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James Wade Atkins, M.S., Medical and Health Services Manager, Clinical Center, Department of Transfusion Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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1. I chose this career because...
2. My typical workday involves...
3. What I like best and least about my work …
4. When I'm not working, I like to...
5. My career goals are...
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1. I chose this career because...
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Wade and colleagues reviewing blood donor records
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I chose to become a medical and health services manager because I’ve always loved science. My sisters teased me from the time I was little because I frequently asked, “Why?”
As early as junior high, I thought I would become a doctor. I started taking pre-med classes when I entered college. However, I discovered that I liked the laboratory sciences better than the idea of working with people as a physician. So I opted for a career in clinical laboratory science. Entrance into the program was very competitive, but I was among the 8 applicants accepted from my class out of the 10 available slots. There were over 50 applicants for those 10 slots. I completed the intense 1-year program, and began my working career.
Career Path
For my first job after college, I worked as a laboratory technologist in a hospital. True to my curious nature, I still asked, “Why?” My supervisors recognized my ability to ask questions and solve problems, so they moved me to a management position.
I began to focus my attention on the specialty field of blood banking. There is no other field that directly affects 12 million lives each year like blood banking. Someone in this country is transfused every 3 seconds. This work is fascinating because each clinical case is like a mystery. You get to play the role of Sherlock Holmes and come up with creative solutions to solve the mystery. I sought and achieved my certification as a Specialist in Blood Banking from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. Some consider this certification equivalent to a masters degree in immunohematology.
As I continued to work in management, I felt I needed more skills in this area. I went back to school part-time and earned a Master of Science degree in general administration with a focus in health care.
Now I work in a management position as a Quality Assurance Specialist for the NIH blood bank. A key component to this work is quality assurance. We cannot make mistakes, or someone’s life could be at stake. In this role, I am charged with ensuring that the whole department is complying with local, state, and federal regulations governing safe transfusion practices.
Education
- Bachelor of Science, Biology, Pfeiffer College, Misenheimer, North Carolina
- Master of Science, General Administration, University of Maryland University College, College Park, Maryland
Certification
- Medical Technology
- Specialist in Blood Banking
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2. My typical workday involves...
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Wade checking temperature records
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My typical workday is spent solving problems and auditing procedures that involve patients’ blood samples. Some of our laboratory technologists jokingly refer to me as “the police”. Actually, it is not a joking matter; we work as a team for quality assurance. We are directly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who routinely carry out inspections at our facility. We are also subject to inspections and peer review by the Joint Commission, and the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), whose mission is to protect patients and the nation's blood supply.
My main duties are:
- Auditing – laboratory procedures for compliance with the law
- Evaluating – new protocols and equipment before implementation
- Documenting – tests, procedures, and work that we do
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