Medicine laboratory - Area with most opportunity for advancement?

Author

Area with most opportunity for advancement?

Jeff and Lisa Casto

2005-03-19, 5:35 pm

Hi. I'm currently a med tech student, and work PRN as a lab tech in a micro
lab in a major hospital. I like micro, but jobs seem to be hard to come by,
and it appears to me that someone has to die to be able to advance in the
field. I have heard that in some other areas of the lab, promotions come
faster. If so, which areas are these (chem, hematology)?

Thanks,

Jeff

JEDilworth

2005-03-19, 5:35 pm

Most micro people enjoy what they do so much, they never leave. I work
second shift in a large micro lab. There are some techs on our shift in
their late 20's/early 30's that probably won't get onto days till their
40's because the day shifters won't be leaving till they retire, and no
one probably will for at least ten years.

I don't know what part of the country you're in, but if you're willing
to relocate, micro jobs are out there - even on day shift. Check your
latest issue of Advance Magazine for job postings. I'm sure someone at
your lab has a copy.

If you're looking to advance in the field - i.e. to management, I would
highly recommend getting an MBA eventually, or a Masters in Lab
Management (there are a few schools out there offering this degree - not
sure where, though). Larger labs nowadays are looking for people with
advanced degrees. If you're just looking to become a supervisor, you
might not need that. In the "olden days" of the 70's, when I first
started out, MBA's, etc. weren't even thought of in moderate sized labs.
As labs combine to cut costs and maximize reimbursements, you will see
more managers with post-graduate degrees, as the labs have become much
larger than they used to be. We are currently doing all the micro work
for two sister hospitals that used to have micro labs. They no longer
have them as their volume wasn't high enough to justify the expense. We
also do two large hospital's work, so we're handling four hospitals plus
23 nursing homes plus outreach. We have a school of MT with four
students. They are seeing high volume work which is good for them. Our
standing order on blood plates per week is 25 cases of 100.

If you're looking to get into micro and advance, I highly recommend that
you get a job in micro and work in there for at least 1-2 years at a
larger laboratory. You won't see much in the way of weird bugs at a
small place. In order to supervise well in micro, you really need a lot
of experience in handling odd-ball things; situations and weird
organisms. The only way this comes about is through experience with
odd-ball situations and organisms. I can understand that you're young,
you want to earn lots of money, and climb the ladder, so your point is
valid. However, you can't advance without knowledge. If you get a job in
micro as a tech it will take you a year to learn the basics. I have told
every one of our new techs that, and they come to agree with me. It's a
large data base of information you have to deal with, and it takes you a
long time to assimilate all that information. I would suppose that right
now you are doing mostly setups and rapid testing. That is a good place
to start, but is the tip of the iceberg.

The up-and-coming area of the lab to get acquainted with is molecular
stuff. This field is wide open. If you can land a job in this area
somewhere and train on the job, in about 5-10 years you could be sitting
in a good position for advancement, as there aren't many people trained
in this area. The problem is that not many medical centers except large
ones are getting into these areas, as they are expensive.

If you like blood bank, consider getting your AABB specialty (I think
that's what it's called). Once you get that, you're in a good position
to go anywhere in the US. I think it takes a year. I don't know much
about it, but I'm sure your blood bank supervisor can direct you. It's
not an easy thing to get, either.

Chemistry is going the way of robotics for the future in large labs. If
you like mechanical stuff, QC charts, etc. then this may interest you.
Personally, if you like micro the best, you'll probably be bored with
chemistry in the long run.

If I couldn't have gone into micro, I think hematology would be my
second choice, only because the myriads of blood dyscrasias would be
interesting and would take the otherwise boring normal CBC to new
levels. It depends on how much you like microscopy, because these things
are basically intense microscope work.

Does your current employer look to be able to take you on when you
finish? We are currently using two student techs almost every evening on
setups, as our volume in the evening is amazingly heavy. They can use
the money and we can use the help. I'm sure we'll hire at least one of
them when they're done in June. Have you talked to your current employer
about a position upon graduation? If you're a good worker, perhaps they
can keep you as a contingent until something opens up that you can bid
into. Be sure to check.

We had two students vying for one full time position at the end of last
school year. The trait that caused our team leader to choose one over
the other was eagerness to do the work. They both worked on setups, but
the girl we hired was quicker to keep herself busy than the other. That
trait was not lost on our team leader, as he could observe their work
habits over time. When it came time for the interview, she was much more
prepared than he was; she had questions, had her resume and references
in order, and, apparently, the interview weighed heavily in her favor.
Don't get me wrong - he was a good worker also, but when you have to
choose between two good workers, you have to look for something.
Happily, he was hired onto third shift at our sister hospital, and
recently bid into a second shift position at our place in blood bank. I
think he eventually wants to get into micro, but it may take him awhile,
as there are no openings for full time positions right now.

Final word - don't go into an area to advance. Go into an area that you
like, and advancement will follow. If you hate what you do every day,
you will hate your job. Labs are high pressure - you have to like what
you do or you won't be able to handle it on a day to day basis just for
the money.

Good luck to you.

Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
Microbiology 30 years

"Jeff and Lisa Casto @JoiMail.com>" <jeffandlisa1513<spammers_suck>
wrote in message
> Hi. I'm currently a med tech student, and work PRN as a lab tech in a
micro
> lab in a major hospital. I like micro, but jobs seem to be hard to
come by,
> and it appears to me that someone has to die to be able to advance in
the
> field. I have heard that in some other areas of the lab, promotions
come
> faster. If so, which areas are these (chem, hematology)?

Robert

2005-03-19, 5:35 pm

It seems as though you seek to be promoted. I have found it to be the other
way around in which individuals are sought out by management for promotion.
If they like you then they will seek you out. There are many people who want
to be promoted because they want to be promoted and management looks the
other way.
If you develop your interpersonal skills and technical skills then that will
fall into place.
Many individuals who have been working for years have no intention on
seeking promotions. Many people have no interest in becoming managers. Once
you leave the bench and become a paper pusher then you become removed from
what attracted you into the field in the first place.
If you want to have an office full of binders and polish a few chairs at
hospital meetings then go for it. Get an MBA at one of those diploma mills
nite schools. A MS or PhD is a waste of time as you don't need it to be a
lab manager. Most of those don't work in hospitals. It's too expensive to
have many of those around. If I had a PhD, no way in hell I would work in a
hospital lab.
Long story short is there are not many advanced positions in the medical lab
field that are worth a lot of money.

"Jeff and Lisa Casto @JoiMail.com>" <jeffandlisa1513<spammers_suck> wrote in
message news:11321n42ntapc2f@corp.supernews.com...
> Hi. I'm currently a med tech student, and work PRN as a lab tech in a
micro
> lab in a major hospital. I like micro, but jobs seem to be hard to come
by,
> and it appears to me that someone has to die to be able to advance in the
> field. I have heard that in some other areas of the lab, promotions come
> faster. If so, which areas are these (chem, hematology)?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jeff
>
>

elsie49

2005-03-19, 5:35 pm

I am from the San Francisco Bay Area. The section with the most
openings is Micro. We do virology, fungus, and TB. You could find a
job if you are experienced easily out here.

The up and coming field is molelcular testing--cystic fibrosis, for
example. If you were able to find training you could probably be in
charge of a section in a short time.

pia3780@duskmail.com

2005-03-23, 5:37 pm

laurel_chase@hotmail.com wrote:
> I am from the San Francisco Bay Area. The section with the most
> openings is Micro. We do virology, fungus, and TB. You could find a
> job if you are experienced easily out here.
> The up and coming field is molelcular testing--cystic fibrosis, for
> example. If you were able to find training you could probably be in
> charge of a section in a short time.

Thanks!

pia3780@duskmail.com

pia3780@duskmail.com

2005-03-29, 7:18 pm