Abstract
The biomedical laboratory science profession and the professionals who work in this field are dedicated to deliver the best possible services to patients because it is essential in the promotion of quality health care. The information generated with the completion of human genome project has and continues to transform human clinical medicine by pinpointing at the molecular level the causes of diseases that heretofore were unknown. In addition, the impact of the human genome project has created the emerging science of biological therapy, meaning future medicines will be tailored
made for every patient each with their own specific diagnosis based upon their own individual genetic blueprint. Thus, as discoveries are made at the bench then tested at the bedside to eventually enter delivery to communities, the revolution of translational medicine is upon us. How will the biomedical laboratory respond to these changes both in terms of the profession as a whole but importantly how each and every laboratory professional addresses these changes that are revolutionizing the practice of the laboratory profession and laboratories in general? To best address these changes will require all laboratory professionals to have a quality sense of ethics, especially as it relates to making good, sound decisions. This quality will be paramount to determining how these changes will be implemented such that the delivery of quality health care to our patients will not be compromised. This paper addresses many of the concerns involved in making sound ethical decisions.
Key words: biomedical laboratory science, ethics, good decision making