[From routine laboratory testing to research--the message for all medical technologists]

To carry out routine clinical laboratory testing, it is essential to make efforts to acquire specialized knowledge and techniques. The identification and investigation of problems in routine laboratory testing and presentation of achievements at meetings and submission to journals increase individual motivation and promote focus and observational abilities and the acquisition of new knowledge and techniques. Herein, I introduce activities that I experienced, and describe the pathway from routine laboratory testing to research that I consider appropriate. For technologists to perform a study, the following 3 viewpoints are important: 'Clinical laboratory testing is practical science', 'technologists professionally organize information', and 'laboratory testing is the pivot of team medical care'.