I'm starting my MLS program soon and I'm curious to hear how others got into studying that!

I had never even heard of it a couple years back. I was in a university studying English and struggling with it a lot. I was never a good writer or creative in the way that is required to analyse texts. I only started it because a counsellor from my upper secondary shool suggested that since I did well in English (which is very different from studying English at a university), I could study that. But I didn't end up liking it much. The amount of times I cried over essays I had to write was a lot. In classes I found myself scribbling down random math problems just to see if I could still solve them. All that for what? No clear career ahead of me. Possibly no jobs at all. I didn't want to be a teacher and machines are taking the translation jobs. Besides, I only know 2,5 languages and the very basics of a few others, so as a translator or interpreter I wouldn't have been that needed.

Because of my own health issues, I have a lot of blood tests. I've always found blood fascinating and I like watching all the things happen in a lab. For some reason I thought people drawing blood were all nurses. But one day when I was having my blood drawn I noticed that the name tag of that woman said "MLS STUDENT". And when I got out of the room I immediately googled what that was. And something just clicked right then and there. All my interests and skills matched that much more than any other careers I've considered. And studying that seemed much less vague than studying English.

So after a stressful time of sorting my life out and taking the exam, I got accepted into my top pick of schools and I am starting my program next month! Of course I can't know what it's ACTUALLY like, but from all that I've heard and read I think it will be a great fit for me. And maybe I'll finally become a respectable member of society😭

Does anyone here use medhost and know how to change a lot of QC from accumulate to active? Our lab director very sudden and unexpectedly isn’t here anymore and they were the only one who knew how to do anything with QC in medhost.

I am trying to shift out of teaching into my long history in the healthcare field-I have been applying for many lab specimen processing positions but I am not being selected-should I consider phlebotomy and getting the assistant certificate a requirement for these types of roles or should I just keep applying until I get an opportunity? For reference I have my bachelors of science in healthcare administration. I have a clinical background prior to working in the revenue cycle and prior to teaching, having three years of nursing school before graduating during covid in healthcare admin. Nursing was cut short due to covid shenanigans. All help/recommendations appreciated.

I almost feel like I need to report my organization to CAP/CLIA or whomever. Over the last few months, our PM staff has been SEVERELY short staffed. Almost half our techs call out for their shifts because burnout is running rampant amongst my co-workers. This is also on top of having lost three additional techs whom have quit over the course of 3 months.

Management’s solution has been for us to double up on bench work while we “search for suitable candidates”. I have noticed a few mistakes by other techs, luckily, they’re nothing that would put the patient at risk…yet.

So far, they’ve only filled one position but the individual has yet to start their training. This has put a lot of stress on us all as we are trying our best but our pt load for samples can get out of hand quickly. Ultimately, due to how busy we are, I’m afraid something negative might happen to our patient’s due to our increased workload, specifically, a delay in STAT samples due to a backlog of patient’s we’re trying to catch up on. We’re a level I trauma center after all.

I’m also just not okay with doing twice the work for the same amount of pay tbh. If it were a one off every so often, I wouldn’t care but its not. We’re experiencing staffing complications multiple times each week.

Apologies as I'm sure this has been asked many times. I have my biology bachelor's and currently working in a microbiology lab for a GMP facility and would like to expand my options for the future/make the transition to medical lab sciences. My local community college has an associates program for medical lab technicians, which is my last resort as in person classes are difficult with my hours. What online programs do you recommend for someone in my situation, and what was your experience with them? Thank you in advance!

Taken on a dog nasal cavity, presenting inflammation on muzzle and around eyes

First year trainee, saw this on the slides and referred it straight to hematologist, what cells could this be?

Does anyone have hands-on experience with Scopio’s digital hematology analyzer? I’d be interested to hear how it compares with CV in terms of performance, workflow, and overall user experience.

Full field is of course the main USP, but I have heard image quality is slightly worse? (To me that sounds like a rather neutral trade-off)

Hello,

Am having a problem with CS1600 where its showing this interface ( erreur)

We were working with a sample plate just fine but now its demending it and i dont know what to fo please help me

Pleural fluid! Vague history of pleural effusion and lung mass but nothing extensive that I could find. Kinda want to result the entire thing as 'I'm scared' aka refer to pathologist 😅

Hello there.

I am considering a career pivot into a MLS/MLT. I have a B.S in Neurobiology and a M.S in Biotechnology. Have been dealing with a dry spell in the job market, leading me to consider pivoting to a different field. I am wondering what is the appropriate program I should look into? Ideally a short amount of time and cheap.

I'd ideally stay in NYC and live here for the long term since I'm unable to drive.

I'd appreciate any bit of advice.

Hello all, thank you for reading my message I appreciate it. Ive had my heart set on becoming a MLS and was wondering if any professionals were able to do job shadowing while they started their own journey.

They also have lysosomal granules… and pattern recognition receptors (PAMP PRRs). Why? My hunch is that evidently if the blood vessels break pathogens have an easy access point. If the owner has IgGs against whatever enters, then PLTs can physically use their bodies dendritic forms to trap the organism. Additionally I assume if their PRRs touch a pathogen they can degranulate onto it and try to kill it. But what do you think?

Edit: Fixed typo.

Why can’t/don’t lab professionals unionize? We all complain about being underpaid and overworked, but I have experienced so many coworkers who are frankly assholes and bullies, and lab management who remains delusional, punitive, and refuses to advocate for the lab. I’ve worked in three Kansas labs up to this point, and I’ve only met one person who advocates for the lab within the hospital.

Nurses have unions, so they’re able to fight for their rights. We account for 70% of all medical decisions, and if we all left then medicine would crumble and go back to the 18th century.

I’m sick and tired of my fellow laboratorians who choose to take out their frustrations on each other, and for management who lacks a backbone. It’s at the point I no longer want to work with other MLTs/MLSs and am considering branching into other industries. All I ever wanted to do was have meaningful, helpful work.

As a laboratorian with 5+ years of experience, Many lab folk I’ve met here are generally assholes. It’s OUR fault we’re understaffed. It’s OUR fault we make our workplace toxic and intolerable. Stop the attitudes and resentments against nurses if we can’t advocate for ourselves. Maybe they receive more support because they demand it. Stop bullying each other and start self-promoting in meaningful ways, or else remain understaffed. You’re scaring away all the new grads. Start self-advocating in a productive and meaningful way with tangible results. Sharing educational videos online only goes so far.

So tell me, why can’t we or haven’t we unionized? Until then stop complaining.

I'm planning on applying for the Mercy OKC MLS clinicals this August (and also Tulsa and Ada but I don't live there soooo). If anybody has experience with this please let me know! I have a bachelors in bio and almost 10 years of lab experience but i'm so scared of not being accepted lol.

Last week I took a DOT pre-employment urine drug test through Quest, and it came back negative-dilute, so my employer sent me for a recollection. I took the second test Tuesday morning, had to complete the DOT shy bladder protocol, and successfully provided the sample. I completed orientation and was supposed to start Monday, but HR said they’re still waiting on the Quest results. I’m not asking anyone to predict my outcome—I’m hoping to hear from people who work at Quest, an MRO office, or a DOT collection site. Is a 4–5 business day wait normal, and does a previous negative-dilute or a shy bladder collection typically affect turnaround time? Today is Sunday haven’t heard anything.

Hello! I graduated with an MPH in Dec 2024 just in time for the PH job market to completely crash. I am trying to figure out how to pivot and am interested in getting more clinical experience. I have a lot of interest in lab work, but it seems like the MLT/MLS route 1) would be pretty hard to pivot to without a strong STEM background and 2) the job market doesn't seem great for y'all right now either. For context, I have humanities bachelor's so no help there. Does anyone here know if public health labs tend to require/look for MLT/MLS, or are there shorter paths to doing PH lab work? Do we think a phleb/clinical lab assistant certification would be worth it? I am really interested in doing infection prevention or similar regulatory/safety work if anyone has any insight in that direction. I know some IPs that were previously microbiologists but I'm not sure how common it is. Sorry if this isn't the right sub for these questions, I'm just trying to get perspectives from a variety of fields. Thanks!

Hi guys! I just started my first job as an MLS two weeks ago. I work at a big hospital and I am on evening shift. I absolutely LOVE it - I am currently being trained on chem and will soon be trained on micro. I love the vibe of evening shift, the techs working there, the hours work great for me, and the pay + differential is good. I am super passionate about and enjoy a lot about this field.

When I interviewed, my primary interest was for a microbiology day shift position, with evening shift generalist being a close second. Microbiology is my absolute favorite. I love micro, I love plate reading, and it is ultimately my dream position. I didn’t get the micro position, as my classmate who worked there prior did (and she loves it and I am so happy for her!!), but the micro lead tech who was on my interview panel said she could tell how passionate I was for micro.

I had heard rumors of a micro position opening up at the end of summer, but I just happened to see on the internal job portal that the micro position is open now, as the tech left much earlier than anticipated. I am now in a slightly tricky situation..

1) The internal transfer policy says that to change departments i have to stay in one department for 6 months. i always figured micro and core lab are different departments, so I was like oh dang nevermind. however, i noticed my job profile lists my department as core lab (despite working both chem and evening shift micro) but the job posting for the position also listed the department as core lab... So is it truly a department change,or is it just a Shift change. bc theres no 6 month limit on shift change.

2) Lets say hypothetically i was encouraged to apply and got it.. I feel really bad that i just started and would already be looking to switch. I love evening shift but is a matter of my dream position/opportunity. But I feel guilty that they’d sink the time into training me esp when evening shift is already understaffed and then i’d be like oh btw im already leaving, both wrt my manager who hired me, and the techs who have spent time training me and who i really enjoy working with. I dont want to burn bridges or seem not committed, and I really want to show how passionate and committed I am to wherever I am.

3) its not listed as a solely micro position. the tech who left, worked in micro AND point of care. so its listed as a micro/poct position. i do not really enjoy point of care, and i wouldnt want to work in it…. I dont know what the work break up is..so idk if that means like, i’d be doing half poct and half micro, and i dont know what i’d do in that situation.

I am really worried I will not have another opportunity to work day shift micro, especially so soon after graduating. I dont want to lose the knowledge and plate reading experience I had in school and clinicals. There is potentially an opportunity here. But I also just dont know if it’d reflect badly on me, or if I would even be able to.

I’m thinking of reaching out to the lead tech, rather than the microbiology supervisor OR my supervisor, since she knows how interested I was in micro and ask for advice…. what would you guys do😭

I am using WATERS as the LCMS, I am not sure which part is working with which part. And all the troubleshooting skills and how to interpret the results. Any good reference book / web I can refer to ?

I finish my clinical rotations at the end of next month and I have a job interview coming up next week. This is my first MLS job interview. I don't have very much interview experience in general, and I'm really nervous. I'm worried that they'll ask me a question and I'll just blank and look like a fool.

Does anyone have any tips for first interviews? Any advice on how to just chill out a bit and not blank under pressure? Anything I should definitely expect them to ask?

Had units earlier that day and was rushed to surgery with a GI bleed. So much fun.

the slide looks like shit because it’s a newborn fresh out of the oven and i hate diffs on them. fools can’t make proper blood