Medical Lab Technician

• There are four departments in the clinical laboratory to work in: Chemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, and Blood Bank
• In Chemistry, techs analyze the liquid portion of blood and other body fluids (urine, spinal fluid, etc.) to determine if a patient has a disease. Chemistry is the most automated part of the lab, with over 90 percent of the work being done by instruments. The tech's job is to interpret the results that the instrument gives you, and  report those results to the patient’s health care provider. This is important for diagnosing diabetes, electrolyte imbalances, infectious diseases like HIV, liver diseases, and many others.
• In Hematology, techs analyze the cellular part of blood and body fluid. They identify and count various types of blood cells, and check them for abnormalities.  Around 70 percent of this is done by a machine, where the other 30 percent is done under the microscope. This is how the techs diagnose diseases such as anemia, sickle cell disease, infections, and many others. Coagulation and urinalysis is also generally combined with Hematology.In the coagulation department, techs look at blood clot formations, which is especially important when monitoring blood thinning drugs.  When working in urinalysis, techs look at at urine to diagnose urinary tract infections, kidney stones, and other diseases.
• Microbiology deals with the identification of bacteria, fungi, and parasites.  It also focuses on selecting the proper antibiotics to treat infections. Micro is about 40 percent automated, with most of the work being done under the microscope or in a biological fume hood.  
• Blood Bank is where blood is tested in preparation for transfusion. In blood bank, techs test patient blood and donor blood to make sure that they are compatible with each other. This is a critical department because giving someone the wrong blood can very easily kill them. This department is the least automated, with over 90 percent of the work being done by hand.
• All four departments are critical to diagnosing and providing care for patients

Soft Skills

• Active listening and communication
• Critical thinking
• Detail oriented: instructions for performing tests must be followed exactly

Technical Skills

• Science knowledge
• Billing software
• Medical software: E.g. Electronic medical record EMR software, MEDITECH software, Test result delivery software, Test routing software
• Dexterity: Medical lab technicians must work precisely with needles and other laboratory instruments

• Hospital
• Health Clinic
• Health Counselling Service
• Research Laboratory
• Blood Bank

• Balancing time spent at school, with family and friends, and studying for difficult classes
• Keep in mind MLT students have to tackle some of the most technically detailed classes that are offered at an associate's level

Like most medical and scientific fields, Clinical Technicians and Technologists continue to have greater need for computer literacy, including basic coding skills. As specific knowledge about health concerns increases, there is also a greater need for these professionals to narrow their studies into specialties.

• Science and Math activities and experiments.
• Pretending to be a doctor or scientist.
• Helping people who were in trouble.
• Repetitive tasks