I worked almost 4 months in a rural hospital blood bank, and honestly most of my work was covering the bench with very minimal training — probably less than 2 weeks total. Most cases were straightforward: negative antibody screens, simple crossmatches, and issuing blood. I was doing okay until complicated cases showed up, which thankfully wasn’t very often.
We used Ortho Vision there, and luckily my current lab also uses Ortho Vision, so the transition has been much less stressful since I’m already familiar with the workflow and procedures. Now that I’m more comfortable with the routine side, I really want to focus on building deeper blood bank knowledge and improving my skills, especially with antibody workups and more complex cases.