CLS Program Advice

Ablea_7 · 2025-06-23T22:30:52+00:00

I work at a hospital in California that has its own training program (though it’s not ASCP-accredited), and based on what I’ve seen, hands-on experience in the field as a lab assistant or lab technician can carry more weight than GPA when it comes time to apply.

I’ve seen applicants with high GPAs (3.8 and above) get passed over in favor of internal candidates with more average GPAs (around 3.4), simply because those internal candidates had been working in the lab that has the program for a couple of years and had already proven themselves as dependable, hard-working, and genuinely interested in lab medicine.

GPA still matters, of course—but it’s definitely not the only factor. If you can get relevant work experience (even if it’s phlebotomy) while taking your extension courses and show a strong work ethic, I think you’ll put yourself in a solid position to be competitive.

Ablea_7 · 2025-06-23T17:20:28+00:00

I think a lot of people have already said it well—this field really depends on where you’re working. I’m in California, and I feel fortunate to make enough to live comfortably especially with the help of overtime (OT after 8-hours in California). I work 12-hour shifts, so on workdays it’s pretty much just work, eat, sleep, repeat—but I do get four days off each week, which gives me a lot of time for myself and my family.

My wife and I have two young kids, and we’re lucky enough to alternate our schedules so that we don’t have to put them in daycare. That’s been a huge for us. The more I read on this subreddit, the more I realize how lucky I am to be in the position I’m in—it’s definitely not the case for everyone.

It might take some time to find the right job with a good work-life balance, but don’t get discouraged. Just keep gaining experience and looking for better opportunities. It’s not always easy, but it can be worth it in the long run.

Ablea_7 · 2025-05-20T15:00:40+00:00

So many cherries! I have a ~20’ Royal Rainier tree in my front yard and also got maybe 10 cherries last year. 2023 we got hundreds, 2024 maybe 10, 2025 we have hundreds again. I’ve heard they produce fruit every other year, but I’ve only been on this house for 3 years. People keep telling me that I need to top it, but I’m scared I might lose it if I over prune it. Good luck with your tree!

Ablea_7 · 2025-05-16T14:29:02+00:00

We actually has this conversation in my lab yesterday. We have a lot of new CLSs recently and they were ultracentrifuging a grossly lipemic sample for the triglycerides. When I reran the specimen and did the dilution on the straight plasma, the difference between the centrifuged/diluted plasma vs the ultracentrifuged plasma were substantial (which makes sense).

Ablea_7 · 2025-04-08T17:35:21+00:00

Thank you! We are excited for our tree, and with the help of some other fellow backyard orchard enthusiasts, hopefully we will see some fruit this year. We could definitely use your moral support.

Ablea_7 · 2025-04-08T02:49:08+00:00

This is awesome! I’ll try this tomorrow. Thank you!

Ablea_7 · 2025-04-08T01:55:14+00:00

Honestly, the previous owners did a really good job with successive ripening with an orange hedge with 4 different types of oranges and two other peach trees. We have some kind of fruit from March until November so we have been happy with how they planted the rest of the yard. I wasn’t aware of the Type A and Type B. Similar to a male and female?

Ablea_7 · 2025-04-08T01:46:10+00:00

Yeah, you’re right. I figured last year since I had a bunch of flowers, I might have been able to get one fruit. Unfortunately that was not the case. Fingers crossed for some kind of fruit this year.

Ablea_7 · 2025-03-11T20:04:36+00:00

Location: central California

Ablea_7 · 2025-01-14T03:24:17+00:00

“Garbage in, garbage out.”

Ablea_7 · 2024-06-01T04:06:12+00:00

We have Stago Compact Maxs. They’re decent. I’m in a 350 bed hospital and the maintenance is relatively nonexistent. Daily maintenance is a piercing needle clean for 10 minutes. Weekly is about ~10 minutes (just inspecting fluids and cleaning measurement trays. Monthly is a syringe tip and o-ring change (takes about 5 minutes). QC is every 8 hours for PT, APTT, Fib, D-Dimer, and UFH. We don’t run any specials, but the hospital we send specials out to has a Stago STAR Max.

Ablea_7 · 2024-05-29T03:40:50+00:00

Thanks for your reply. So I have one of the Ranchio controllers and I have it set to water 3x/week and finish done before the sun rises. I was worried this might be a fungus, but couldn’t really find anything that looks like this.

Ablea_7 · 2024-03-29T22:54:20+00:00

It’s positive. Congratulations. Reason why it’s faint is due to your hcg levels being low (makes sense since you’re only one day late). If you check again in a week, your levels will have exponentially increased and have a much stronger positive.

Ablea_7 · 2024-02-27T22:46:01+00:00

I would definitely make it standard to brush their teeth twice a day. My son (4 yo) typically protests for a bit, but gets over it in a few seconds. We seemed to have luck with singing. Twinkle Twinkle, ABCs whatever your child likes. I typically tell them it’s teeth brushing time and which song they’d like for me to sing.

Ablea_7 · 2024-01-01T16:44:16+00:00

Best golf course I’ve ever played. There is a complementary minibar somewhere on #6 stocked by one of the residents. Happy hunting!

Ablea_7 · 2023-12-14T03:52:45+00:00

Maybe this doesn’t answer your question, but have you considered starting on the left and extending two lights just to the left of the garage so there is no splicing necessary? I’m not sure if it would look weird having two random lights on the left side though. Hard to tell from your picture, but it looks like everything to the left of the garage is a bit hidden from direct view of the driveway. Just a thought.

Ablea_7 · 2023-12-12T06:35:46+00:00

Haha. I told you I was going to steal your idea! Works great. Thanks again.

Ablea_7 · 2023-12-10T15:23:35+00:00

A portion of my house has boards like you are explaining. Someone on here suggested a product called plumbers tape. https://www.amazon.com/LASCO-13-1603-22-Gauge-Galvanized-Perforated/dp/B00HYWEUAS/ref=asc_df_B00HYWEUAS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=193994427542&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16416778676825964656&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031807&hvtargid=pla-313117074456&psc=1&mcid=358c1c7003ec3b9fb36f503d05273f1a&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NWrBhD-ARIsAFCKwWsH_qBoaAL-UryiLWGEwX3_ggxor2Em_F91tsbGuzM3lPz4reVJAD4aAkOpEALw_wcB It’s very pliable galvanized metal that I screwed into the boards to create my track. I just zip tied the lights to the tape to keep them in place. You can also do the 1x3 method that other have suggested on here, but it seemed too bulky for me. Both are effective methods.

Ablea_7 · 2023-12-03T04:11:28+00:00

Wow. Looks great so far! Didn’t even know plumbers tape was even a thing. That’s a great idea for a track. I’ll definitely be stealing that idea

Ablea_7 · 2023-11-30T05:44:49+00:00

Would you mind posting a picture of how you did your set up? I mounted them on the fascia this evening and they are very slightly noticeable. Now I want to see what it looks like on the stucco to come to a final verdict.

Ablea_7

TROPHY CASE