Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology Questions?
Discount Medical Scrubs
I am majoring in clinical laboratory science at my local university. I have a few questions.
What do most employers require as far as dress code? I *think* our program requires scrubs and a lab coat.
Which type of employer would allow me to do all of the CLS/MT jobs? I like variety. I understand most hospitals make you specialize.
Do you actually use the math and science you learn working up to the clinicals, or are these courses all theory and never useful?
How enjoyable is blood banking compared to working a hospital or physician's office?
What's the highest math you use when you're working in the field? Would statistics be better than calculus (I have the option to choose)?
Is the specialist exam you take after 3 years difficult? Do you have to study for it, or is it mostly just what you learned on the job? I want to know whether to continually review or just focus on work.
Tags: 3 years, clinical laboratory science, clinicals, cls, discount medical scrubs, dress code, Hospitals, job, Jobs., local university, math and science, specialist exam, Statistics
November 24th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
The dress code required will depend on where you work. Hospitals and doctor’s office’s typically require scrubs. Independent ref labs (LabCorp, Quest etc), may have a more relaxed dress code and allow business casual attire. No matter where you work, there will always be some common dress code requirements related to safety. These include no open toed shoes, no ties, no open back shoes, safety glasses, fluid proof lab coats etc.
Again, where you work will dictate the areas of the lab you will work in. Larger hositals do tend to require that you work in 1 area, while smaller ones will require you to be more versatile and cover all sections. Doctor’s office labs usually have 1 tech covering all sections (if they are a small operation)
Yes, the math and science are very useful, especially as you advance your career and move into supervisory jobs that may have a more technical component (ie QA).
Blood Bank is excellent, if you like that type of work. I worked as a generalist for 2 years before moving to a Blood Bank job. I worked Blood Bank with some cross over to heme/chem for 10 years. It is all personal preference on what section you prefer. Starting as a generalist is a good choice so you can decide for yourself what section to specialize in.
Statistics wins hands down over calculus in the lab. It is very useful with instrument correlation studies, QC studies, QC data crunching etc.
The ASCP exam is tough! You will need to study as the exam includes both practical information that you learned in your clinical rotation and also the theory (ie name the sugars that make up the Rh factor on Red Blood Cells).
Good Luck!
November 24th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
1) Usually with this program it is scrubs and a lab coat.
2) It would be major research labs, labs, hospitals, larger clinics, schools etc.
3) They would be helpful. With a lot of research and lab stuff math and sciences are always an asset, and in most times required unless you are an assistant.
4) This is just one type of job that you’re responsible for doing. You can also work in microbiology, and other lab sciences as well.
5) It would be probably 1st or 2nd year math. Statistics would be apporpriate if you were doing research.
6) This one I cannot answer as much, as it is more knowledge that I have, but it would be like an licencing test where it would be challenging, and would provide scenarios etc., within the questions.