It was March 1979 when Laura Jackson joined the Blood Bank Department at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center (PMC), then known as The Medical Center at Princeton.
A Cranbury, N.J. resident, Jackson had graduated from Penn State University, completing a degree in Medical Technology through a 3 + 1 program – three years in the classroom/lab followed by a one-year professional internship.
Jackson completed her internship at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., gaining practical experience in various laboratory departments and learning phlebotomy. Her first job after the internship was with a small laboratory, performing microbiology testing for a study of soft contact lenses. When the study was finished, Jackson applied to the Medical Center at Princeton.
At the time, she was looking for more experience in a hospital setting, and Jackson clearly found a professional home at PMC. She stayed for 43-plus years before retiring this summer.
When she started at Princeton, Jackson and other medical technologists at PMC would perform blood draws on hospital inpatients, a function now handled exclusively by phlebotomists.
“I liked that we had interaction with patients and could explain to them why the blood tests were necessary,” Jackson said. “I also liked knowing that I was part of the team providing physicians with the information that could help diagnose their patients and help them get better.”
The Blood Bank Department operated the blood donor room at the old hospital, handled serology testing, and processed specimens for transfusions. After a few years, Jackson transferred to the Chemistry Department, where she remained for the rest of her tenure here.
Laboratory computer systems and electronic medical records were still way off in the future. Jackson’s new department in the early 1980s was handling much of its work on small benchtop instruments and documenting work the tried-and-true way. “We wrote results on lab slips that were then taped on pages of the patient’s chart,” she said.
That reality changed dramatically over the years. Instrumentation and testing grew more and more sophisticated. Computerization and automation allowed the lab to expand the volume and variety of testing that could be conducted in-house, giving physicians and their patients the benefit of real-time laboratory results.
The CDC estimates that 70 percent of medical decisions depend on laboratory results, which means that laboratory departments play a critical role in patient’s diagnosis and treatment.
The move to the new hospital in May 2012 was a major undertaking for the laboratory, Jackson said. It entailed careful planning and, for a little while, performing tests at two locations until all of the instruments could be moved to the Plainsboro campus.
Jackson is proud to have been part of a team that implemented autoverification for chemistry tests in the laboratory. Autoverification is a process of using computer-based rules to verify laboratory test results. The process frees staff members from having to verify results manually, allowing them to devote their skills and expertise to abnormal results that require attention.
“I will miss my co-workers the most,” Jackson said, after her retirement. “Over the years, I have been privileged to work with great people.”
Her two daughters – both born at the old hospital in Princeton – are adults now, and Jackson’s plans for retirement are pretty straightforward.
“My husband and I would like to do some traveling and also catch up on seeing family and friends that we haven't seen as much as we would like to because of COVID-19,” Jackson said. “I also would like to do more photography and read some of the books on my list.”
“It has been a pleasure working with Laura here in the lab,” said Donna DeMura, core laboratory supervisor. “Her dedication to medical technology has been awesome!”