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Position Statements

The CSMLS is proud to be the voice of the medical laboratory profession in Canada. Among the certification standards and association benefits, members can turn to the Society for insight and opinions on industry issues in the form of the CSMLS Position Statements.

These statements address industry issues facing our members while working in the medical laboratory sciences. They are created by the Board of Directors as an outward statement on behalf of the Society. We believe the statements are useful resources for members working in the field, to help guide them in their career and we continue to develop and create new statements based on industry needs.

  Accreditation of Medical Laboratories

It is the position of the CSMLS that laboratories accredited by a third party organization demonstrate compliance with a benchmark for quality and high standards of competency.

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  Accreditation of Medical Laboratory Science Education Programs

  Appropriate Utilization of Medical Laboratory Resources

  CSMLS Certification and Entry-Level Requirements for MLAs

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes that CSMLS national certification must be the entry-level qualification for Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLAs) in Canada; the CSMLS competency profiles equip Medical Laboratory Assistants with the required skills and knowledge to provide high quality medical laboratory services and to function as members of multi-disciplinary health care teams, thereby enhancing the quality of patient care for all Canadians.

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  CSMLS Certification and Entry-Level Requirements for MLTs

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes that CSMLS national certification must be the entry-level qualification for Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) in Canada; the CSMLS competency profiles equip Medical Laboratory Technologists with the required skills and knowledge to provide high quality medical laboratory services and to function as members of multi-disciplinary health care teams, thereby enhancing the quality of patient care for all Canadians. 

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  Diversity

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes in an environment of diversity where differences are valued and everyone is given equal opportunity to contribute and develop. Furthermore, the CSMLS provides inclusive services, regardless of age, gender, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sexual orientation, marital status or geographic location. The CSMLS’s position on human rights is in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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  Human Resource Allocation for Medical Laboratories

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes that effective Human Resource (HR) planning must include all components of the health care system. In order to integrate career and life expectations, a successful plan must consider educational achievements, employment opportunities, labour commitments, industry standards, immigration demands, regulatory stipulations, societal influences, political climate, economic restrictions and patient outcomes.  This planning requires a collective and consolidated effort among governments (federal, provincial and territorial), health care employers and all health care professional groups as human resource systems in medical laboratories are complex and interconnected. 

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  Maintenance of Competence

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) is dedicated to ensuring that medical laboratory services are delivered in a safe and ethical manner. Although education and certification are necessary components to prepare the novice medical laboratory health care professional for clinical practice, continued competence is essential for maintaining sound practice.

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  Medical Laboratory Professional Recruitment and Retention Strategies in Rural and Remote Communities

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes it is the responsibility of governments (provincial, territorial and federal) in partnership with employers and unions, to implement strategies for recruitment and retention of medical laboratory professionals (MLPs) in rural and remote communities.

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  Medical Laboratory Professionals: Integral to Patient Safety

It is the position of the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) that all Medical Laboratory Professionals play a vital role in ensuring patient safety in the delivery of health care services.

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  Medical Laboratory Responsibility to the Environment

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes that committing to environmentally responsible practices must be a priority. 

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  Patient Portals for Laboratory Based Health Information

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) supports the use of online health information portals for providing laboratory testing results and relevant information to patients and care givers. It is the expectation that a portal should allow users to be engaged and active participants in health care matters, promote health literacy, increase transparency of the medical health record for the individual, as well as support new access to care models.

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  Point of Care Testing

CSMLS endorses Point of Care Testing (POCT) when it is overseen by a medical laboratory. A laboratory POCT program is a collaborative and coordinated process between the clinical laboratory and other health care professionals, and there is clear evidence that the use of this technology improves the quality of patient care.

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  Quality Work Life Environments for Medical Laboratory Professionals

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes that high quality medical laboratory work life environments, also known as positive practice environments, directly impact medical laboratory professionals’ job satisfaction, productivity, recruitment and retention. A quality work life environment  positively influences laboratory services, encourages safe work environments in health care systems and strengthens patient care.

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  Respiratory Protection for Medical Laboratory Personnel

In keeping with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations (CDC), it is the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science’s (CSMLS) position that N-95 respirators are the minimum level of protection for laboratory personnel who may be exposed to airborne infectious agents.

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  Social Media Use by Laboratory Professionals

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) believes that laboratory professionals need to be fully aware of the positive and negative implications of their online actions through social media and consider the potential impact that their interactions on such platforms can have on how they are perceived as professionals.

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  Support for Regulation: Medical Laboratory Professionals (MLPs)

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) endorses the regulation of medical laboratory professionals (MLPs) in all jurisdictions across Canada. As a key element of patient safety, regulation defines the practice of medical laboratory science, establishes the requirements and qualifications necessary to practice in the medical laboratory profession, and describes the boundaries within which the profession operates. 

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  The Use of Standards in the Medical Laboratory

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) supports using consensus-developed standards for Medical Laboratory Science to enhance and ensure quality healthcare for all Canadians.

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  Use of Simulation to Reduce Clinical Placement Hours

CSMLS supports the use of simulation in the academic environment as an educational technique to assist students in achieving CSMLS-defined competence. The use of simulation to partially replace and/or enhance clinical placement training is acknowledged as a viable and contributing solution to increasing the medical laboratory workforce in Canada.

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  Whistleblower

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, transparency, integrity and accountability for the sake of the public and the profession it represents. Medical Laboratory Professionals (MLPs) are expected to uphold the Code of Professional Conduct, Code of Ethics and any other relevant document that stipulates that an individual should not participate in and/or should report fraud, misconduct or wrongdoings. To support individuals and organizations to uphold these expectations, CSMLS endorses the creation, implementation and sustained use of a whistleblowing policy for MLPs by regulators, employers and for medical laboratory science students by academic institutions.

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Indigenous Land Acknowledgement : We respectfully acknowledge the CSMLS office, located in Hamilton, Ontario, is situated upon the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Mississauga Nation, Anishinaabe Peoples, and the Neutral Peoples. This land is covered by the Dish With One Spoon wampum, which is a treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe to share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. We further acknowledge that this land is covered by the Between the Lakes Treaty No. 3, 1792, between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

 

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