to main content Surveyor Spotlight - Harriet Briggs | The Joint Commission
Icon of a woman with long hair.
Harriet Briggs, The Joint Commission’s Laboratory Field Director is committed to making the world a better place. It’s a deeply personal mission, one that stems from the tragic loss of her mother when she was just five years old.
Icon of three people holding hands.
Harriet acknowledges that Hong Kong in the early 1980s lacked the medical technology and resources that it has today. But back when Harriet was a child, the doctors overlooked some signs of her mother’s worsening condition and initially misdiagnosed her. By the time she received the proper diagnosis, the prognosis was dire — she had just one month to live.
Icon of two hands putting two puzzle pieces together.
The heartbreaking experience informed Harriet’s passion and interest for working in healthcare. And when finally discovering the world of laboratory services, Harriet knew she’d found her specialty.
Icon of a heart.
“I came to realize that I can make a difference. It reminded me of what happened to my mom,” says Harriet. “I don’t want another little girl or boy to grow up without their mom because of a mistake.”
Icon of four people sitting at a table.
Harriet’s 20-year career working in labs has spanned a broad range of specialties and roles. From working in blood banks and as a Quality Assurance (QA) Specialist, to her most recent role as the Laboratory Field Director at The Joint Commission, Harriet is on a mission to put patient care front and center in laboratories across the U.S.

What are the details of your professional path to the Joint Commission?

I was born and raised in Hong Kong, but there were not a lot of opportunities to go to college there, so my dad decided to ship me to Miami to finish school. He signed off on the move and somebody picked me up and signed the needed paperwork so I could attend high school in the U.S. I also went to college in Miami at Florida International University, where I got a degree in medical technology.

During clinical rotations, I got the opportunity to rotate through many different laboratory areas and ended up picking blood bank at a Level 1 Trauma Center. I decided to go into that field because it’s a very specialized area. Not a lot of people like it because it is very stressful. I would say the busiest night I had included 10 to 12 traumas in one night, and I had to get the patients straight. You can’t confuse the patients, and that adrenaline is what I love.

I went on to work in reference laboratory and then as a Quality Assurance Specialist. I absolutely fell in love with working in quality assurance because it is about regulation standards. It’s black and white: Either you comply or you don’t. It was a perfect fit for my work style and my personality.

I eventually took a role as a Lab Director and then went on to work for a corporation. That’s where I was introduced to the Joint Commission process and I absolutely fell in love with it. When the opportunity came up to apply for a job opening at The Joint Commission, I decided to go for it.

,,We might be behind the scenes, but behind the scenes is also very important. Just like the directors in a movie — without them, you don’t have a good movie.,,

Harriet Briggs - Laboratory Field Director - The Joint Commission

What’s the best thing about working with your peers at the Joint Commission?

The best thing about working with my peers is that I never feel alone. We always have someone to support us, whether it’s in the central office with our Standard Interpretation Group (SIG) or our Field Directors Group. Just because some of the field directors are not in the laboratory area does not mean that they don’t provide support to our surveyors. We all support each other.
We also have our cadre members that are experts in specific areas who can provide specialized help. There are so many departments involved in supporting surveyors. For example, our scheduling team is amazing, making sure that everyone gets to where they need to go. The incredible thing is how all of these departments work together so our surveyors don’t ever feel alone when they’re in the field.

What brings you the most joy at the Joint Commission?

As a field director, one of the things that brings me the most joy is my cadre. It’s a group of dedicated and committed professionals. For example, we recently asked for volunteers to mentor our new hires and everyone wanted to. Half the cadre said, I want to be a mentor. I have no problem doing that. I want to be a team lead. I want to be a preceptor. The willingness to step up and teach our newer surveyors — you don’t see that elsewhere.

,,I might be the field director, but you know what? I rely on each [surveyor] to be out there as the face of our program. I rely on them to continue to guide me as a field director. So this is more of a collaboration. ‘Field director’ is just a title. What I want to offer my team is leadership, asking questions like, how can we continue to improve this program? But the surveyors are truthfully one of the biggest assets to the Joint Commission.,,

Harriet Briggs - Laboratory Field Director - The Joint Commission

My team is a group of professionals. I might be the field director, but you know what? I rely on each one of them to be out there as the face of our program. I rely on them to continue to guide me as a field director. So this is more of a collaboration. “Field director” is just a title. What I want to offer my team is leadership, asking questions like how can we continue to improve this program? But the surveyors are truthfully one of the biggest assets to The Joint Commission.

How are Joint Commission surveyors poised to assess laboratories during the accreditation process?

Most of our surveyors started their careers as techs and then worked as supervisors, managers, lab directors and even in roles in the corporate world. Most of them possess a lot of experience in management. Some come with academic backgrounds.

All of our surveyors have their own different expertise and their own technical skills. We even have some surveyors who still work in the industry as technologists or scientists.

When you see a surveyor come into your door, they are most of the time by themselves. But our surveyors are trained to do surveys in all of the areas of the laboratory. We learn each other’s skill sets and we help each other. We have a broad range of subject matter experts within our group of surveyors and we share that information and knowledge with one another.

When we walk into a facility, an organization should expect that we will be able to survey and give you a very meaningful assessment of the laboratory. We will be able to validate your compliance, and we can also share a lot of best practices based on what we see on our surveys at other organizations. But we also share what not to do. Best practices are great, but sometimes it’s a practice that we see doesn’t work and does not help you with compliance.

Our surveyors will also look at an organization’s documentation and their processes and try to help them figure out solutions and strategies.

What’s unique about a Joint Commission survey and what value does it bring to an organization?

We look at the full picture of the patient’s result. We are not just looking at paper — we are looking at every single thing, from the time the patient comes into the door to the time the lab result is in their patient record. We want to make sure every single component is there, including the minute details.

The Joint Commission laboratory survey is unique because of our approach and our expertise.

Additionally, we’re unique because our surveyors are experts in assessing laboratories and are trained professionally to serve in this role.
,,We look at the full picture of the patient’s result. We are not just looking at paper, we are looking at every single thing from the time the patient comes into the door to the time the lab result is in their patient record. We want to make sure every single component is there, including the minute details.,,

Harriet Briggs - Laboratory Field Director - The Joint Commission

Headshot of Harriet Briggs.

Harriet Briggs

Laboratory Field Director, The Joint Commission

Harriet Briggs is the Laboratory Field Director for The Joint Commission. With over 20 years of experience working in lab, Harriet has gained hands-on experience in blood bank, quality assurance and reference laboratories. She has served in many leadership roles in labs including QA Coordinator, Lab Director and Corporate Manager of Laboratory Services.

Harriet has a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology from Florida International University and an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Nova Southeastern University.

Prior to assuming her role as Field Director, Harriet traveled the country as a Joint Commission lab surveyor.