It could be many things including blood tests. Skills to be discussed in an interview would include statistical analysis, sampling techniques, maintaining quality control, patient record management and computer keyboard experience.
Oh so you have finished the schooling for it ? The medical laboratory has different sections such as hematology, microbiology,chemistry etc . You would monitor blood specimens which are being analyzed and report back to the physician who requisitioned them. It requires knowledge of physiology and equipment and attention to detail in reporting. Are you going to be a lab aide ? Or a Lab tech? There is a lot of opportunity in the field but it takes graduate school. Good for you!
There are two levels of people working in the laboratory. One is a medical lab technician (limited training) and the other is a clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) (the new term for a lab technologist). The CLS is in charge of the lab technician. A CLS has a bachelor’s degree and has graduated from a 12 month CLS program and then passed one of two licensing exams. They then have a license to practice and can also be certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP). Then every year in California you need 12 hours of continuing education in the field to renew your license. The CLS is able to perform all levels of complex lab testing (called CLIA levels for the level of complexity). Some people can only perform CLIA waived for example–very simple yes or no tests. You, as a CLS, would be responsible for drawing specimens, keeping the lab machines in working order, performing “quality control” on them and trouble shooting and recognizing problems and discrepancies, and notifying someone of “critical values” (abnormals). You would also be able to work in the Bllod Bank processing & crossmatching blood donations to patients. Other areas are urinalysis, blood chemistry, tumor markers, hematology, microbiology (growing & identifying bacterial diseases), perhaps virology and immunology, special tests and research. The lab is open 24 hours so alot of shifts are available! A lab technician on the other hand, is not so well trained and does simpler things UNDER a CLS’s supervision. They do not do critical thinking.
There’s 2 main types of degrees for med lab techs. The lesser degree is an associates and the job title is medical laboratory technician. The more advanced degree is a bachelor’s and the job title is Medical Technologist. If you have a life sciences degree they may hire you but you will probably need additional education leading to an ASCP certification to continue working in the field. There is a large shortage in the field and it’s getting worse mainly because the pay is often as much as half what a nurse with an equivalent education makes. $30,000 for an associates and $45,000 for a Bachelor’s seems to be the average. Some states have much more stringent requirements for education and certification (mainly Florida and California). This makes it difficult to move to those states and get a job if you were certified in another state originally. In many labs they are reorganizing the job functions more efficiently to deal with the shortage of techs. This typically involves putting most of the automated machines that do the bulk of the tests together and having one person operate all of those machines for most of the tests the hospital runs. Another tech will handle manual tests that are necessary for samples that are flagged as abnormal by the machines. A third tech may be available to assist in either area as necessary. Lab assistants (often phlebotomists with a few other skills) are used to prepare samples for tests and to store the samples after the tests are performed. The job is fairly routine and especially operating the machines could become boring after awhile. The job is often underappreciated in the hospital because the lab techs don’t have direct contact with the patients. Sometimes hospitals have tight budgets and even with the demand for techs it’s still possible to get laid off. I expect pay to increase in the future but not nearly to the level of almost every other medical profession. If you really don’t want to work with patients and lab work appeals to you then this could be a good career for you. Around 300,000 techs total (both levels) are employed in the country right now. Another interesting fact is that most of the techs are female.
It could be many things including blood tests. Skills to be discussed in an interview would include statistical analysis, sampling techniques, maintaining quality control, patient record management and computer keyboard experience.
Oh so you have finished the schooling for it ? The medical laboratory has different sections such as hematology, microbiology,chemistry etc . You would monitor blood specimens which are being analyzed and report back to the physician who requisitioned them. It requires knowledge of physiology and equipment and attention to detail in reporting. Are you going to be a lab aide ? Or a Lab tech? There is a lot of opportunity in the field but it takes graduate school. Good for you!
There are two levels of people working in the laboratory. One is a medical lab technician (limited training) and the other is a clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) (the new term for a lab technologist). The CLS is in charge of the lab technician. A CLS has a bachelor’s degree and has graduated from a 12 month CLS program and then passed one of two licensing exams. They then have a license to practice and can also be certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP). Then every year in California you need 12 hours of continuing education in the field to renew your license. The CLS is able to perform all levels of complex lab testing (called CLIA levels for the level of complexity). Some people can only perform CLIA waived for example–very simple yes or no tests. You, as a CLS, would be responsible for drawing specimens, keeping the lab machines in working order, performing “quality control” on them and trouble shooting and recognizing problems and discrepancies, and notifying someone of “critical values” (abnormals). You would also be able to work in the Bllod Bank processing & crossmatching blood donations to patients. Other areas are urinalysis, blood chemistry, tumor markers, hematology, microbiology (growing & identifying bacterial diseases), perhaps virology and immunology, special tests and research. The lab is open 24 hours so alot of shifts are available! A lab technician on the other hand, is not so well trained and does simpler things UNDER a CLS’s supervision. They do not do critical thinking.
There’s 2 main types of degrees for med lab techs. The lesser degree is an associates and the job title is medical laboratory technician. The more advanced degree is a bachelor’s and the job title is Medical Technologist. If you have a life sciences degree they may hire you but you will probably need additional education leading to an ASCP certification to continue working in the field. There is a large shortage in the field and it’s getting worse mainly because the pay is often as much as half what a nurse with an equivalent education makes. $30,000 for an associates and $45,000 for a Bachelor’s seems to be the average. Some states have much more stringent requirements for education and certification (mainly Florida and California). This makes it difficult to move to those states and get a job if you were certified in another state originally. In many labs they are reorganizing the job functions more efficiently to deal with the shortage of techs. This typically involves putting most of the automated machines that do the bulk of the tests together and having one person operate all of those machines for most of the tests the hospital runs. Another tech will handle manual tests that are necessary for samples that are flagged as abnormal by the machines. A third tech may be available to assist in either area as necessary. Lab assistants (often phlebotomists with a few other skills) are used to prepare samples for tests and to store the samples after the tests are performed. The job is fairly routine and especially operating the machines could become boring after awhile. The job is often underappreciated in the hospital because the lab techs don’t have direct contact with the patients. Sometimes hospitals have tight budgets and even with the demand for techs it’s still possible to get laid off. I expect pay to increase in the future but not nearly to the level of almost every other medical profession. If you really don’t want to work with patients and lab work appeals to you then this could be a good career for you. Around 300,000 techs total (both levels) are employed in the country right now. Another interesting fact is that most of the techs are female.