The Adventure Begins: A New MT’s Perspective

Cats and Dogs

2009-11-18T19:33:00Z

You know those people who have a fear of commitment? Well, I think I am on the opposite pole from those people. I would say that I am addicted to commitment. Have a project to take on? Sign me up. Need help with a school event? Sign me up. Four year degree with an intense clinical internship? Sign me up. My latest commitment involves a new pet. I've already mentioned this, but just a quick recap to get the full picture... My husband and I have two daughters ages 9 and 7. We adopted our first dog...(read more)

Stop TB!

2009-11-13T22:29:00Z

This week I was able to attend Wisconsin's Annual Mycobacteriology Conference with my manager and another coworker. It was a one day event held in Madison, I believe there were about 60 attendees with labs from around the state represented. As a BSL-2 laboratory our role is staining, processing and growing acid fast cultures, If we have a positive bottle or slant we confirm by stain and send it to our State Lab of Hygeine to be identified. After that, if sensitivities are requested, the isolates...(read more)

Another Day

2009-10-25T22:39:00Z

It never ceases to amaze me how different each day in the lab can be... I was able to perform another "first" today. Our Microbiology department is responsible for obtaining nasopharyngeal swabs in the outpatient testing area, on occasions when the usual staff is unavailable to do them. I had seen them done, read the procedure, just hadn't ever collected one yet. So I offered to go and collect it, no time like the present to learn! In my experience, it never fails that when I offer to go and take...(read more)

ASCLS Region V Annual Meeting

2009-10-18T21:48:00Z

I had the pleasure of attending the ASCLS Region V Annual Meeting this past week in Watertown, South Dakota. What a wonderful experience! I was able to listen to some great talks ranging from healthcare reform, to "providing the face" for the medical laboratory scientist, tuberculosis detection and a few others. The conference provided a lot of new information, although I think my managers and coworkers will be the ones that feel the effects the most... after all I have to ask someone the dozens...(read more)

Fine Needle Aspirates

2009-10-09T15:43:00Z

As a new professional, I've been putting myself out there for every opportunity available to train in new areas, or pick up additional tasks. After all, I am still a student at heart! So I offered to help cover shifts at another hospital in our area, within the Affinity Health System. I had a few days of training down there, mostly to familiarize myself with the day to days, since the actual job is pretty much the same as what I already do. However, there was one little thing that I was not aware...(read more)

Is your lab prepared for H1N1?

2009-09-29T21:41:00Z

Of course we've all heard about the impending outbreaks of H1N1... Is your lab prepared? Is your community prepared? The information out there seems to be changing and updating constantly, so who's to say if anyone is truly prepared. Honestly, I'm a little worried that lack of communication combined with people's need to go to work or school is going to play a huge factor in the unnecessary spread of this virus. We've received the emails, stay home is you are experiencing flu-like symptoms. For some...(read more)

The Power of Lean

2009-09-03T00:43:00Z

Ask around any business, lab or otherwise, I imagine you’ll find that most places are divided when it comes to Lean practices. There are those that go into protective mode and are worried about losing their jobs. There are also those who welcome the chance to improve how things are done and are hoping to make their days run smoother. My department is right in the middle of Lean. We started by rearranging job assignments in order to get all cultures read by 9:30 am, in order to get result to the physician’s...(read more)

Culture Reading

2009-07-27T14:42:00Z

As I've mentioned, I work in the microbiology department. As of now, I've been trained and am on my own reading urine, stool and vaginal cultures; all of our rapid tests, ANAs, O&Ps, and set up of all cultures. In the next few weeks, I'll be learning TB Golds and reading respiratory cultures. The wound cultures and anaerobes won't come until later--it's left to the more experienced techs. Our lab is starting to do HPVs in the next few weeks, and we just started Fetal Fibronectins this month....(read more)

Certified!

2009-07-15T14:41:00Z

Today was a memorable day. I received my certification from ASCP in the mail. I am officially Rhonda M. Daily, MT(ASCP). Now that I've been working for almost 2 months, it's all starting to sink in...I did it. I went back to school after almost 10 years, juggled homework, summer research jobs, kids, husband, dogs, internship, studying for the boards, trying to retain some form of sanity, a smidge of a social life and everything else that was thrown on my plate. Sometimes I feel as though I'm so far...(read more)

New Professional

2009-06-22T12:59:00Z

What a whirlwind the last month has been! I've graduated, passed the boards and began working all in a matter of a few short weeks. After the whole Student Bowl experience, I was feeling pretty well prepared to take the Board of Registry Exam. Of course, I continued to study till the very end. Our class of six decided to take the exam the morning of our graduation from the hospital. I guess we all just figured we may as well know right away if we would be celebrating our accomplishment. I know I...(read more)

The Semi-Finals

2009-05-15T12:43:00Z

What a whirlwind week! First off, let me fill you in on the Student Bowl Competition. I was so nervous all day leading up to the competition and so were my teammates. We had our strategy down--go for 10 points, only go for 20 if the other team got one. We didn’t play in the first time slot, so we huddled in the corner cramming as much last minute stuff into our heads as possible. Let me tell you, that was a fast 30 minutes! Our first match was a team from UW Madison. Some questions were OK, others...(read more)

Happy Lab Week

2009-04-22T15:21:00Z

It’s officially Lab Week. An entire week dedicated to raising awareness about our field. It also just so happens that I’ve officially completed my clinical rotations! I’m in the home stretch--22 days until I take the Board of Registry exam. The way our program is set up allows us 3 weeks of review lectures and study time. I cannot put into words exactly how thankful I am for that! I’ve made my study schedule and I’m going to try my best to stick to it. There’s a lot of excitement in the air about...(read more)

Case Studies

2009-04-17T12:16:00Z

I was fortunate enough to have an unbelievably brilliant professor for a few of my med tech classes. Dr. McDermott teaches Immunology, Medical Mycology and Medical Bacteriology for the major. Her biggest teaching strategy is teaching and testing by means of case studies. At first this was hard to adjust to and it seemed as if it was more work than it was worth. Her tests were extremely difficult--you had to know everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! Multiple choice questions were few and far between....(read more)

The Power of Positive Thinking

2009-04-01T14:41:00Z

Even the most seasoned phlebotomist or tech will tell you everyone has a bad day when it comes to drawing blood. I would have to agree with that. However, the feeling of satisfaction that comes from having a great day lasts a lot longer. As part of our internship experience, we go up on the floors for morning draws a few times a week. There are mornings when I wake up not all that excited about having to draw. But I try to keep a positive attitude and hope for some decent veins. The other morning...(read more)

Happy to Have a Job

2009-03-23T13:34:00Z

We all know the economy is having a bit of a rough patch at the moment. I personally believe our country is now heading down the right path and that things will get better. But in the meantime, many of us are beginning to feel the effects of these challenging times. Over the last 5 years, my family has pushed our financial situation to its limits (and sometimes beyond) to get me through school. With graduation a mere 10 weeks away, it's hard to put into words how excited I am to start working! About...(read more)