About Us | FAQ | Contact | Advertise  | RSS Feed
Subscribe to this feed
ADVANCE for Medical Laboratory Professionals RSS Feed
Search
Login | Sign Up

Current Issue

Subscription are FREE to qualified Medical Laboratory Professionals


ADVANCE Extra

Tell Us Your Lab Story

Share your lab experience with ADVANCE and we'll give you $25.


View Comments (4)Print ArticleEmail Article

Tell us your story, and you may be featured in an upcoming issue or Web update of ADVANCE for Medical Laboratory Professionals! If your story is chosen, you'll win $25! Tell us about your experiences with any of the following scenarios or share your unique story idea. E-mail your story, with your name, credentials, title, facility and location, to Editorial Assistant Amanda Koehler at akoehler@advanceweb.com. We'd also love to use your headshot or photos, so send those along as well.

  • How did you get into the lab profession?
  • Describe a friendship you've formed with a coworker.
  • Tell us about a funny/embarrassing story from the lab.
  • What's your hobby outside of work ... how you started it, what you enjoy about it.
  • How your job has impacted your life?
  • Tell us about a time when you made your lab a better place to work.
  • How have you become a "juggler," handling work, school, a family, etc.
  • How have you overcame an obstacle and still remained a professional laboratorian (e.g., an illness, etc.)?
  • Tell us about a time you made or contributed to a life-altering/life-saving diagnosis.  

 

I always swore that I would always be a generalist even when I didn't like being one anymore. I thought that was the place to be and, while I didn't like the job anymore, I loved being able to say I was a jack of all trades. So it was with trepidation that I applied for and accepted a position in Microbiology.

It's such a different world from the main laboratory. It's no longer a rush to get the result out, or a pace of quantity over quality. I get to set my own pace to ensure that quality results are given on a consistent basis. In fact, learning to slow down was one of my hardest lessons.

I ended up loving Microbiology, well, for the most part. Don't all jobs have those bits you don't like? I'm really glad I took that step to go from a generalist to a specialist. I'm even planning to take the specialist exam one day!

As to funny micro stories, I have lessons I learned. Like Bacillus can look like a fungus when young, use forceps if you overheat your loop to remove it (that one was learned fast), don't play with the incinerator and the wooden sticks (it worries your coworkers).

Bottom line is work is fun again, and I had forgotten what that was like.




Michelle Hopson,  Medical Technologist Microbiol,  Harrison Medical CenterSeptember 13, 2009
Bremerton, WA



As a hospital corpsman in the navy,it was the hospital laboratory where we usually gathered on our way out to see what San Diego was all about. That was the begining of my strong desire to be a medical laboratorian. Following my discharge, laboratory work in various hospitals and clinics, it was my diagnosis of cancer which took me in a surprising direction while using my expertice. Going to the poor countries of the world... Teaching and opening labs became my skill. It beame a whirlwind of projects concidered and accepted along the way... Assignments...Kenya,Bolivia,Honduras,Columbia,Mexico,Cambodia,Pakistan, gave me a very special time and life experiences I shall always cherish, and will always be thankful for the cancer diagnosis. For without this frightful medical label put on me, my last 28 yrs. of life would be... well, something different for sure.
Bernie Lash CLS

Bernard Lash,  CLS,  RetiredAugust 26, 2009
Oceanside, CA



A somewhat similar incident happened to me but with an explosive ending.

Joyce M. Driscoll,  MLT(ASCP)August 25, 2009
MA



Read all comments (4) >>


     

Email: *

Email, first name, comment and security code are required fields; all other fields are optional. With the exception of email, any information you provide will be displayed with your comment.

First * Last
Name:
Title Field Facility
Work:
City State
Location:

Comments: *
To prevent comment spam, please type the code you see below into the code field before submitting your comment. If you cannot read the numbers in the below image, reload the page to generate a new one.

Captcha
Enter the security code below: *

Fields marked with an * are required.

 

Search Jobs

Zip

Go