Quality assurance of the pulmonary function technologist.
The skill and work habits of the pulmonary function technologist are central to the quality of patient testing. Pulmonary function technologists should be chosen carefully. The pulmonary function technologists must be intelligent, conscientious, and possess critical thinking skills.  Studies are needed to better identify which kinds of personality traits correlate with superior job performance and whether or not such traits can be reliably identified by standardized testing. Monitoring of technologist performance and technologist feedback improves the quality of testing  but is utilized by only a minority of clinical laboratories. Pulmonary function laboratory accreditation is urgently needed to protect the public from potential misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment due to spurious data.
Department of Respiratory Therapy, St Joseph Hospital, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA. jhynes@sjhnh.org
Jeffrey M
JM
Haynes
D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000592:standards*; D012139:Respiratory Therapy Department, Hospital; D013147:Spirometry / Q000592:standards; D000078329:Workforce