STEM12-H

Activity 1: Overview of your future profession

1.) What does medical laboratory sciences entail for you personally?
Diagnostic and therapeutic clues provided by medical laboratory science are
critical in the identification and treatment of sickness or damage, and laboratory
personnel are known as the "detectives" of the health care industry to which I find a
necessity for me to engage with as I choose to be a doctor and to be in the medicine
field.
In this class, students learn how to look at body fluids and cells; identify bacteri
a and other microorganisms; and look at the chemical content of blood and other bo
dy fluids. Their cues are critical in the diagnosis and treatment of illness or injury, and
they also help to maintain healthy lives by assisting in the prevention of disease or
damage.

2. ) What are your duties and responsibility?

Using cutting-edge biomedical instrumentation and technology, medical
laboratory professionals play a pivotal role in a range of laboratory settings,
performing job duties that can include:

⚫ Examining and analyzing body fluids, tissues and cells

⚫ Identifying potentially harmful microorganisms
⚫ Analyzing the chemical makeup of body fluids
⚫ Testing blood for drug levels to measure the efficacy of particular treatments
⚫ Evaluating test results for accuracy
⚫ Helping interpret test results for physicians
⚫ Operating, maintaining and repairing clinical instruments
⚫ Using complex computer systems for data entry, retrieval and analysis
⚫ Ensuring quality control throughout the lab
⚫ Supervising inventory
⚫ Teaching proper laboratory practices to students and healthcare personnel

3. ) What is the medical laboratory sciences code of ethics?

Medical laboratory technologists demonstrate an application of their ethical
obligations through their professional and personal conduct.

⚫ Obligations to Patients:
 Medical laboratory technologists put their patient(s)’ interest(s) above their
personal interest(s). MLTs carry out their professional duties competently and
with integrity. They respect their patients’ individual needs and overall welfare
at all times, including the patients’ right to freedom of choice in health care
provider, free and enlightened consent, and an expectation of confidentiality
of all patient information, in accordance with existing legislation.

⚫ Obligations to the Public :

Medical laboratory technologists are dedicated to serving the public’s health

care needs through respectful, accessible, and cooperative interactions with
the public and patients, other healthcare providers, and students. MLTs
facilitate awareness and understanding of the medical laboratory technology
profession.

⚫ Obligations to the Profession:

Medical laboratory technologists contribute to the profession’s development

through collaboration, mentorship, self-development, and support of its
institutions. MLTs strive for excellence in their professional practice, and
professional and personal conduct through life-long learning. Medical
laboratory technologists recognize, disclose, and resolve conflicts of interest to
safeguard patient care.

⚫ Obligations to the Regulatory Body:

Medical laboratory technologists understand, respect and comply with

provincial Acts and regulations, and the Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice,
bylaws and practice guidelines approved by their regulatory body. Medical
laboratory technologists cooperate and maintain harmonious relations with,
and promptly reply to all correspondence from the regulatory body at all times.

⚫ Obligations to Oneself:

Medical laboratory technologists are accountable and responsible for their

professional and personal conduct. MLTs practice within their scope of
professional competence and recognize their professional and personal
limitations. Medical laboratory technologists maintain and improve their
knowledge, skills, judgement and behaviours to ensure the best possible
patient care.
4. ) Make a list of at least ten characteristics that make a good medical laboratory
science.
1. Scientific Knowledge
Scientific Knowledge is the heart of any medical laboratory
technologist’s career. Every lab technologist needs very strong knowledge of
science that includes, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physics and
microbiology. Especially a laboratory technologist must have the knowledge of
how chemicals react with one another and about chemical composition.
2. Decent Communication Skills
Communication skills are also needed, as a technologist often
collaborates with other lab technicians on different projects, and one needs to
convey results of the findings to others. A technologist also needs to
communicate with doctors, patients, and others regarding different results. A
lab technologist must posses listening and speaking skills along with writing
skills to document all the data.
3. Proficiency in other medical and Technological areas
A medical laboratory technologist also needs to be proficient enough in
different Technological Areas. One must know how to use various software like
electronic medical record software, test-routing software, test result delivery
software and laboratory information system software. Additionally, a
technologist also must have some knowledge about managing databases,
spreadsheets and about computer hardware
4. Passion for Learning
Medical science is an ever-growing field. A person who wants to work in
this profession should have an unending passion for learning. They should be
ready to read multiple relevant scientific journals on a regular basis. The
successful medical scientist should also be up-to-date on new tools, equipment,
and software for use in sample collection, experiments, and analysis. They
should be able to share this passion with others, including the students and
researchers they lead.
5.
6. Observational Expertise
When a medical scientist is conducting an experiment, they must be able
to observe small changes in samples and results. The ability to notice an
anomaly or difference, no matter how small or how rare, could make the
difference in a person’s career. Sometimes, major discoveries are based on one
anomalous result or a small change in a sample. They should also be adept at
using different observational tools, including microscopes, computer software,
and data analysis systems.
7. Making Decisions
 Time and resources are limited, especially in the laboratory. Equipment
is expensive, and a medical scientist might have to choose one item over
another. They may also have to decide when to end an experiment, especially
if it has gone awry or is not producing any useful results. They should also
know when a negative result is useful and what it means for their study.
Medical scientists must know which questions to ask and what information
they need in order to answer those questions.
8. Compassion
You need to Care about Patients, as sometimes you need to go extra
miles to find a result which can be stressful at times. However, as 80 percent of
the doctor’s decision will be based upon the lab’s result, it’s worth to go that
extra mile. Still, if you are not always willing to go that extra mile, then the job
of laboratory technologist is not for you, as all the times you are working to
save a patient’s life.
9. Data Analysis
A medical laboratory scientist should be skilled at analyzing the data
they collect. Most studies result in tremendous amounts of data. The data
cannot be handled manually in most cases, so the scientist should know which
piece of software would be the best tool to analyze it. They should know how
to clean and arrange the data so that it can be analyzed, such as coding results
into 0 for yes and 1 for no in order to do logistic regression.
10. You Can Survive on Little to No Recognition
As I said, lab techs work "behind the scenes," and not many people really
understand or take the time to think about what we do even though it's so
very important. Lab techs are not in the public eye, like doctors, nurses, and x-
ray techs. Therefore, do not expect much thanks from anyone for the job you
do, except maybe from your co-workers—but consider yourself lucky if even
that happens.

5.) Which of the traits listed above do you possess? Which one of those qualities do
you lack? What changes would you make?
Personally, I think that I already possess most of the qualities listed above,
except for proficiency in other Med/Tech areas and data analysis. I am about to enter
college next year, where I will most probably develop these traits that I lack. With my
chosen program course (Pharmacy), I will surely be able to experience analyzing data
and handling laboratory results. I will also be engaging in other fields, and there I will
learn more. I will do my best to be proficient in everything that I do and indulge
myself with.