Medical laboratory scientists are the people who run, analyze, and troubleshoot many different types of medical tests. According to Mayo Clinic the median salary is $57,800 per year. A medical laboratory scientist typically has a bachelor's degree. I interviewed Margot Alvery who used to work as a medical laboratory scientist to get some insights into her career path. I asked her a few questions over email which she responded to.
Myself: What does an average day at your job look like?
Alvery: Typically, an MLS (which is also known as a medical technologist) will come in when a large batch of inpatient or outpatient tubes are being collected and sent to the lab. The technologist will make sure that all quality control is acceptable for all tests that will be performed that day. They also will make sure the analyzers have been maintained, cleaned, and loaded with chemicals, basically preparing for the large volume of specimens about to be tested. Throughout the day, the technologist multitasks between running tests, evaluating tests, troubleshooting questionable test results, performing manual testing, reporting results to doctors, and investigating issues with specimen quality. Some manual tests that an MLS might perform include:
Electrophoresis of DNA bands to determine the presence or absence of a cancer gene;
Coronavirus PCR testing;
Wound culture plating on Petri dish media
Manual microscopic examination of urine or blood to look for parasites, bacteria, or abnormal cells;
Or preparing donor units to be transfused to a recipient.
These are just a few things a medical technologist/MLS would do everyday, if they work in all sections of the lab. Some MLSs specialize and work in just one section. They may work in the Blood Bank, which tests patient’s blood and donor units of blood to make sure they are compatible for transfusion. They may work in chemistry, where they test newborn bilirubin levels, prostate specific antigen levels, and sodium levels in a high volume throughout the day; they may work in microbiology where they identify organisms with biochemical testing; or they may work in hematology, where they are proficient identifying blood cancer cells. Some laboratories may have molecular or genetic testing, fertility testing, allergy testing, or even testing of Biohazard Safety Level 3 organisms, such as potential agents of bioterrorism like Bacillus anthracic.
Whichever laboratory setting the MLS works in, whether it be an urban multi-bed trauma-center hospital; a small, rural medical center, an oncology center, or an employee health laboratory, for example, their number one priority is always the same: reporting accurately, quality resorts safely. Sometimes that means we have to reject a specimen because it was not properly collected. This initiates a second venipuncture (blood draw), but if we accept specimens that are not properly collected, the results of our laboratory tests will not be reliable, which means doctors will treat patients (or not treat patients) based on those results, which could be detrimental. So a good portion of our job is spent examining the samples we are sent, and calling providers and phlebotomists to re-collect specimens which are deemed unacceptable.
Myself: What was your college path to get a job as a medical laboratory scientist? Is there anything that you wish you had done differently?
Alvery: I went to SVSU knowing I loved science, because it challenged me, and I wanted to do something challenging. I didn’t want to do something that was easy, I didn’t want to do something boring. At the time, SVSU offered a Medical Technology major, and it sounded perfect, so that is what I went for. I ended up double-majoring in Biology, then, when the Medical Laboratory Science program started up in 2010, I was able to take some of those classes as well.
I still graduated under the “older” Medical Technology major, though. This required me to apply for an internship, which is required to become a certified MLS. Unfortunately, the only hospitals willing to take graduates from a program with our format were in Flint and the Detroit areas. I interviewed at Beaumont in Royal Oak, fell in love, and did my internship there, which is where I found my love of and passion for teaching! The MLSs there gave me confidence, which I had never really had before, and showed such passion for the field, that it helped mold me into the ambitious and motivated person I am today.
I moved back to the Saginaw area, where I worked at Covenant and then the VA Medical Center. The road was long and winding, but I would not have done it any differently! SVSU’s small and new MLS program gave me an edge over other students at Beaumont; I felt confident in my lab skills and I felt I had a great knowledge-base for the intense internship environment. I graduated SVSU, completed my internship, and passed my national certification exam, knowing I could not only make it, but I could be great at it. Through SVSU’s MLS program (the 4 or 5 classes I was able to take before graduating), I met my mentor, the first (and now retired) program director Kay Castillo, who guided me as a student, throughout my career in the lab, as an adjunct professor at SVSU, and now as the new Director of MLS.
If I had gone to a different school for my Bachelor’s Degree, or if I had gone somewhere different for my internship, I am certain I would not be where I am today, which is in my dream position.
Myself: How do you see this job changing by the time someone who is in high school today would be graduating from college?
Alvery: This field has already changed in the last 12 years since I have been a part of it. The “Baby Boomer” generation is rearing or at retirement age, so many clinical laboratories (and other parts of the healthcare system) are becoming overwhelmingly short-staffed as a result. MLS Programs, even SVSU, cannot provide enough graduates to fill this need, neither locally nor nationally. As a result, hospitals have had to learn to think outside the box; they have had to modify protocols and procedures to become more efficient; many have de-centralized so that routine testing is sent to a farther-away laboratory to save costs; and laboratory education has also changed. Now, the hospital MLSs have less time to educate, so the schooling is done more at the university level. The internship is less about examinations and lab practicals, and more about on-the-job experience.
Wages have also significantly increased since I graduated, and with the high number of job openings, so have the number of facilities that offer sign-on bonuses, loan-forgiveness opportunities, an better benefits. I anticipate the shortage will continue to expand, but with that, so will opportunities for advancement, more desirable shift positions (ie., dayshift as opposed to evening shift openings), and overall younger workers advancing in their careers much faster than in the past.
Myself: What kinds of skills/traits would be beneficial in this field?
Alvery: This field is excellent for those who like to be challenged and who like to investigate problems. MLSs typically demonstrate curiosity, dependability, and critical thinking skills, but we also must have integrity, accountability, and professionalism. MLSs are usually more introverted or want to help people behind the scenes as opposed to directly helping them at the bedside. So this is an excellent field for people who want to enter healthcare but do not want to be a nurse or doctor.
Myself: What would you recommend to a high schooler who is interested in this or a similar field?
Alvery: Come talk to me! If I can’t help you, I will get you to someone who can! I have SO many contacts in the clinical laboratory profession, in education, in professional societies, in certification practices, in hospital and lab accreditation, in jobs outside of the clinical lab, in graduate school opportunities, you name it. I can help you decide between closely related fields such as forensic science, physician assistant school, and pathologist assistant school by discussing advantages and disadvantages with you. And I can set you up with colleagues at SVSU who conduct chemistry or biology research or who organize study abroad trips or who advise. If you are even slightly interested, I could always show you around our lab. You never know whether you like something unless you try at least one bite! (or at least that’s what I tell my toddler!).
Myself: Is there anything else that you would like to share about working as a medical laboratory scientist?
Alvery: Medical Laboratory Science has given me a very rewarding career. I have been the first to see that someone had blood cancer, and I have been the one who helped transfuse dozens of units of blood to save another. I have trained dozens of new MLSs and prevented probably hundreds of erroneous (inaccurate) results from being reported. But, being behind the scenes in the hospital setting, laboratory professionals are not widely recognized for their roles in such situations. It can be challenging to consistently have to explain our job and role, since so few people know or understand what we do. But the reward doesn’t come from recognition or appreciation, it comes from understanding that our knowledge and skills help to diagnose, monitor, treat, and ultimately, save lives.
If you are interested in learning more about this career you can contact Margot Alvery at mmlondon@svsu.edu.
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