Lab technicians are essential healthcare workers, performing all kinds of routine medical lab tests to assist with patient care. Dealing directly with patients day-to-day, lab techs must be compassionate and thorough. This is important when it comes to collecting and handling bio-specimens, as well as accurately performing chemical analyses of these samples.
It can take less than a year to complete a diploma program. Industry approved certification is key to many employers at medical facilities looking for techs with the thorough training and practical experience gained from accredited colleges. So what kind of work can you expect after graduating?Â
To answer this question, let’s take a closer look at the lab tech role, and the many exciting career opportunities this qualification presents.
What Exactly Does a Lab Technician Do?
A laboratory technician’s primary role is to perform tests within a medical laboratory to assist doctors in their efforts to diagnose and treat diseases. The tech frequently collects samples of blood, body fluids, etc. They use these samples to carry out tests and analyze the results. They also share the information afterwards with the doctor that was assigned to the patient.
Due to the biological nature of the samples being collected and processed, lab technicians must spend a good part of their day wearing protective goggles, masks, gloves, and medical gowns in order to prevent contamination to or from specimens.
What Are Some Examples of a Lab Tech’s Duties?
To perform a chemical analysis of a patient sample, a person with medical lab tech training will use specialized equipment such as microscopes, automated analyzers, and other high tech lab tools–recording their findings in the medical lab’s system of computer logging. The lab tech’s duties are reliant on several learned disciplines, including: anatomy, medical terminology, clinical chemistry and microbiology, hematology, urinalysis, histology, cytology, and more.
A lab tech is responsible for blood, urine, and other sample collection. They also prep solution to combine with samples, as well as maintain and sterilize lab tools and areas of the lab, analyze fluid chemical content, and more. Other job duties can include performing electrocardiograms, positioning Holter monitors, and performing quality assurance of testing techniques.
Where Can a Graduate of Medical Lab Tech Courses Find Work?
After training at medical laboratory technician school, a graduate’s career opportunities may include work as a medical lab technician, a medical laboratory assistant, a clinical lab assistant, a phlebotomist, or a cardiology technologist. Â
The grad can find work in many different medical environments, including hospitals, doctors’ offices, pharmaceutical labs, veterinary labs, and postsecondary educational institutions. The graduate may also find work at research facilities, blood and organ banks, and more.
Accredited schools like Medix College will usually provide a real-world field placement opportunity to students, helping them gain work experience and become desirable candidates once they are ready to launch their careers.Â
Looking for a rewarding and challenging career in which you can have a truly positive impact on people’s health?Â
Get the training you need at Medix College through our medical lab tech courses to become a medical lab tech or assistant lab tech!Â
