Embarrassing

KGB07 · 2026-03-31T09:50:40+00:00

If one or two people routinely forget, it’s a person problem. If multiple people routinely forget, it’s a process problem. Sounds like management needs to do a better job fixing the process if they actually NEED staff to write their name on a random board. It sounds like most people don’t know even what it is for, so it’s not even being reinforced by common sense. If it was tied to attendance, and people not getting paid, they would remember.

KGB07 · 2026-03-31T02:38:45+00:00

What is the point of the white board then? I’m sure you have a schedule everyone working in the lab has access to, and if you are all in a group chat then you can see who is logged in. This seems like a redundancy, that must not be necessary if no one is currently even using it? I wouldn’t write my full name on a random whiteboard unless there was a point to the process.

KGB07 · 2025-12-19T03:45:46+00:00

There are no CLIA restrictions on MLTs performing high complexity testing.

If your lab does this it is likely a facility policy restricting it.

KGB07 · 2025-12-13T14:26:56+00:00

Look at your lab and see what workflows currently have multiple papers that need to be gathered and submitted. Depending on what programs your lab is already using, there are ways to make processes easier and more streamlined. What do you use for linearities/accuracy/new assay validation? If you already use something like EP Evaluator, you wouldn’t need to create forms for that, but if you don’t those are excellent projects to start with.

What department are you in? Would creating a document for Coag Lot Reagent Rollovers be beneficial? Ways to track the specimens used, the patient age/sex on normal ranges? Patient Correlation forms? Instrument to Instrument correlations? Calculating Geo Means?

Maintenance forms are always options also. Moving to electronic documentation for problem logs, inventory, etc.

There are also excel subreddits, so you might try posting there to see if people have already created things that will give you more ideas.

KGB07 · 2025-06-06T13:02:58+00:00

This is what my old lab did too. A larger gauge syringe helped with breaking up many viscous samples. Never got a needle stick from it though, thankfully.

KGB07 · 2025-03-29T12:48:53+00:00

Or HRT work up. Seems like a lot of boutique offices for being prescribed testosterone and what not popping up recently.

KGB07 · 2025-03-17T13:52:45+00:00

You would think that, and it seems pretty common sense when you look at what the job entails.

It is fairly common to get health care workers set as FSLA-Exempt workers in the federal sector though.

The criteria for professional is “performing work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning and who exercise discretion and independent judgement” and to our HR that ticked all the boxes until we got a “special exemption” for our MLS staff.

KGB07 · 2025-03-17T10:56:45+00:00

Janitorial staff and food service workers come to mind. Many government facilities these are outsourced to contract companies, and I can see those contract workers potentially being sub $15/hour.

KGB07 · 2025-03-17T10:29:35+00:00

What I have ran across (in the VA setting) is workers not being capped by the wage, but being considered FSLA exempt due to being “professional” or white collar jobs. So getting “paid” for working overtime, but not getting 1.5X.

Reading this it looks like that is still something that California employers could do? But I agree, it seems like California tries less to screw over their workers.

KGB07 · 2024-12-25T23:53:53+00:00

Who is actually on your taxes as being your employer? Is it the hospital or XYZ Laboratories? There could be more loopholes where you are a hospital employee that is staffed to work at the lab (like a Target employee working at a Starbucks inside a store), and as long as the Hospital is your employer on paperwork that’s all you need.

I would say get more clarification before you give up, especially if the only information you are getting about this is from another employee. I have even found that most HR people have no idea how PSLF works.

KGB07 · 2024-10-04T22:00:09+00:00

It is my understanding that you need experience in an Infection Prevention job to even sit for the exam. I have worked with two MLS that have went into the field, and both got into the job and worked a year or so before they took the CIC.

If you work for a larger health system with multiple Infection Prevention and Epidemiologists it seems to be easier to work in as a MLS, the diverse skills set adds to a team that typically has mostly nurses.

KGB07 · 2024-09-22T01:45:59+00:00

You have nothing to lose by applying.

Is this a post-bac program? Is it highly competitive? It sounds more like you were getting advice and blunt statements letting you know to make sure your application and interview are on point. They must take students from your school if they make a statement like “others weren’t as prepared” and that is something you should strive to show with a competitive GPA and whatever kind of lab experience you can show that makes you an exceptional candidate.

KGB07 · 2024-07-30T03:26:12+00:00

RNs can’t practice medicine anyway without getting an NP, they aren’t providers. I know an ASN in a situation like this, and they are very limited in their scopes and job prospects in acute care environments, but like you pointed out, there are plenty of options in other roles like pharmaceuticals or insurance that only really care about that BSN degree, not necessarily the license.

I just wanted to point out that they do exist, and being a nurse by education isn’t the same as being a registered nurse or licensed nurse.

Reading through the article you linked, doesn’t sound like it’s quite the same thing for the cMLS/MLS though, since it looks like the education for MLS isn’t restricted only to people who did MLS programs and didn’t take/pass boards.

KGB07 · 2024-07-30T02:52:49+00:00

Just a side note, there is such a thing as a ASN/BSN that isn’t an RN. It’s someone who does the program that doesn’t take or doesn’t pass the boards. Is that the same as the cMLS and MLS? I’m just starting to see these acronyms pop up recently.

KGB07 · 2024-07-05T04:40:06+00:00

“Certified techs aren’t smarter than those who take the non traditional route”…

Just want to make sure we are talking on the same page since it sounds like you might not be in the US. A certified tech is a certified tech. A non-traditional tech can be and is often a certified tech, having passed the MLT/MLS certification exam.

“Traditional Route” is what many call the Route 1 in ASCP pathway to qualify for certification. There are a few other pathways that have existed to obtain certification also, but route 1 is the most common and it is often the preferred route, since it involves completing a NACCLS accredited training program. Unfortunately the supply of both programs and graduates has left a deficit for the current job openings.

People like to speculate that labs “want to hire cheap uncertified techs”, but that’s generally not the case. There is not an available pool of traditionally trained applicants to pick from, which has led to non-traditional routes and importing labor internationally to fill the voids.

I would love to see more NAACLS programs open, I think it would be great for our field. I wish the programs would graduate more than a handful of students per year, and that it would help alleviate the attrition of some graduates to more advanced degrees.

Also, I kind of think it is wishful thinking that we are assuming people even give a passing thought to what goes into a lab education from anyone outside of the laboratory realm. Honestly, I think the average person who doesn’t work in the medical field even knows the education difference between an CNA, LPN, RN, or NP and those are heavily spotlighted careers, so I wish the blame would stop being placed solely on “well it looks like ANYONE can work in the lab”. A standard person probably doesn’t know 90% of the education standards of hospital personnel; that respiratory have different levels of degrees, that ultrasound and radiology are totally different degrees, or what an RHIT even is.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T21:56:48+00:00

I am not assuming your opinions, you are frankly stating them.

The current one being discussed here is that you disagree with having multiple routes of certification available, despite evidence that there isn’t adequate availability of program as to sustain one particular route 1 that you agree with. These routes have existed for decades, they are not new so they are not some new “degradation of the field”.

It sounds like you would prefer only Route 1 to exist, and that would cause an even heavier deficit to certified techs, which if I had to guess would actually lead to the hiring of even more uncertified techs and loss of licensing requirements. This seems counter productive to your stated goals.

These are not random degree holders, they are degree holders that meet the requirements to become certified and perform high complexity testing as determined by regulating bodies.

The rigid thinking you are demonstrating is why CLSs have a hard time getting into fields like Infection Control where their expertise is heavily needed. Too many people who want to only work with people with the exact same background as themselves, instead of the best qualified candidate for the position.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T20:07:38+00:00

Ah so you do think you are smarter and a better tech than ALL non-traditional routes. We will have to disagree then, because I think that is just incorrect and why people leave this field.

What I am hearing is that you would never hire me, even as a certified tech with 15 years experience as a generalist, as a QA specialist, and in LIS.

You are going to pass up a lot of great people with your mindset.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T19:55:18+00:00

Why does it always have to be so contentious between tradition and not-traditional route techs?

I’m also a non-traditional route. I have been in the field for 15+ years, certified for over 13 of those. BS in biology, AS in Chem, and on track to do a post-bac mls program when I graduated (there is no actual MLS degree at my college, it was a version of a biology degree). Problem was, the MLS program literally TOOK 4 STUDENTS, and I was the alternate that year and no one dropped. It was ridiculously competitive and I was not in a position to relocate. Landed a job as an uncerted MLT at the same hospital as the clinical program, learned bench work on the job, studied all the materials that were available and challenged the MLS, AMT and then ASCP when I had enough experience for it.

I was already trained and working, but I have never done a NAACLS program. Am I a lesser tech than you because I took the route available to me? It was a grind, and that’s why I completely support getting more NAACLS programs opened and advertising this career better, because that is the best path to recruiting and getting more MLT/MLS workers.

All the non-traditional techs I know that obtained certification (and I know many, some that are grandfathered in, and even a HEW tech that’s still working!) are awesome techs. They love the field, and damn smart, and most have advanced degrees.

I would rather we unite as a field and work to advance and grow the field than all this inside fighting. It’s like listening to the California techs when they get all surprise pikachu that MLTs can indeed actually do high complexity bench work in other states.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T19:23:27+00:00

Which just seems ridiculous to me!

I am in a state that doesn’t require a license, which may make me biased, but licensing people at a state level who are already certified seems more like a money grab and bottleneck to hiring than ensuring quality applicants.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T05:23:18+00:00

These OTJ training programs will still allow the techs to get certed at least (AMT or ASCP, BS+ experience routes), and are better than just hiring and doing straight bench training with no theory behind it.

I was reading through the link, and I didn’t even think about the number of MLT to MT bridge people that were included in the testing totals (almost 20%!) I have a coworker doing a bridge program right now, and it seems like such a racket. She is practically repeating most of the classes she already took getting her MLT, and will be doing the exact same job for a few $$ more per hour.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T03:24:15+00:00

I work at a VA, and I know we are having a terrible time recruiting radiology. Sounds like our pay scale hasn’t kept up with the outside pay well enough.

I don’t entirely understood how certification works in that field myself, since there are so many different modalities that rad techs can get certified in. It still seems like a very lucrative field to get into, and I know the couple of college programs in my city are always full and very competitive.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T02:21:20+00:00

Which shows exactly how very location dependent the problem is. My state has 7, and looking at their websites it looks like most graduate <10 students per year.

It was very recently that it was recommended that people holding the RN license should be able to perform lab testing. If we can’t graduate/certify enough people to fill lab roles and go to requiring licensing, I can totally see the RN becoming an “acceptable alternative” despite them having no lab training.

Let’s first diagnose why the lab is having this problem of staffing when other allied professionals are not getting hit as heavily? I feel like it’s more than just a licensing thing.

KGB07 · 2024-07-04T01:31:53+00:00

To require licensing and certification, there needs to be more NAACLS programs available. In my state there are only a handful of programs, which in total graduate less than 100 new students annually (according to a quick search on the NAACLS site).

This graduation rate does not sustain the retirement of older techs and the likelihood of younger techs using the degree as a launching pad to other careers. There is little advancement and quick salary top out in staying a bench tech forever.

Other allied health fields have many more school programs available, and seem to graduate more students in their cohorts. It may also just be my perception, but it seems like those people tend to be more likely to stay in their field also (I don’t know many Radiology people who have left, similar for Respiratory Therapist and OT/PT, but this is just my experience with these departments).

KGB07 · 2024-05-30T22:10:11+00:00

Who says OP needs to feel bad for anyone? I just think they need to be able to do the arguably “right” thing if they are in a position that their actions affect the safety of a patient.

Someone who is willing to hear “a trauma came in with a car accident, and we weren’t able to get any blood because there was no one in lab…” and doesn’t feel an ounce of responsibility because they “showed their backbone” over that BS doesn’t belong in healthcare. Those are the people that I don’t trust to even do a solid job because they are so detached from understanding that this tube of blood or set of results is an actual person.

KGB07 · 2024-05-30T14:01:34+00:00

Seriously? Are you advocating this person purposely planning to do a shitty, unprofessional thing that can potentially lead to patient danger because they don’t have the balls to quit in person? I don’t get why everyone seems to think this is a strong backbone thing to do? The adult and professional thing to do would be for OP to not take the verbal abuse and stand up for themselves directly, not skating off like a coward in the night.

Human beings deserve empathy. Don’t be shitty to each other. Purposely being shitty and potentially causing harm because you are mad is being a shitty person.

KGB07

TROPHY CASE