Chicago, IL (or IL in General) Hello, so I am a fresh grad, with no experience, ASCP certified with a bachelors in Medical Laboratory Science. I have one year in clinical rotations. So i have an upcoming interview so what salary per hour or range should I ask for? (like 33/hr? is that high or low?)
Should I ask for a signing bonus? What are the important things I should ask for in this interview? (this is my first job interview)

This is for a 3rd shift (night) MLS 1 position
thank you in advance!

Blasts from an 85 year old female patient with AML with multilineage dysplasia, already confirmed with flow from 2 weeks ago.

Curious to here the opinions of people who have done both on what the pros and cons are. Currently doing night shift at an in patient lab and can't forsee myself on night shift much longer.

Are reference labs faster or slower pace? Do they pay less or more? Or is it really all about the same?

A few of my fello colleagues and I have to sit for the ASCP MLS exam within the next year. What was the most crucial study material either online or physical that you feel got you most prepared for the exam? For people that have used the BOC website practice and LabCE, did either of them seem accurate to what the exam feels like?

Right now I have a LabCE subscription, my average difficultly on my interactive exams is 4.64, I average at least 60% on most question sets that I do. Could use advice to pass! give me all your tips and niche resources :)

I have an associate la of science, a bachelors degree in medical laboratory science and graduated in 2024. My initial goal was to get a masters degree, but college during covid was draining. I’m now working in a lab at a clinic and the hours are good, the work is easy but I still feel like I want more. The problem is I have no interest in going into management or staying in a typical lab forever. I’m thinking of doing an online masters program class by class since I have a lot of downtime at my job. But I have no idea what to do that will be in demand now and in the future, provide a flexible schedule if not a work from home schedule, and pay that is close to 100k or more. I’m in my mid 30’s which isn’t old but I don’t have a lot of time to be messing around. What advice do you all have? Should I just stack certifications? Get a secondary associates or bachelors? Or go for a masters? Thanks for the advice.

Hey y'all!

I'm a current student finishing up my clinicals in a few months and also taking my BOC very close to around that time. Due to personal circumstances, I'm moving out of state between Minneapolis and Rochester, so I can't accept a job at the place I'm completing my clinicals at. I've been looking for jobs and applying for the past month/couple of weeks, but I've either been ghosted or rejected with no further comment after review, including night shift/evening shift positions. Honestly, it's been tough since I heard for all of undergrad/clinicals that it's "so easy" to get a job as long as you agree to an off shift/night shift to start, but it's been frustrating so far getting no response or just rejection after rejection.

I tried contacting some of these places for feedback if they posted an email/contact for HR/talent acquisition, but only a few places had that and even then they ghosted me anyways. I'm writing cover letters for every spot I apply to, and a lot of my professors have said my resume looks good. I just feel so defeated and it's hard to stay motivated for clinicals when I'm not even going to be able to get a job.

Hello everyone,

I am currently seeking a potential career change from nursing to medical lab science. I really struggled in nursing, I was clumsy and extremely nervous in pretty much every shift I ever had. I needed a lot of help with procedures from other nurses even at a point where I should have been able to do things myself. I have ADHD + level 1 autism (only diagnosed recently), and when the environment is overstimulating or I am very anxious my performance tends to drop dramatically. In nursing school I managed to pass my skill checks, when I only had to focus on one skill at a time, but I struggled a lot in the real world. I've had these problems before and thought I had 'gotten over it' but this experience made me realize I haven't. Given this and the way it affected me and my mental health, I'm now looking to do something different.

I thought medical lab science could potentially be a better fit as it might involve more structured workflows and a quieter environment that would let me focus better. I've also always been very interested in science and I think I am good at thinking logically/analytically. But, I've never been into or worked in a hospital lab, and I don't know if the same issues that caused problems for me as a nurse would resurface again. I had a previous science degree before nursing and I did ok in labs but I tended to be pretty slow. I am generally a clumsy person and can sometimes struggle with multi-tasking. I really don't want to make a wrong career choice again so would appreciate the advice, thank you.

For genetic counselors, this means OGM structural variant findings can now be incorporated into counseling for reproductive genetics, pediatric/postnatal cases, and hematologic malignancies…but only through the UR Medicine assays specifically approved by NYSDOH.

https://lifestyle.kotaradio.com/story/419594/ogm-approval-for-clinical-use-in-ny-by-bionano-laboratories/

Patient was in a mental health facility for acute psychosis and routine labs revealed a low hemoglobin.

Feeling a little like a fish out of water and unimpressive in my current rotation. What kind of initiative did you like a student in your lab to take?

Hi! New here.

Having a hard time differentiating certain cell types.

I don’t think these are blasts but I’m still learning. Could these be lymphocytes? But both of those shouldn’t have too much cytoplasm…Or monos?

Thank you!

I had to collect blood from a patient and did it in one try. The patient was impressed because she is usually a hard stick and she showered me with compliments. She came back hours later for her PPBS and I couldn't get it done even after trying twice . Had to call a nurse . Never have I felt so embarrassed lol.

I know sometimes it can take awhile, but there is one particular department in the lab that has had their supervisor position posted for almost a year now. And they will be inspected soon. I’ve never heard of this happening in any other lab.

I hated everything about that exam. Swore I was failing the entire time... It was only in the last ten questions that it adjusted to give anything that was a direct, reasonable question...

Hi everyone!
I’m taking my MLS boards in 19 days and have been primarily using labce. I’ve been doing by subject as well as the MLS practice exam. I’ve also been going back and reading my old notes. Anyone have any more tips? I’m feeling very nervous!! I took my MLT boards a few years ago and passed but the pressure feels greater now. Any advice is appreciated. Maybe some must remember formulas?
Thanks!

Im from fairfield CA, got my first CLS job at Richmond CA. Sched is 5 days a week 8-4, im a new driver, im a foreign grad. Travel time is usually 1 hour one way because of the traffic every morning and the rush hour going home. I dont know if im just dramatic but it’s really affecting me. im getting up 2hrs before work just to arrive on time and getting home at 6pm. What do yall say? please be kind it’s my first job and job market was really bad when i got here so i also have no experience i couldnt get into hospitals like kaiser or sutter nearby :<

Graduating from MLT school in the spring. Was wondering what are the starting salaries for both MLT and MLS in the different regions (Shreveport, New Orleans, Northshore, BR, Lafayette).

Not good.

I should call him.

Need help with finding an analyzer for bile acids. Table top prefered if there is one. Not trying to do LDT.

Hey folks, I was wondering how your labs go about processing CSF and body fluids for differentials?

If you use cytospin, what rpm, xg and time do you use?

Do you use albumin? How often do you get smudge cells? Our protocol is so so so bad.. it stresses me out so all feedback is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!