Job opportunities in medical laboratories are typically divided into two categories. A medical laboratory technologist is a lab manager who operates sophisticated medical equipment, supervises other lab employees, and interprets lab results. This job typically requires a bachelor’s degree. The medical laboratory technician is the other type of medical lab job. A certification program or an associate’s degree are usually required for this position. A technician assists the technologist in collecting and analyzing samples in a lab or at a remote location.
Depending on the work flow, medical laboratory technician jobs in small labs may require working with a variety of samples. In larger labs, technologists and technicians are typically assigned to specialized areas where they will perform the same type of work on a regular basis. Employees can gain a lot of experience with a particular device or test this way.
Some medical laboratory technician jobs, for example, will be in the field of microbiology. Samples of tissues and bodily fluids may be prepared and analyzed for the presence of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi during a typical workday. Others may specialize in blood sample genetic testing, while others prepare and analyze routine blood tests for cell counts and cholesterol levels.
Medical laboratory technician jobs are further subdivided. Technicians may only be responsible for preparing samples and slides, while technologists are in charge of inspecting them and interpreting the results. In some medical laboratories, technicians and technologists may perform the same tasks, whereas in others, job responsibilities will differ, with technologists performing more advanced procedures.
Medical laboratory technologists and technicians can specialize in a variety of fields. A phlebotomist, for example, is a lab technician who draws blood samples. This person might work in a hospital, blood bank, or plasma center, or visit nursing homes to collect blood samples. Histotechnicians are a type of medical laboratory technician who specializes in obtaining tissue samples.
The pathologist in charge of the lab, who oversees all of these medical laboratory technician jobs, is in charge of them all. It is ultimately his responsibility to sign off on laboratory results interpretation. Over the course of a career, medical laboratory technician jobs can provide a variety of working conditions and job duties. There is the possibility of progressing into more complex specialized areas. There is also the possibility of working in a variety of clinical settings, such as small hospital laboratories, where the technician is in charge of the entire process of collecting, preparing, analyzing, and communicating the results to a physician.