Occupational Video - Medical Laboratory Technologist
Summary
TLDRThe video script introduces the profession of a medical laboratory technologist, highlighting the role of analyzing patient samples to assist in diagnosis. Diane Gersy, a technologist at the Royal Alexander Hospital, discusses the daily responsibilities, such as examining body fluids, using equipment like centrifuges and osmometers, and the importance of being conscientious and scientifically adept. The script also touches on the educational path, potential job settings, and the personal fulfillment derived from helping patients, encouraging those interested to explore the field further on the Alice website.
Takeaways
- π¬ Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) analyze patient samples to assist doctors in diagnosing diseases.
- π₯ Diane Gersy works as an MLT at the Royal Alexander Hospital, focusing on examining body fluids and tissues.
- 𧬠MLTs handle patient samples such as blood, urine, and stool, and analyze them to review results for physicians.
- π The work in the lab operates 24/7, with MLTs covering various shifts to ensure continuous operation.
- π€ Communication with colleagues about shift changes is crucial for continuity in processing and analyzing samples.
- π MLTs perform maintenance and troubleshooting on lab equipment as part of their daily tasks.
- 𧴠Samples arrive at the lab through various methods, including direct patient visits, pneumatic tube systems, and lab assistants.
- π The use of a centrifuge separates serum and cells in samples for further analysis.
- π§ͺ Automated instruments in the lab use cassettes to process multiple blood samples for different counts and analysis.
- π‘ The osmometer is a manual technique used to measure the freezing point depression of samples to determine particle concentration.
- π MLTs can work in various departments such as chemistry, coagulation, hematology, or pursue roles in research, quality improvement, sales, or teaching.
- π¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ Diane finds the occupation rewarding, emphasizing the importance of MLTs in diagnosing patient diseases and states.
- π Becoming an MLT requires 2 to 4 years of postsecondary study, with additional information available on occupational profiles and related occupations.
Q & A
What is a medical laboratory technologist?
-A medical laboratory technologist is a professional who analyzes patient samples in various forms to assist doctors in diagnosing patients.
What motivated Diane Gersy to become a medical laboratory technologist?
-Diane Gersy was motivated to become a medical laboratory technologist after someone close to her was diagnosed with cancer, which led her to research the field and pursue a career in it.
What are the primary responsibilities of a medical laboratory technologist?
-The primary responsibilities include analyzing patient samples such as blood, urine, and stool, reviewing results, and providing these results to physicians for further diagnosis.
How does the typical day in a lab for a medical laboratory technologist look like?
-A typical day involves shifts that cover 24/7, starting with maintenance checks, processing samples, resulting them, and ensuring patient results are delivered to the wards. Troubleshooting and maintenance may also be required during the day.
How are patient samples collected and brought to the lab?
-Patient samples are collected through various means, including patients coming to the lab themselves, a pneumatic tube system, and lab assistants who collect samples from wards and bring them back to the lab.
What is the purpose of using a centrifuge in the lab?
-The centrifuge is used to separate serum and cells by spinning the samples at high speed, allowing the heavier particles to settle at the bottom of the tube.
What is the function of a cassette in the lab?
-A cassette holds blood samples and is used with certain lab instruments. The instrument takes the sample from the cassette, pierces it with a needle, and draws the sample for various counts and analysis.
What is the osmometer and how is it used in the lab?
-The osmometer is a manual technique used to measure the freezing point depression of a sample. It draws the sample into a pipet, freezes it, and provides a result based on the particles in the sample.
What are some career options for a medical laboratory technologist outside of working in a lab?
-Outside of working in a lab, a medical laboratory technologist can pursue careers in research, become a lab scientist, work in quality improvement, sales, or as a technical specialist for lab equipment companies, or even teach.
What are the educational requirements to become a medical laboratory technologist?
-Typically, 2 to 4 years of postsecondary study are required to become a medical laboratory technologist.
What kind of personality traits are best suited for a career as a medical laboratory technologist?
-A conscientious, reliable, organized individual with strong skills in science and math is best suited for a career as a medical laboratory technologist.
Outlines
π§ͺ Life of a Medical Laboratory Technologist
Diane Gersy, a medical laboratory technologist, shares her experience working at the Royal Alexander Hospital. Her role involves analyzing patient samples like blood, urine, and stool to assist physicians in diagnosing diseases. She was inspired to enter this field due to a personal connection with cancer, aiming to contribute to finding a cure. The daily routine in the lab includes shifts covering 24/7, processing samples, and addressing any maintenance or troubleshooting issues. The lab uses various equipment like centrifuges and osmometers for sample analysis. Diane also discusses the potential career paths in the field, such as research, sales, and teaching, and emphasizes the importance of being conscientious, reliable, and scientifically inclined for this occupation.
π Becoming a Medical Laboratory Technologist
This paragraph provides information on the educational requirements for aspiring medical laboratory technologists, typically ranging from 2 to 4 years of postsecondary study. It also directs interested individuals to the Alice website for more details on salary ranges and educational prerequisites. The paragraph further suggests exploring related occupations such as biological technician, combined laboratory and x-ray technologist, or medical laboratory assistant, and encourages visiting alberta.ca for career guidance and future planning.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Medical Laboratory Technologist
π‘Diagnosis
π‘Patient Samples
π‘Microscopic Examination
π‘Medical Research
π‘24x7 Operation
π‘Centrifuge
π‘Osmometer
π‘Cassettes
π‘Quality Improvement
π‘Educational Requirements
Highlights
Diane Gersy introduces herself as a medical laboratory technologist working at the Royal Alexander Hospital.
Medical laboratory technologists analyze patient samples to help doctors diagnose patients.
Diane was inspired to become a lab technologist after someone close to her was diagnosed with cancer.
Lab technologists handle patient samples such as blood, urine, and stool, analyzing them and reviewing results.
Physicians determine what is abnormal based on lab results, as they have the full patient history.
The lab operates 24/7 with 8-hour shifts covering various times to ensure continuous operation.
Technologists communicate with colleagues from previous shifts to handle any carryover tasks or issues.
Daily lab tasks include sample processing, result reporting, and addressing maintenance or troubleshooting as needed.
Samples arrive at the lab through various methods, including direct patient visits, pneumatic tube systems, and lab assistants collecting from wards.
The centrifuge is used in the lab to separate serum and cells by spinning samples at high speed.
Cassettes hold blood samples for certain instruments, which automatically draw and analyze samples.
The osmometer uses freezing point depression to measure particle concentration in samples.
Medical laboratory technologists can work in various departments such as chemistry, coagulation, and hematology.
Career options beyond lab work include research, lab science, quality improvement, sales, and teaching.
Diane finds her job rewarding as she can help diagnose patients' diseases and conditions.
The best personality for a lab technologist includes being conscientious, reliable, organized, and strong in science and math.
Becoming a medical laboratory technologist requires 2-4 years of postsecondary study.
Occupational profiles on Alice provide more information on salary ranges and educational requirements.
Related occupations include biological technician, combined laboratory and x-ray technologist, and medical laboratory assistant.
Transcripts
if working in a laboratory appeals to
you think about becoming a medical
laboratory technologist it's an
occupation with a number of Duties
examining body fluids and tissues
preparing tissue for microscopic
examination and conducting medical
research we began by talking to one
medical laboratory technologist here's
what we
[Music]
learned my name is Diane gersy and I'm a
medical laboratory technologist and I
work in the lab at the Royal Alexander
Hospital a medical laboratory
technologist is someone who analyzes
patient samples various forms all in
order to help the doctors give a
diagnosis to the
patient I decided I wanted to be a
laptech when I was in Greater lab
um somebody close to me was diagnosed
with cancer and I kind of thought about
you know the cure for cancer and then I
started to research how you would get
into that
field a medical laboratory technologist
is the front line handling the patient's
samples such as blood urine
stool we analyze the sample review those
results and the results go back to the
physician and they're ultimately who
decides it's up to them to determine
what's abnormal because we don't know
all the patient history
the typical day in in the lab would be
in this lab we run 24x7 so we cover all
the shifts they're mostly 8 hour shifts
7: to 3: 3: to 11: 11: till 7:00 in the
morning so we want to talk with the
people that are leaving their shift to
find out if there's any carryover is
there any patient results that I need to
finish off is there any instruments that
are token that need to be fixed or is a
service call coming in so once we get
that established then at the beginning
of the shift is usually when there is
some maintenance to do so we'll start
that then we'll start to process the
samples and that's pretty much what we
do all day is keep processing them
resulting them getting the patient
results to the wards if any maintenance
or troubleshooting comes up during the
day we handle that
too specimens come into the lab in a
variety of
ways they come by por
patients come themselves to have their
blood
drawn uh they come through a pneumatic
tube system we also have lab assistants
that go out onto the wards and collect
the samples and bring them back to the
lab in the cent fuge in the lab we use
it for separating serum and cells we put
the samples into the Cent fuge turn it
on it spins at a really high speed and
the heavier particles go to the bottom
of the tube
then when we take the samples out of the
center Fusion we can see the definition
between the serum and the
cells we use some cassettes in the lab
for some of our instruments it holds the
blood samples they we put them into the
cassette and then put them on the
instrument the instrument takes the
sample puts it on a rocker bed pulls it
along when it gets to a certain spot in
the instrument it stops and holds the
sample so that a needle can come up and
Pierce it and then it sucks up some of
the sample and it goes into the various
areas in the instrument for different
counts and
[Music]
Analysis the osmometer is a manual
technique that we use in the lab we draw
some sample into a pipet and put it into
the instrument and it measures it by
freezing point depression it freezes the
sample and gives us a result on the
particles based in the
sample well as a medical laboratory
technologist there are a variety of
departments that you can work in
chemistry coagulation
hematology and other than being a
labtech in a lab there's also research
you could go into be a lab scientist
quality improvement there's also sales
or being a
technical specialist for one of the
companies that sells lab equipment and
also uh
teaching in my free time I I have three
kids so I spend a lot of times with with
them so I'm quite involved in those
activities driving them Here There and
Everywhere
and the best kind of personality to be a
laptech is someone who is very
conscientious and reliable someone who
is organized fairly strong in sciences
and math I've found it to be very
rewarding I like to be able to help the
patients I felt that lap techs are
important in helping to diagnose the
patients diseases and disease States
I'm very happy that I chose this
occupation to become a medical
laboratory technologist you will
typically require 2 to 4 years of
postsecondary study if working as a
medical laboratory technologist
interests you there's more information
available including salary ranges and
educational requirements in the
occupational profiles on
Alice you may also be interested in the
related occupations of biological
technician combined laboratory and x-ray
technologist or medical laboratory
assistant learn more on the Alice
website and make the most of your future
visit us at alice. alberta.ca
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