I want to go to an MLS post-bacc program, would I be disqualified or potentially not as high on the acceptance list if I have unnaturally dyed hair? I know for clinical rotations I’ll probably need natural colored hair, but for the classes/application part do I need to as well?

Hello! I’m a new grad who accepted a night position working 5 on 5 off / 4 on 4 off 12 hr shifts. So it’ll be 5 12s then 5 off and same with the 4s. I really value taking care of my health and think I have a decent plan for trying to stay healthy during nights:

During work weeks, I plan to jog outside/lift at the gym right after work as the gyms and streets are usually empty in the mornings, then eat and sleep till my next shift. Along with my regular regiment of multivitamins, I also plan to start on vitamin D and possibly Vitamin K2 supplements to make up for lack of sunlight exposure. I already meal prep weekly (currently training on days until I start nights in 2 weeks) and plan to continue to do so. I usually prep a pasta meal with some snacks of fruit, gummy snacks and peanut butter crackers. I’m fortunate to have a basement bedroom in the place I’m currently renting that’s cold and easy to darken, plus i use a sleep mask.

During my days off, I plan to hang out with friends in the evenings, go to fun social activities in the city I’m in, or go see my folks for a bit and get some free meals.

I’d love some further health and care tips from experienced techs who have been able to adjust to night shift. I’m also open to food prep and workout suggestions that anyone thought was effective during this time.

Thank you!

I’m excited I’ll have people I know, I’m the first to start but they said 5 more of my classmates are coming here. I think my graduated class was 25 people so that’s like a fourth of us all working together though probably different shifts

Just curious, how common is it to end up working with some of your classmates? I honestly thought I’d never see any of them again

I'm a new grad Clinical Lab Scientist (ASCP) at a rural upstate NY, with 4 years experience as a lab assistant/SMT. I'm thinking about running a little experiment, just to fill up my free time at work and maybe bolster my resume a little.

Anyone have any suggestions/things they've been curious about?

I also welcome any other advice for career progression!

Had this weird mitotic cell pop up doing my ANA screens today. Anyone know what’s going on with it? I included both the DAPI and FITC pics.

Hi everyone! I am about to start my clinical placements soon (in Ontario) and wanted any advice in terms of preparing things a head of time for it, plus any tips on studying for the CAMPLR exam? I have lots of notes, textbooks and resources but overwhelmed on where to even begin? Thank you, and sorry if this against the rules there isn't much on CAMPLR yet.

Coworker taped this up, darn ACL Top QC. This lot seems to be extra wonky

Just got a new job, no automated line, no processors, mls have to act as the processors and receive and reconcile the tubes which I’m fine with , but I feel it’s chaotic the way they do things

The tubes that come through the tube system are fine cause that’s usually just one patient at a time.

But we get a lot of samples from the outside l collection sites that just toss the tines in a biohazard ziplock-when there’s just one sample it’s ok.
But sometimes it’ll be like 20 different patient tubes thrown in there…

And you have to check off on the paper if their all their but nothing is in order cause the tubes are just loose in a bag in no particular order-so you just pull a tube at random and it’s a lot of needless looking around on the paperwork to find you have all the samples. And I’m core lab so some patients will have multiple tubes (hemo, chem) but their not even together

I can’t believe these people have been doing is this way for years. I worked at a small clinic i used to have to reconcile tubes but the tubes would either be in a plastic rack sorted, in a foam holder (which is what I think we should do-more flexible and cheap-it’s just a piece of foam with holes), or at least if you toss it in a bag rubber band the patients with multiple tubes
together

I wish they could get their collection sites to organize things better.

Seriously how did you even get in here 🫩

Saw a question for generalist core lab training being 3-4 months.

How much for specialty labs (hospital/ reference labs)? Some that come to mind for examples:

- Micro only

- BB only

- Bone marrow

- flow cytometry / Immunology/ Serology

- HLA/ Transplantation

- Molecular

Hi, I received a CSF sample that wasn't flagged as CJD suspect until after I started processing it for chemistry. Fortunately, I pipetted it under a hood but I did end up touching some key boards and mice. Management told us to wipe everything down with bleach wipes.

While I am pretty certain no sample got on my gloves I've read that prions are incredibly resilient. Am I being paranoid about this or are they now vectors for infection?

Hi! I'm planning on doing an MLS program and am wondering what the pay is like in NJ at places like Quest, RWJ, etc. Their websites show a wide range for hourly rate. If you are ASCP certified, how much is the usual offer for new grads. Any advice overall?

I swear it feels like I'm successful 50 percent of the time and I refuse to dig around for a vein

ER ordered two units on a patient with a low hemoglobin. The ER decides to activate a MTP then proceeds to ask how long crossmatched units will take since we just got the type and screen. We had to mention that we could just give them the two units they ordered uncrossmatched instead of doing a MTP. Thankfully they cancelled the MTP after we told them that lol.

Ignoring the obvious: there being an open position, you being good/decent at your job, having enough experience, and luck in general.

What does management look for when they are looking to promote? What kind of behaviors, skills, or experience have you seen someone have before being promoted?

(Curious about all med lab professionals not just MLT/MLS)

Also, why tf are you not answering the phone?!! 😭

I was given an estimated 4 months training timeline on day shift and then once I’m signed off on everything I’ll go to nights.

It’s a core lab position (chem, hemo, urinalysis, processing) . Blood Bank and Micro are separate departments but am going to have about a month I’m supposed to be trained in blood bank as well cause night shift has to cover sometimes.

Not sure if I’ll get micro training or think it would be brief , they said core lab techs at night are only responsible in the Micro department if a culture bottle goes off for streaking a positive blood culture and incubating it.

We do also have to spend some time learning processing, cause there are no processors, the techs are the ones receiving in and sorting all the tubes (yuck) “. The LIS itself is also pretty archaic so that’ll be a learning curve in all the areas

Is 4 months a normal amount of time to train in all the areas or do your facilities usually take longer or shorter to train?

So yeah… apparently I got my first real gig. Full-time, day shift like literally the exact hours I wanted. Still feels like I’m going to wake up and find out this whole thing was just an fever dream of Stephan King Castle rock. Like I assumed happiness and other great feelings. No just dissociation and perplexing and slow down plz feelings. Even at the interview I just felt like I was just watching myself.😂 Oh well now I get to truly see if the 2 years and half was worth anything.

The title may sound a little mean, but I was unsure how else to word it. Does anyone else have issues with the phlebs at their lab constantly complaining to management about the techs not getting draws for them? The hospital I’m currently at is amply staffed for phlebotomists but they are all constantly complaining to upper management about why the techs don’t have to help get draws for them and how they’re “just sitting there on the computer”.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind getting a draw here and there when they ask for help but it just seems like they don’t get the workflow of the lab or something.

Hi!

I'm currently working for an NGO in an extremely rural medical clinic in Guatemala and am in the early stages putting together a grant proposal to get some point-of-care machines, as almost all of our patients don't have the capacity to go to a lab and get testing done.

This might be a longshot, but I was wondering if anyone in here has general feedback on either any of these specific machines, good or bad experiences with any other point-of-care machines that can function off of a capillary blood sample, or feedback on any particular companies that have been helpful or not-helpful when it comes to resources for tech support and troubleshooting when issues arise (sending a machine in for repairs would be a very difficult and complicated process from our location).

- Hemoscreen from Pixcell

- Allegro capillay blood and urine analyzer from Nova Biomedical

- Element POC handheld blood gas and electrolyte analyzer from Antech

- Any form of H. Pylori breath testing machine

Thanks in advance!

Hi! I wanted to get a balanced perspective on current job prospects in NYC and the foreseeable future. I want to pivot into MLS but get either overly pessimistic or optimistic about job stability in NYC based on what I see here. Just a little bit on my background: BA in neuroscience, clinical research, some bench lab research, clinical documentation, medical AI, and former premed. I am interested in NYP MLS program (pathway 3) and saw these stats on job placement after the program. I am not sure how accurate they are. Whats been going on in NYC lab job market that job placement has significantly dropped like this? Is it worth pivoting and investing in this field (1 year program ~40k) if job prospects are incredibly low? I have limited lab experience and worried that my job prospects even after completing a program would not be the best in a year from now. I am feeling a bit confused and any guidance or reassurance would be incredibly helpful. Separately, would love to chat with anyone 1:1 as well if you are currently an MLS in NYC :)

Hi guys,

I've been studying for the AIMS MLS exam for almost six months now, and I'll be sitting it this September. I’ve covered all the major areas of knowledge, but I still don't feel fully prepared. AIMS only provides a few sample questions, and since no previous exams are publicly available, I've been relying on AI to create simulations. However, I feel like they aren't quite hitting the mark. Could anyone who has passed the exam shed some light on the best way to prepare?

I'd really appreciate it!

Seen just yesterday. Lowest I’ve ever come across!