With Medical Laboratory Professionals Week upon us (April 24 – 30, 2016), I would like to share how we (and you) can continue to not only get a peek behind the curtain of our profession but to help us reveal to everyone that we are the profession that saves lives every day.  First and foremost, our profession is at a critical crossroads of employee shortages. In fact, we are probably facing far more shortages than most other healthcare careers (e.g. nurses) due to a number of factors. Employment of healthcare occupations is projected to grow 19 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding about 2.3 million new jobs. This growth is expected due to an aging population and because federal health insurance reform should increase the numbers of individuals who have access to health insurance.1 No surprise, right? Well, the difference for our profession is that we have long been hidden in the eyes of junior high and high school advisors and counselors as a college major or career path. This upstream problem of non-recognition with little advising at the pre-college level, coupled with the downstream problem of not being “seen” by patients and family members has an antagonistic (downward spiral) effect for growing our professional numbers. I, and many others, believe this is one of the most serious issues facing our profession. See the complete article at: https://www.labtestingmatters.org/the-hidden-profession-that-saves-lives-every-day-medical-laboratory-science/