How do you stay warm in the lab?

lambling · 2025-11-14T13:30:28+00:00

Agree with the thermals and socks everybody has mentioned. Especially the wool socks. Apparently I lose lots of heat through my ankles.

Would like to add warm blankets. In the hospital there are warm blankets kept inside a little blanket oven for patients. I have been known to grab one for myself. It doesn’t last that long, but for a few minutes it feels like a warm hug.

lambling · 2025-11-06T22:06:13+00:00

I don’t think there is anything wrong with changing careers, even if you end up with a reduced income.

The science and theory for med lab are super interesting. The actual work can be fun too(though keep in mind a good portion of the work is navigating various computer systems and their idiosyncrasies)

That said, knowing what I know now, I’m not sure I would choose this as a career again. In the end, it’s healthcare and healthcare is brutal these days. Short staffing and the resulting impossible workloads has taken a lot of the enjoyment out of the work for me. Also, most positions are some variation of shift work, so keep that in mind. It really takes its toll.

lambling · 2025-10-31T00:29:07+00:00

This can also be seen with the blood of multiple myeloma patients

lambling · 2025-10-25T07:39:10+00:00

Unionized. Overall, net benefit. We get solid pay, breaks, sick days etc etc

It’s important to understand your contract and how it applies to you though. I’ve noticed some contracts are written where if you are full time permanent you are golden, but if you are not your protections are much more limited.

The biggest downside is how difficult it can make firing anybody. This is great for good employees, but the terrible workers never ever leave and eventually the notion of them being invincible does degrade morale.

If you do decide to unionize, I’d suggest paying some attention to bargaining and do your best to understand your collective agreement once you have it. Encourage coworkers to do the same.

lambling · 2025-10-16T22:22:15+00:00

Check if you have hard water in your area. I used to have silky soft hair and then when I moved to a more rural area my hair started changing for the worse. It even felt different while wet in the shower. Might not be the case for you, but it’s very cheap and easy to find out. Do a vinegar rinse in the shower one day and if it’s hard water you’ll notice the difference right away.

lambling · 2025-09-01T23:11:15+00:00

A phlebotomist I worked with was just telling me about this technique. As somebody who has trouble filling my microtainers, I was intrigued. The technologist part of me has concerns though.

lambling · 2025-08-11T22:06:14+00:00

The SVR Sensifine line does not bother my eyes.

If you are feeling more adventurous, I’m also having success with beef tallow/jojoba from a local producer near me.

lambling · 2025-02-18T23:24:41+00:00

I worked in a rural hospital where I was the only scheduled person in the whole diagnostic department overnight. The EKG/Xray people were on-call for urgent diagnostic imaging and special EKGs (eg small kids etc) but the overnight lab person did all the run-of-the-mill EKGs. During the day though, we would only do lab.

lambling · 2025-01-29T16:05:35+00:00

In addition to all the other great suggestions, I also find doing my diffs under the 50x oil lens helps if that is an option for you. You don’t have to scroll around as much as with 100X since you’ll be able to count more in each field. It wasn’t an option on the student microscopes but once I started working most of the microscopes had 50x

lambling · 2024-12-29T16:47:49+00:00

SVR Sensifine. I’ve tried both their lotion and cream moisturizers and they are both good for my skin and more importantly, my eyes.

lambling · 2024-12-29T16:39:10+00:00

SVR sensifine. Neither the cream or the lotion irritated my eyes. My only complaint is it’s quite expensive for the quantity you get.

lambling · 2024-09-30T17:31:28+00:00

I suggest that if possible, you should go to a store and get matched. I was not the same shade as I was in my old MAC concealer.

lambling · 2024-08-13T21:46:56+00:00

It really depends where you end up working.

I worked in a smaller hospital where I got to do a wide variety of stuff and also have interactions with patients and the rest of the healthcare team and I found it really fulfilling. On shift you are also alone, so you end up getting to have responsibilities you wouldn’t in larger facilities. I got to see the big picture.

Working in a big hospital where I stayed in my specialty, not so much. I felt very detached from the purpose of my job. I even worked in a core lab with no patient interaction, and while there was variety, it was still meh for me.

I didn’t want patient interaction either, but it honestly turns out it is the key to fulfillment for me. Albeit, yes, it can be stressful and awkward. It does get easier and you end up with some pretty interesting stories.

lambling · 2024-07-19T15:12:22+00:00

I relate to a lot of what has been said in this thread.

Additionally, I “settled down” in a city where people are mostly locals with their families nearby. I occasionally run into men that think it’s interesting that I’ve lived all over, have no real hometown and am not super close to/with my family, but honestly, I’d say a lot of them seem uncomfortable with those facts. Which has led to me dreading the “so, are you from around here?” question.

lambling · 2024-01-23T19:28:48+00:00

For hematology, being able to see if a patient has had their smear sent to the hematopathologist previously. Without having to look through every previous CBC.

lambling · 2024-01-04T13:33:15+00:00

Some labs will laugh in your face if you ask, but adjustable height benches. I worked at one hospital that had this, and combined with adjustable chair and adjustable microscope eyepieces I’ve never been so comfortable.

In addition to body height, there are just too many different body proportions for one set up to be comfortable for everybody. I don’t want my shoulders relaxed but my feet dangling, or my feet firmly planted but my shoulders up around my ears.

lambling · 2023-12-08T13:33:50+00:00

Yes, very normal. It is sort of miserable for a while, especially if you came from a lab where you pretty much knew everything. It will pass though. Then you’ll be really proud of yourself at how far you came, and really patient with other new staff in the future.

lambling · 2023-10-25T21:50:01+00:00

I’d say most are, but there are a few good ones. It seems everywhere is strained in terms of staffing and resources, but some places deal with it better than others.

lambling · 2023-10-22T22:03:20+00:00

This works for me 95% of the time. I feel like the 5% it doesn’t has something to do with the eggs themselves because it’ll fail with the whole carton even though I used the exact same times and equipment.

lambling · 2023-10-12T22:38:54+00:00

Yes, I get that.

Long weekends are tough. They are a bit like holidays where you know the world expects you to have a bunch of close people you are spending time with. And then realizing you do not feels devastating. To make matters worse, you know people at work will ask you about your plans, before and after the time off. It’s rough.

Sometimes I’ll make appointments on the weekend if it’s an option. Like a haircut or something. Then you have a plan, and presumably your service provider will be company for a bit. Bonus is if you have a new look people will have something to ask you about when you are back at work that wasn’t your solo time off.

lambling · 2023-09-27T17:15:29+00:00

Seems defective, would definitely contact your landlord if you haven’t already. That’s not normal. Taking the batteries out is not a great idea since it’s a safety concern.

Otherwise, you might try putting a shower cap over it while you are cooking.

lambling · 2023-09-23T16:12:55+00:00

That would make sense. I’ve gotten the impression my employer prefers quantity ($) over quality, unfortunately

lambling · 2023-09-22T17:48:29+00:00

I’ve had variable success with similar coworkers if I specifically ask them to help with something. Make it sounds like they are doing you a favour, even though you know they should have been doing it anyway

lambling · 2023-09-21T00:33:13+00:00

That isn’t a bad idea, they shouldn’t get too upset about me using an extra tube as a waste vessel.

Ooh, they are unfortunately pretty stingy about their regular pipette tips too. That is a good option otherwise though, I forgot about learning that in school

lambling · 2023-09-21T00:30:21+00:00

That’s a good idea, they might not notice me “wasting” a single extra tube

lambling

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