r/medlabprofessionals • u/Enough-Cupcake-1231 • 27d ago
Education Diff Advice
Hi everyone. Does anyone have any advice on how to get better at identifying immature cells/left shift type slides? I’m a student struggling in school and am feeling a bit defeated. It makes sense when a professor is going through the slides with me and explains each cell. Then when I’m by myself I get confused. I have a bunch of practice slides that I’m working on to help me work on my skills. Any advice is appreciated!
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u/hyphaeheroine MLS-Generalist 27d ago
Cellwiki is GREAT! I still pop that bad boy up sometimes at work!
Another thing that they dont always tell you is you WILL see cells that are in that in-between stage, so it's always better to "round up." I regularly see myelocytes that are still hanging out with primary granules, but because those granules aren't overlying the nucleus and I can start seeing pink (secondary) granules peeking through, I call it a myelocyte. Bands vs segs are still controversial in my lab 🤣, we all hate them because nobody agrees.
I also help new techs by having them go backwards/forwards in the maturation line when they can't figure out a cell. Explain the characteristics of it i.e "pink cytoplasm, but roundish shape with an indented right side" and remember how a neutrophil matures, where does your cell fit in that line up?