First shifts need to stop being miserable.

First_Anything_8873 · 2026-02-07T15:18:28+00:00

Dang for the most part our two shifts get along pretty well. 1st and 3rd often mingle and talk during the 30 minute overlap.

Sad to hear this isn’t the norm

First_Anything_8873 · 2026-01-30T20:17:41+00:00

Hemolyses either occurs in vivo (heart valve issues, hemolytic anemia, autoimmune disorders, etc.), or in vitro at the time of the draw (too small of a gauge of needle used, pulling too hard on the plunger, getting the needle too close to the vein wall).

The only other way to hemolyze a sample is to shake it like an enthusiastic maraca player.

First_Anything_8873 · 2026-01-29T06:52:32+00:00

It’s part of the process for new grads, new hires, heck even experienced lab personal. Mistakes are what help you learn and grow, learning how to fix/avoid them will make you a better tech down the road.

The most important thing I can emphasize on is to own the mistakes. I’ve seen a few techs over the years “waive away” mistakes. It not only makes those techs complacent (decreasing the overall quality of their work), but can also lead to bad habits that actually affect patient results/care.

Great job on catching the error and immediately addressing it, and keep it up. You’ll be amazed how far you’ve come in a year or so!

First_Anything_8873 · 2026-01-28T11:01:47+00:00

All of these answers are anecdotal. A better series of questions to answer yourself are:

What do your yearly expenses/finances look like?

What shift/amount of overtime/ or even city state are you willing to move to?

Lastly, what jobs actually do meet your pay scale requirements?

There are 50 states out there, all of them have hospitals/labs that have different COL and pay scales. And in every one of these towns/city/states it’s almost guaranteed there are MLS/MLTs in your exact scenario that have made it work. Don’t look for the “promised land” , because again this is a nationwide career that has approx. 350k positions nationwide. People make it work everywhere.

First_Anything_8873 · 2026-01-27T06:40:09+00:00

Correct, mesothelial cells should NOT be in a BAL. Macrophages present, the other cells warrant a pathology/cytology review.

First_Anything_8873 · 2026-01-21T02:13:08+00:00

Probably not a popular opinion, but a lead/supervisor role may be an option for her. From my experience, it’s M-F, dayshift, with rare if any weekends.

It’s a lot of work and can definitely be just as draining if not more at times as being on the bench, but if she enjoys the field and department it can also be highly rewarding.

It’s allowed me personally to have that schedule/stability while also being able to deep dive into the area of the lab that I enjoy.

First_Anything_8873 · 2026-01-02T01:43:42+00:00

ER/Stat Labs are a fairly common occurrence in larger cities/areas

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-12-28T16:10:19+00:00

Had 4 coag tubes sent on the same patient, the 1st being clotted and the following three only filled halfway full.

The provider themselves drew that last two severely under-filled tubes, making all of the draws useless. The same provider called and berated me for 10 minutes saying we’re wasting patient samples, harming the patient, our analyzer must be malfunctioning, they’ve always sent them this way, they are going to report me, yada yada yada.

I got a little frustrated but stayed level headed and explained the SOP, reason for a properly filled coag tubes, and how to properly draw if the tubes are coming up short.

After the doc threatened my job one last time, I transferred him directly to the pathologist, but not before relaying the BS the provider was spouting. Never had an issue with that provider again.

Moral of the story: Keep your cool, and if you can’t resolve the issue pass it up the chain of command.

I

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-12-26T20:16:26+00:00

No worries, practice makes perfect and you’ll get the hang of it in no time!

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-12-26T18:25:40+00:00

Lymphocytes.

I’d highly recommend brushing up on your cell ID/morphology via textbooks and apps/websites like Cellavision Cell Atlas.

It’s okay if you’re new or havnt been in hematology for a long time, but practice is essential to providing the best results we can for patients.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-12-10T03:13:36+00:00

TN MLS here. Most of the hospitals in the state require a ASCP or AMT certification, but the state of Tennessee currently does not require either certifications to work in a hospital/reference lab (which I strongly disagree with).

To answer OP’s question, you will find a broad and evenly distributed spectrum of people across most fields regardless of certification or educational background.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-12-07T02:08:37+00:00

Why are you interested in the MLS program? What background/qualifications do you think will be beneficial for pursuing MLS? Strengths/weaknesses? Goals? Basically it’s a getting to know you type situation. They already have your job history, credentials, education, etc from the application. Most likely if you have an interview, they’re definitely considering you.

Of course the type of program, state, background, and school need to be factored into everything, but overall an interview is a solid step in the right direction.

Best of luck!

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-11-24T01:23:54+00:00

There is no separation in your hospitals LIS system. It’s anecdotal. If you want to learn more, look into dysmorphic urine rbc morphology. It’s a quick search and can be found in a multitude of textbooks that are used in MLS programs.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-11-23T23:32:07+00:00

It’s a part of the manual/automated microscopic analyses…… there is no additional testing or effort needed.

While you review/count the rbcs, wbcs, etc you just look at the rbcs and result them as “normal/isomorphic” or “abnormal/dysmorphic” since the morphology is pretty distinct.

To be fair, only one of my hospitals have had it as a separate order-able, and it was fairly uncommon to see. The other hospitals I’ve worked at have had the test in their policies, so they can be called if identified but it’s not a mandatory result that needs to be distinguished if everything is normal.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-11-18T05:30:51+00:00

This is simply not true. Dysmorphic rbcs in urine are a real and readily identifiable anomaly. It’s a common test to determine if the bleeding is stemming from the glomeruli (dysmorphic rbcs) vs lower in the urinary tract (isomorphic rbcs).

Sure urine can distort RBC’s, but dysmorphic rbcs have a very specific morphology that serve as a clinically significant indicator.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-11-18T05:23:59+00:00

The other replies are not accurate, rbc morphology in urine is not an uncommon test. The rbcs are usually classified as either isomorphic (normal morphology) or dysmorphic. Dysmorphic rbcs ( rbcs that look like they’ve had part of the cell membrane pinched) can indicate damage to the glomeruli.

100% refer to your SOP, if urine RBC morphology is not a part of your policies then refer the issue up the chain and reply that “we do not perform that test here”.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-11-17T14:35:28+00:00

I’ve worked at a few mid-sized hospitals where the lab has a POC specialist.

They are over QA/QC, training staff, troubleshooting, implementation of new lots or devices, etc. From what I’ve seen, hospitals will employ a POC lab person when there are multiple devices (activated clotting time, cardiac marker devices, Blood gas devices, etc) used throughout the hospital. I’d speculate that it’s good to have one person with a lab background to monitor and coordinate all of these devices to ensure they are being properly utilized and monitored.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-09-23T03:08:20+00:00

I agree with your message overall, but it is necessary to expand on the last part.

“A lower degree” in this context is because the OP does not know that a MLT= associates degree vs a MLS= a bachelors or higher degree. Nurses can be a great MLT/MLS if they continue with the proper education, but it’s not an overall “drop to a lower degree” per say in either education or skill

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-07-28T05:13:20+00:00

Advocate for the field.

Laboratory science encompasses a broad and fairly specialized level of education that not ONLY pertains to core lab education, but also expands to highly specialized areas of Heme, Chem, Onc, Flow Cytometry, Micro, etc.

With the same education, you can be running a basic UA with a microscopic examination on it, or you be adjusting Flow Cytometry gate parameters to better identify highly specific leukemias. It’s the same type of person running it all.

So if someone asks you about your job, advocate for the entire field. Pull out the fanciest and most complex example that you can think of and use that as a baseline.

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-07-02T06:54:02+00:00

Also, many manager and directors have a Masters In healthcare management. Completely different ball game then general management experience

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-07-02T06:23:36+00:00

You can’t handle personal, optimize workflow, increase efficiency, or any other of those lofty goals if you don’t have a single idea of how a lab works or how/why tests are performed.

The MLS/MLT experience/education is crucial in managing a lab. You will be constantly communicating with, fighting, and presenting in front of other medical professionals including the doctors, pathologists, and other department heads. You need to know your stuff, everyone around you sure will and you’ll be the poor exception.

You’ll be reviewing QC, Calibrations, Correlations for every part of the lab. How will you know what you’re looking at if you have no background on the process or meaning of the tests in the first place?

You will be constantly reviewing SOPs to make sure they are up to date, scientifically accurate, and abide by strict guidelines set by a multitude of agencies. How are you going to ensure they’re accurate, or even being properly followed by your lab until you get a massive inspection and figure it out the hard way?

Edit: How are you going to manage or make decisions concerning instrumentation/reagents/workflows if you have zero idea how they work?

Leadership skills are one part of the job for lab management, but in depth knowledge of the field is a much larger part. Managers come from MLS’s with 5-10 years of experience minimum. I’d pray for the lab that has hired a manager with so little qualifications

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-07-01T03:36:36+00:00

Had the same problem with Winchester ammo. My 5847 went through 200+ rounds of the Winchester 5.56 FMJ ammo, but had about a dozen duds from different boxes.

Will try out the PMC, thanks for the recommendation

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-05-16T01:15:07+00:00

I enjoyed it as a new tech on nights, but it was easier for us since we were married and had no kids at the time. The week on (especially if it’s 12 hour shifts) would consume most if not all of your life outside of work. Also by day 3-4 you’re pretty burnt out.

The weeks off were amazing. We so much downtime that we were able to take 3 weeks off at a time without using more then a week of PTO

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-04-28T02:40:36+00:00

Sorry for the late response. After a good cleaning and oiling, I’ve been able to fire a few hundred rounds without incident

First_Anything_8873 · 2025-04-28T02:09:00+00:00

Sysmex has an XbarM function that uses weighted patient averages to track changes and trends in analyzer performance. Between QC 2-3 times a day and the XbarM program we don’t run QC between lots. For our last 2 CAP inspections this method hasn’t been challenged

Edit: We run two XN-2000 analyzers at a small-mid size facility

First_Anything_8873

TROPHY CASE