An organisation such as Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology is a community in itself. Although it covers such a vast area- 3.5 million square kilometres-across Queensland, Northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory, the SNP workforce is linked by shared goals and experiences.

About 2500 people work for SNP, including just under 100 pathologists, specialists and general practitioners, together with 900 scientists and technicians, nearly 1000 patient services personnel, including couriers and collectors, and about 400 administrative and support staff working in 24 laboratories and more than 495 collection centres.

The world of Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology is made up of a wide range of jobs from the most visible -collectors and couriers - to the behind-the-scenes pathologists, scientists, laboratory technicians and laboratory assistants. And behind this is the support staff without whom, the organisation simply couldn't run - data entry teams, technical support engineers, media/assay production staff, quality control, doctor services, doctor's IT teams, database control, patient services and the supply/purchase department.

Then there are the people who support the staff-accounts and payroll, library, essential services, training and professional development, and health and safety.

Many people have been with the company for 30 years, some for even longer. They joined when Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology was in its infancy not long after 1956, when Drs John Sullivan and Nick Nicolaides started a small pathology practice to service local families around Brisbane. Many people have moved through the organisation over the decades handling a range of different jobs in different areas. They know the practice inside out and have grown with it over the years.

Now that Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology is part of the Sonic Healthcare Group - the only truly global diagnostic pathology and radiology organisation - staff have the opportunity to work across Australia and overseas.

Welcome to the world of the medical laboratory. It's a world of technology, science, and mystery, where medical laboratory professionals and pathologists find answers to questions that are both routine and miraculous. Does this tissue sample contain cancer? What can this woman's blood tell us about her health? Is this unborn child developing normally? Is this drug effectively stopping the infection? Why did this man die?

In the laboratory, a highly skilled team of pathologists, specialists, medical technologists and technicians work together to solve the mysteries, put the puzzles together, and answer the critical questions of medicine. More than 70 percent of medical decisions made by doctors are based on laboratory findings. In fact, the practice of modern medicine would be impossible without the tests performed in the laboratory.

Pathologists and medical laboratory professionals are the behind-the-scenes backbone of medicine. Their field of exploration covers a vast area, from human anatomy to the genetic and molecular particles that affect it. They are the researchers, the investigators, and some say the real heroes of medicine.

Laboratory procedures require an array of complex precision instruments and a variety of automated and electronic equipment. However, people who are interested in helping others are the foundation of a successful laboratory. They must be accurate, reliable, passionate about science and be able to recognise their responsibility for human lives.

For someone who chooses a career as a pathologist or laboratory professional, the exploration and the rewards are endless. (From the American Society for Clinical Pathology (tm)).

Pre Analytical - Data Entry and Specimen Reception Area

In Specimen Reception Area (SRA) you will find the people who register the specimen, and its identifying information, and enter them into the laboratory information system. When specimens need to be shared between departments for testing they are prepared here. The people who work here have to be accurate and cool headed, and be able to deal with the busy times of the day when samples are coming in thick and fast.

Once the specimen is registered the rest of the accompanying information - usually the request forms sent by the referring doctors or collectors - are entered into the computer system. Like all other jobs in pathology, data entry operators have to have excellent attention to detail skills coupled with amazing dexterity to enable them to accurately record the data. Their role is crucial to the whole pathology testing operation.

Quality Systems

The Quality Systems department manages the quality framework implemented across Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology. This framework includes related policies and procedures, the internal audit program, incident management, document and records management, and regulatory requirements for accreditation. The quality team coordinates and monitors the accreditations held by the organisation and liaises with external regulatory bodies. 

Database Control

Updating and maintenance of the hospital and doctor databases are vital to ensure that all guidelines are met in accordance with Medicare Australia legislation and the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Without having the correct doctor, patient and Medicare information, it is impossible to deliver reports to the right doctor and accurately bill the patient.

Network IT Support

Like all modern organisations, Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology depends on its computer technology for all its communications. The Network IT Support team provides troubleshooting assistance for all desk top computers and the telephone system throughout the organisation.

Doctor IT Services

The majority of test results are sent to doctors using Fetch and Sonic Dx - proprietary application software developed by Sonichealthcare Ltd which delivers pathology reports electronically to the client's system for review.  The Dr IT Services team provide installation and ongoing technical support to general practice and specialist clinics and hospitals using these applications.

Library Services

The Bowen Hills library co-ordinates and arranges journal subscriptions, book orders and provides support for staff in their research.

Workplace Health and Safety

This service provides specific advice to managers and employees on health, safety, equal opportunity and rehabilitation.

Communicating with Doctors

The Doctor Service Centre provides doctors with a one-stop-shop for all enquiries. This can be anything and everything from ordering stores, obtaining additional results, requesting subsequent tests for patients based on the results of previous tests, lodging complaints and much more. They are the team who understands the meaning of excellence in customer service and they strive to make the experience for the doctor exceed his or her expectations.

The territory managers are the coal face between the doctors and Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology. They keep in regular contact with, and meet the doctors, to identify opportunities for continuous improvement. They also visit doctors and nurses in hospitals to educate them in the latest regulatory requirements and tests procedures and make sure that they are receiving the services that they need to deliver excellence in patient care. Territory managers come from various backgrounds and all are specialists in their fields: nurses and collectors, lab technicians and IT technicians.

Marketing

The marketing team produces the external publications and coordinates the educational activities that deliver medical education to doctors and patients.

Professional Development and Training

This is the unit responsible for developing formal training programs for the SNP staff. The courses include a wide range of subjects and cover laboratory and non laboratory areas, in both face-to-face and online programs. 

Essential Services

This is the department responsible for ensuring that everything runs smoothly-air conditioning, electrical equipment, plumbing, building maintenance. It is also responsible for the fit out of new collection centres, laboratories and offices, and refurbishment of existing facilities so that both staff and patients are comfortable during the pathology experience.

The Supply Department

This department coordinates the purchase and distribution of consumables for the practice. As a central service, they coordinate the ordering, processing and distribution of all supplies for every campus of the organisation including the 22 laboratory campuses and 220 collection centres. They the drivers of lean engineering, ensuring that all areas of the organisation run smoothly.

Commercial Services

Human resource management, accounting, payroll, paying bills, signing leases, auditing, it's all in a days work for the commercial services team. Lead by a team of accountants and financial wizards, the team keeps the finances in order. No mean feat, when considering leases alone, the organisation maintains >300. The team provides all accounting services including accounts payable and receipting. The payroll team processes salaries and wages.