Do you like being a medical lab tech?

Questions for Lab tech/ laboratory employees (Post-job offer)?

• 1) How stressful is the laboratory department in a busy, level 1 trauma center/ hospital? 2) Which shift (day, evening, night) is typically the busiest in the laboratory? 3) Is a laboratory technician position applicable direct patient care experience toward PA and medical school? 4) Considering 6 weeks of full time laboratory technician training, how long should a lab tech wait before branching off to a position that involves more direct patient care (without irking anyone important)? One year, 1.5 years or 2+ years? 5) If there are too many variables involved with rescheduling my academic commitments to fit their 6 weeks of training, would it be wise to send a counteroffer to the laboratory outlining the terms in question and my suggested solutions? (I have to take 1 course this summer to remain on track for graduation, which partially overlaps with the training shift that my would-be supervisor has outlined for this position.) Other info: I'm a full-time student going for my B.S. degree in Biology. I would like to apply direct patient care experience toward PA or medical school (my comparative investigation of PA and medical school is ongoing). I'm a nationally certified phlebotomist with about 200 sticks but this lab tech position came through first. Another variable I'm considering is the commute: 9+ hrs of bus for a 20 hr/wk position. Paying to park at work is not a financially feasible option.

• Answer:

  I can answer a few of your questions 1. Like any workplace, it's going to depend on how well it's managed. Your lab could be in antarctica and it would still be hectic if you had bad people overseeing operations. You will be busy, it's a level one after all, but if they know what they are doing, they'll have enough staff and resources to cover the extra work and it should be just like any other job. 3. As long as you have direct patient contact in a clinical setting, that's what the medical school admissions board wants to see. A big part of your clinical xp is also how you describe it in your secondary/ personal statement and in interviews. Make sure during your experience that you take note of how this job is relevant to your future medical career. 4. hmmm 6 weeks training... if it's paid, better wait at least a year. You MIGHT be able to get HR to transfer you internally to a similar job(especially if you finish your degree while working there). It depends on whether they have to retrain you for your new job, or if you can just go straight in upon transferring internally. 5. See if you can delay training till the next group of trainees. In my experience, the training schedule for companies is usually pretty inflexible. you might also be able to convince your professor to let you out of the class times you would be missing instead. Go to medical school! We're cooler than the PA's ^^