Summary for:
Medical and Clinical Laboratory TechniciansDescription:
Perform routine medical laboratory tests for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May work under the supervision of a medical technologist.Sample of reported job titles:
Sample of reported job titles: Medical Laboratory Technician (Medical Lab Tech), Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT), Cytotechnologist, Laboratory Technician, Non-Registered Technician, Laboratory Assistant (Lab Assistant), Laboratory Associate (Lab Associate)
Tasks | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Activites | Experience | Example | Education | Work Style | Work Values | Related Jobs | Wage | Employment | Expected Growth | Expected Need
Tasks:
- Conduct chemical analyses of body fluids, such as blood and urine, using microscope or automatic analyzer to detect abnormalities or diseases, and enter findings into computer.
- Set up, adjust, maintain and clean medical laboratory equipment.
- Analyze the results of tests and experiments to ensure conformity to specifications, using special mechanical and electrical devices.
- Analyze and record test data to issue reports that use charts, graphs and narratives.
- Conduct blood tests for transfusion purposes and perform blood counts.
- Obtain specimens, cultivating, isolating and identifying microorganisms for analysis.
- Examine cells stained with dye to locate abnormalities.
- Collect blood or tissue samples from patients, observing principles of asepsis to obtain blood sample.
- Consult with a pathologist to determine a final diagnosis when abnormal cells are found.
- Inoculate fertilized eggs, broths, or other bacteriological media with organisms.
Knowledge:
| Customer and Personal Service ó Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| Clerical ó Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology. |
| Medicine and Dentistry ó Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
Skills:
| Reading Comprehension ó Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Active Listening ó Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Speaking ó Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Science ó Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
| Equipment Maintenance ó Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. |
| Instructing ó Teaching others how to do something. |
| Time Management ó Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Judgment and Decision Making ó Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Monitoring ó Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
| Active Learning ó Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
Abilities:
| Near Vision ó The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Deductive Reasoning ó The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Inductive Reasoning ó The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Oral Comprehension ó The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Problem Sensitivity ó The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness ó The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. |
| Information Ordering ó The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
| Visual Color Discrimination ó The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness. |
| Written Comprehension ó The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Finger Dexterity ó The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. |
Work Activities:
| Documenting/Recording Information ó Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
| Getting Information ó Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards ó Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards. |
| Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material ó Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge ó Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Interacting With Computers ó Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates ó Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Processing Information ó Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. |
| Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work ó Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Analyzing Data or Information ó identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts. |
Work Experience:
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty.Work Examples:
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers.Education Requirements:
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.Work Style:
| Integrity ó Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Attention to Detail ó Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Dependability ó Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Concern for Others ó Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Stress Tolerance ó Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Cooperation ó Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Self Control ó Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Independence ó Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
| Initiative ó Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Leadership ó Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. |
Work Values:
| Support ó Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
| Relationships ó Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Independence ó Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
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