A medical laboratory technician may be in charge of sample handling and storage.
Medical laboratory jobs generally fall into two main types. A medical laboratory technologist, a job that typically requires a bachelor’s degree, often acts as a laboratory manager, which requires operating sophisticated medical equipment, supervising other laboratory personnel, and interpreting laboratory results. The other type of medical laboratory job is the medical laboratory technician. This position typically requires completion of a certificate program or an associate’s degree. A technician works in a remote laboratory or facility alongside the technician, taking samples and analyzing them.
A medical laboratory technician trained to draw blood is called a phlebotomist.
Medical lab technician jobs in small laboratories may require working on all types of samples depending on the workflow. Larger laboratories often assign their technologists and technicians to specialized areas where they will perform the same type of work over and over again. this allows employees to gain a lot of experience with a specific device or test.
Medical laboratory technicians generally specialize in a certain area.
For example, some medical lab technician jobs will be based in the field of microbiology. The typical work day may be spent preparing tissue and body fluid samples and testing them for the presence of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Other lab technicians may specialize in genetic testing of blood samples, while others prepare and analyze routine blood tests for cell counts and cholesterol levels.
A medical laboratory technician may collect blood from a blood bank.
Medical lab technician jobs can be further divided. Technicians may be limited to preparing samples and slides, while technicians are responsible for examining them and interpreting the results. In some medical labs, technicians and technologists may perform exactly the same job functions, while in other labs job functions vary and more advanced procedures are reserved for technologists.
Medical lab technician jobs in small laboratories may require working on all types of samples.
Medical laboratory technicians and technologists may limit their careers to subspecialties. For example, a laboratory technician who takes blood samples is known as a phlebotomist. This person may work in a hospital, blood bank, or plasma center, or travel to nursing homes to take blood samples. Other medical laboratory technician jobs specialize in taking tissue samples and are known as histotechnicians.
Some medical lab technicians may be tasked with maintaining inventory and ordering supplies as needed.
In charge of all these medical laboratory technician functions is the doctor in charge of the laboratory, known as a pathologist. Ultimately, it is his responsibility to approve the interpretation of the lab results. Medical laboratory technician jobs have the potential to offer a variety of working conditions and job duties throughout a career. There is potential for advancement in complex specialized areas. There are also employment opportunities in a variety of clinical settings, including small hospital laboratories, where the technician is responsible for the entire process of collecting a patient’s sample, preparing it, analyzing it, and communicating the results to the physician.