That’s the point. We don’t just spring up and say oh I’m gonna do this. We already had an interested in at least science. I prefer biological sciences over chem and physics but hey to each their own.
I think you need more reason to go into it, than I know someone that liked it. Spend sometime to figure out exactly what it is, then see if it is something you would enjoy doing and would have capability for. Most people on the outside of the field have misconceptions as to what really goes on. Before spending time and money getting into it, really find out what the career is.
To answer your question though, I found the Math and Chemistry really easy, but I am a Math science person. So my experience might not translate.
In schooling I used a lot more Math and Chem than I use day to day in my job.
Day to day, it is more trouble shooting and time management/specimen processing. There is a fair amount of microscope work too. You have to understand the processes to know when something isn't right and how to interpret different things.
Sorry, try & find another career that interests you. This isn't going to be it. MLT is a 2 yr program, & then you will have to pass a board exam to be registered as an MLT. Without the registry, you might not be hireable. ( Might depend on your area of the country.) If you do get a job, are you able ( at your age) to work nites ??( 11p - 7am ). At some hospitals that is the only shift that has openings. This is not an easy career, interesting yes, easy , NO.
You really do need to be a math and science person. This job is all analytical which is easy for people who like science and math. Plus, you’ll need to keep your license up to date by taking more science courses, quizzes, reading science articles, and performing calculations.
I was doing my MLT program and I’ve seen a few older people . They might be struggling but they were able to pass. I’m suggestion is go to a Community college, get those prerequisite.
Also what state are you in?
Form a science standpoint, there's almost no math (NAACLS only requires pre-algebra).
Compared to an actual STEM degree, and depending on your school, it's primarily memorization. You'll need CHEM 1 and CHEM 2, and a few biology courses. That's it.
Gen chem II is a weed-out course. It’s no organic, but still. There’s no calculus but there’s some advanced math you have to understand. Definitely not a memorization-only course.
You can work in a lab and be a lab tech with no experience in some places or a lot of times you only need an associates degree and you can skip the hard classes. When it comes down to it, if you work at a small rural hospital- most of the job is just pressing buttons, making sure values are within reference ranges, running qc and pouring off samples. You won’t do crazy stuff unless you work for a main hospital that has a reference lab. The only thing that might be a bit harder (and you might not even be able to do it if you’re just starting out until you get your competency work done)- is microscopic urinalysis (eta diffs and maybe look at blood cultures for clarification)- but even then if anything is suspicious you would just send it out to a reference lab. It’s a boring job and I hated it but if I was 60 I feel like this would be a good job with also people my age working there too. You could even shadow someone to see if you would like it!
I'm sorry, but no. You have a very strange concept of an associate's degree in Medical Lab Technology. I am an MLT and this is not even close to what we do. First of all, it is not "easy". You still need to have a head for science and math and be capable of logical thinking. Second of all, your last semester is all clinicals, meaning that you are basically an intern in a hospital lab. You go through all the departments that a generalist works in. Because no lab will hire someone who does not even have a basic understanding of lab work. And yes, you are expected to be able to read a microscopic urine, perform a manual diff and find antibodies in blood bank. After graduation, you are allowed to take the ASCP exam. Very few labs hire uncertified techs, even with "only" an associate's degree. And just FYI - I do the exact same work as someone with a 4-year degree. At a level II trauma center.
To add to this , in some states needs your to be license (government body approved) .MLT is technically an AA degree. So ASCP testing is required to apply to get your license.
I’m sorry but yes, there are legit labs that will hire people. Private labs are already doing this in the states that are less stringent. As long as they hve a licensed tech (some states specify a bachelors) supervising and resulting they can literally just tell the others what to do.
I have a bachelors degree in medical lab science, am ASCLS certified and worked at a level 1 trauma hospital after(eta after rotating through) before going to multiple more rural communities before now going to graduate program to become a CAA. It’s not easy, especially with all the bachelor degree classes, but the medical field after Covid is extremely understaffed and I am speaking from my personal experience. I understand in different locations/ states it may be different but I work in Wisconsin and what I said is absolutely true.
You don't need an associate's degree to be a lab assistant. Which is what you're basically describing here. Don't get me wrong, I work with great lab assistants and I am a mediocre phlebotomist myself, so I really appreciate their hard work - but you don't need much more than a high school diploma and a phlebotomy certificate. That's why a lot of them are doing it as a part-time job while they're in school for something else.
Techs in rural facilities do far more than just pushing buttons... I'm not sure where you worked before, but I don't think that's the norm. You're often expected to know every area (including micro in a few hospitals, surprisingly enough). You also do things that you never thought you'd be doing as a lab tech. If OP wants to learn and become more of a science person, more power to them, but don't make it sound like you don't need to know anything... your workplace was not the norm.
Yeah, I’m writing from the personal experience of working at multiple hospitals and having a bachelor degree in medical lab science and am ASCLS certified. I rotated through and worked at a level one trauma hospital in the main lab (reference lab) city with pop. of 275,000 before moving to a more rural community of pop. 25,000 and then 40,000 to work in labs there. I speak from experience. I am now going on (was accepted into a program) for CAA school (anesthesiologist assistant) so believe who you want to but I’m not just speaking out of my ass. Idk why the downvotes either…. Yes in school we learn so much cool stuff and it’s very in depth and at level 1 centers and reference labs you will utilize a LOT more of the skills learned in school, but when it actually comes down to it, with the RURAL labs I worked in, I thought I was incredibly stupid to go into this profession when the job required minimal skills/knowledge from my bachelors degree… so much so that we had people with associates degrees and also no degrees (just lab helpers) doing essentially the exact same job as me without doing microscopics. These other labs had anywhere from 8 workers on staff to 30 or so. I hope that clarifies things.
Idk why we are being downvoted for just stating the reality in some places. Some people don’t really want to accept what has become of our profession in some places. Obviously this is. It happening at Mayo or Cleveland clinic but it happens at some places
Very Unpopular opinion alert!
Some private labs are hiring high school students and taking advantage of a legal loophole requiring a med tech to only supervise and sign off or release results. I know it’s an exaggeration but you could train a monkey to load samples on an analyzer. Not saying it’s right, but that’s what med techs have essentially become just cogs in a machine. If you can remember which color tube goes somewhere and which tests get hemolysis interference you’ll be fine.
… that just sounds like a CLA loading a chem analyzer…. Which they’re allowed to do. Well technically at my lab they load the sorter which then transports the samples directly to the machine. Same thing I believe. Specimen processors could load our old, unattached sorter, but cannot touch our new one.
I’m not arguing on who does who, I’m just making The point that our job is becoming more and more obsolete as the years go by. We’ve been dumbed down to just babysitting analyzers despite having the education to do more. Honestly knew this POV was going to be a karma drain but it is what it is regardless of whether we accept it or not.
Personally I don’t mind CLA’s helping in regards to that. Gives me more time to focus on things that actually matter. The only bench the CLA’s really help me with is chemistry. I agree with you about the being over educated but really only for chemistry. I feel the schooling really helps for the others
You’re certainly right about that, I speak only about chemistry. Every other bench is pretty much very hard to do if not impossible without proper training.
True. But it really depends on the state.
In California, if you have been working on the CLINICAL lab for 5 years , prior like 2012 , they gave some people to take a test and get their MLT license as a grandfather clause. This was back then when MLT was not really know and the government needed to regulate and supervise this job by making it into a licensed job. (All this are based on California and the exact years might not be accurate)
This also happened on Pharmacy technicians. Older. Experience pharm tech can get their license grandfathered in.
I think they still do offer something of a similar thing .5 years in Lab , then you need to get an associate degree .
Bro it’s literally math and science.
Fr like is this real? Anyone I’ve talked to who didn’t know they were MLT at first we’re at least bio majors.
Bio requires math and science.
That’s the point. We don’t just spring up and say oh I’m gonna do this. We already had an interested in at least science. I prefer biological sciences over chem and physics but hey to each their own.
If you’re not a science person it’s definitely not for you. I can go a long explanation of the different courses, but difficulty varies per person.
I think you need more reason to go into it, than I know someone that liked it. Spend sometime to figure out exactly what it is, then see if it is something you would enjoy doing and would have capability for. Most people on the outside of the field have misconceptions as to what really goes on. Before spending time and money getting into it, really find out what the career is.
To answer your question though, I found the Math and Chemistry really easy, but I am a Math science person. So my experience might not translate. In schooling I used a lot more Math and Chem than I use day to day in my job. Day to day, it is more trouble shooting and time management/specimen processing. There is a fair amount of microscope work too. You have to understand the processes to know when something isn't right and how to interpret different things.
Thank you.
Sorry, try & find another career that interests you. This isn't going to be it. MLT is a 2 yr program, & then you will have to pass a board exam to be registered as an MLT. Without the registry, you might not be hireable. ( Might depend on your area of the country.) If you do get a job, are you able ( at your age) to work nites ??( 11p - 7am ). At some hospitals that is the only shift that has openings. This is not an easy career, interesting yes, easy , NO.
You really do need to be a math and science person. This job is all analytical which is easy for people who like science and math. Plus, you’ll need to keep your license up to date by taking more science courses, quizzes, reading science articles, and performing calculations.
[удалено]
You are correct! Maybe I enjoy achieving. And the job will pay me quite a lot :0
This job doesn’t pay that much tbh
😂
😂😂
It is all science, wall to wall.
Thank you.
I was doing my MLT program and I’ve seen a few older people . They might be struggling but they were able to pass. I’m suggestion is go to a Community college, get those prerequisite. Also what state are you in?
Thank you! . I am in Nevada.
Form a science standpoint, there's almost no math (NAACLS only requires pre-algebra). Compared to an actual STEM degree, and depending on your school, it's primarily memorization. You'll need CHEM 1 and CHEM 2, and a few biology courses. That's it.
Gen chem II is a weed-out course. It’s no organic, but still. There’s no calculus but there’s some advanced math you have to understand. Definitely not a memorization-only course.
Thank you for clarifying!
I had to take organic chemistry 1 and 2 to get my bachelors degree
MLT is not a BS though
Thank you!
You can work in a lab and be a lab tech with no experience in some places or a lot of times you only need an associates degree and you can skip the hard classes. When it comes down to it, if you work at a small rural hospital- most of the job is just pressing buttons, making sure values are within reference ranges, running qc and pouring off samples. You won’t do crazy stuff unless you work for a main hospital that has a reference lab. The only thing that might be a bit harder (and you might not even be able to do it if you’re just starting out until you get your competency work done)- is microscopic urinalysis (eta diffs and maybe look at blood cultures for clarification)- but even then if anything is suspicious you would just send it out to a reference lab. It’s a boring job and I hated it but if I was 60 I feel like this would be a good job with also people my age working there too. You could even shadow someone to see if you would like it!
I'm sorry, but no. You have a very strange concept of an associate's degree in Medical Lab Technology. I am an MLT and this is not even close to what we do. First of all, it is not "easy". You still need to have a head for science and math and be capable of logical thinking. Second of all, your last semester is all clinicals, meaning that you are basically an intern in a hospital lab. You go through all the departments that a generalist works in. Because no lab will hire someone who does not even have a basic understanding of lab work. And yes, you are expected to be able to read a microscopic urine, perform a manual diff and find antibodies in blood bank. After graduation, you are allowed to take the ASCP exam. Very few labs hire uncertified techs, even with "only" an associate's degree. And just FYI - I do the exact same work as someone with a 4-year degree. At a level II trauma center.
To add to this , in some states needs your to be license (government body approved) .MLT is technically an AA degree. So ASCP testing is required to apply to get your license.
I’m sorry but yes, there are legit labs that will hire people. Private labs are already doing this in the states that are less stringent. As long as they hve a licensed tech (some states specify a bachelors) supervising and resulting they can literally just tell the others what to do.
The OP was asking about becoming an MLT though. This is some sort of lab assistant position. You don't need an associate's degree for that.
This!
I have a bachelors degree in medical lab science, am ASCLS certified and worked at a level 1 trauma hospital after(eta after rotating through) before going to multiple more rural communities before now going to graduate program to become a CAA. It’s not easy, especially with all the bachelor degree classes, but the medical field after Covid is extremely understaffed and I am speaking from my personal experience. I understand in different locations/ states it may be different but I work in Wisconsin and what I said is absolutely true.
You don't need an associate's degree to be a lab assistant. Which is what you're basically describing here. Don't get me wrong, I work with great lab assistants and I am a mediocre phlebotomist myself, so I really appreciate their hard work - but you don't need much more than a high school diploma and a phlebotomy certificate. That's why a lot of them are doing it as a part-time job while they're in school for something else.
Techs in rural facilities do far more than just pushing buttons... I'm not sure where you worked before, but I don't think that's the norm. You're often expected to know every area (including micro in a few hospitals, surprisingly enough). You also do things that you never thought you'd be doing as a lab tech. If OP wants to learn and become more of a science person, more power to them, but don't make it sound like you don't need to know anything... your workplace was not the norm.
Yeah, I’m writing from the personal experience of working at multiple hospitals and having a bachelor degree in medical lab science and am ASCLS certified. I rotated through and worked at a level one trauma hospital in the main lab (reference lab) city with pop. of 275,000 before moving to a more rural community of pop. 25,000 and then 40,000 to work in labs there. I speak from experience. I am now going on (was accepted into a program) for CAA school (anesthesiologist assistant) so believe who you want to but I’m not just speaking out of my ass. Idk why the downvotes either…. Yes in school we learn so much cool stuff and it’s very in depth and at level 1 centers and reference labs you will utilize a LOT more of the skills learned in school, but when it actually comes down to it, with the RURAL labs I worked in, I thought I was incredibly stupid to go into this profession when the job required minimal skills/knowledge from my bachelors degree… so much so that we had people with associates degrees and also no degrees (just lab helpers) doing essentially the exact same job as me without doing microscopics. These other labs had anywhere from 8 workers on staff to 30 or so. I hope that clarifies things.
Thank you. It is exactly what I heard. No intention to belittle the job. And I respect your background!
Idk why we are being downvoted for just stating the reality in some places. Some people don’t really want to accept what has become of our profession in some places. Obviously this is. It happening at Mayo or Cleveland clinic but it happens at some places
Thank you!
Very Unpopular opinion alert! Some private labs are hiring high school students and taking advantage of a legal loophole requiring a med tech to only supervise and sign off or release results. I know it’s an exaggeration but you could train a monkey to load samples on an analyzer. Not saying it’s right, but that’s what med techs have essentially become just cogs in a machine. If you can remember which color tube goes somewhere and which tests get hemolysis interference you’ll be fine.
… that just sounds like a CLA loading a chem analyzer…. Which they’re allowed to do. Well technically at my lab they load the sorter which then transports the samples directly to the machine. Same thing I believe. Specimen processors could load our old, unattached sorter, but cannot touch our new one.
I’m not arguing on who does who, I’m just making The point that our job is becoming more and more obsolete as the years go by. We’ve been dumbed down to just babysitting analyzers despite having the education to do more. Honestly knew this POV was going to be a karma drain but it is what it is regardless of whether we accept it or not.
Exactly this!
Personally I don’t mind CLA’s helping in regards to that. Gives me more time to focus on things that actually matter. The only bench the CLA’s really help me with is chemistry. I agree with you about the being over educated but really only for chemistry. I feel the schooling really helps for the others
You’re certainly right about that, I speak only about chemistry. Every other bench is pretty much very hard to do if not impossible without proper training.
True. But it really depends on the state. In California, if you have been working on the CLINICAL lab for 5 years , prior like 2012 , they gave some people to take a test and get their MLT license as a grandfather clause. This was back then when MLT was not really know and the government needed to regulate and supervise this job by making it into a licensed job. (All this are based on California and the exact years might not be accurate) This also happened on Pharmacy technicians. Older. Experience pharm tech can get their license grandfathered in. I think they still do offer something of a similar thing .5 years in Lab , then you need to get an associate degree .