-matching procedures. The Amiri Hospital laboratory was accredited 4 out of 4 by the Canadian system which inspects quality and safety every two years. It is the only lab in Kuwait that achieved the highest valuation.

By Athoob Al-Shuaibi