What Do Medical Laboratory Technicians Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Medical Laboratory Technicians perform routine medical laboratory tests for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May work under the supervision of a medical technologist. They also conduct blood tests for transfusion purposes and perform blood counts.

Other tasks include:

• Conduct chemical analyses of body fluids, such as blood or urine, using microscope or automatic analyzer to detect abnormalities or diseases and enter findings into computer.
• Analyze the results of tests or experiments to ensure conformity to specifications, using special mechanical or electrical devices.
• Inoculate fertilized eggs, broths, or other bacteriological media with organisms.
• Set up, maintain, calibrate, clean, and test sterility of medical laboratory equipment.
• Obtain specimens, cultivating, isolating, and identifying microorganisms for analysis.
• Prepare standard volumetric solutions or reagents to be combined with samples, following standardized formulas or experimental procedures.

We asked Medical Laboratory Technicians how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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67% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 75% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Medical Laboratory Technicians conduct blood tests for transfusion purposes and perform blood counts. They obtain specimens, cultivating, isolating, and identifying microorganisms for analysis.

A typical day for a Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technician will also include:

• Conduct chemical analyses of body fluids, such as blood or urine, using microscope or automatic analyzer to detect abnormalities or diseases and enter findings into computer.
• Set up, maintain, calibrate, clean, and test sterility of medical laboratory equipment.
• Test raw materials, processes, or finished products to determine quality or quantity of materials or characteristics of a substance.
• Analyze the results of tests or experiments to ensure conformity to specifications, using special mechanical or electrical devices.
• Collect blood or tissue samples from patients, observing principles of asepsis to obtain blood sample.

We asked some Medical Laboratory Technicians a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	79% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	47% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	93% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	33% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	11% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	43% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Medical Laboratory Technicians also supervise or instruct other technicians or laboratory assistants. They may also prepare standard volumetric solutions or reagents to be combined with samples, following standardized formulas or experimental procedures.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Medical Laboratory Technicians Consult with a pathologist to determine a final diagnosis when abnormal cells are found. They might also Analyze and record test data to issue reports that use charts, graphs, or narratives.

In addition, they Perform medical research to further control or cure disease.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Analyze the results of tests or experiments to ensure conformity to specifications, using special mechanical or electrical devices.

To some Medical Laboratory Technicians, it is also their responsibility to Test raw materials, processes, or finished products to determine quality or quantity of materials or characteristics of a substance.

Working life

Standard 40 hour work week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technician, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/medical-and-clinical-laboratory-technologists-and-technicians.htm

http://www.americanmedtech.org/

http://www.clma.org/

http://www.naacls.org/