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(1) A person with specialized training in a narrow field of expertise whose occupation requires training and is skilled in specific technical processes and procedures. (2) An individual having special skill or practical knowledge in an area, such as operation and maintenance of equipment or performance of laboratory procedures involving biochemical analyses. Special technical qualifications are normally required, though an increasing number or technicians also possess university degrees in science, and occasionally doctorate degrees. The distinction between technician and technologist in the health care field is not always clear. Sources: (1) Rhea, Ott, and Shafritz, The Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, New York: Facts on File Publications, 1988; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 26th Edition, Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1981 and Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, Boston: Riverside Publishing Company, 1984. (2) Lexikon: Dictionary of Health Care Terms, Organizations and Acronyms for the Era of Reform, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois: 1994, p. 776.