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Medical Laboratory Technology
Medical Lab Technician is an important part of a doctor’s team. In fact he can be considered as the most important part of the crucial process started by a doctor along with the other health care staff. It is said that once the starting is well then the end is bound to be well. It is here where a lab technician plays its all important role.
Clinical diagnosis is getting more and more dependent on laboratory tests, and lab technicians play a significant role in this process
Gone are the days when your doctor touched your wrist to check what’s wrong with you. Instead, today they first ask you to go in for a lab test and then based on the results, they will diagnose and prescribe treatment. This is where lab technicians come in. Someone with high fever can either have malaria or dengue; the clarification is achieved only when tests are performed and analysis is done. The final diagnosis comes from the laboratory.
Job Prospects
A well qualified and certified medical laboratory technician may find a challenging career in public and private sector hospital, minor emergency centers, laboratory, blood donor centers. These days with the growth in the private sector there are so many private hospitals, nursing homes, blood banks, pathology laboratories etc. the demand for laboratory technicians is on the up-swing. With adequate knowledge and experience, Medical Laboratory Technologists can advance to supervisory or management positions in laboratories and hospitals. These Laboratory Technologists can also run private pathology laboratories.
Job role: More than a blood test
Medical Lab Technicians work on doctor’s instructions. They prepare specimens and operate on machines to analyse samples. They maintain lab health including setting up apparatus, cleaning machines after tests and maintaining the laboratory equipment. They also prepare standard solutions, which are used in the lab analysis. They have to be cautious about measuring chemicals. Based on results released by lab technicians and technologists together, clinical management of a protocol and have knowledge of all branches of medical science. They must be able to observe patients’ symptoms and cross-check if the tests being advised are matching the condition.
Lab Technician versus Pathologists
Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT) carry out tests but are not trained to interpret results. On the other hand, Pathologists or Lab Technologists are trained and authorized to interpret results and give their opinion. To become an MLT, one can pursue two- year and three- year Diploma courses after Class 12. Pathologists do MBBS followed by MD/DNB. The MLTs work under the supervision of a Pathologist.
Training for the job
A student interested in lab technology should undergo Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Technology (BMLT) or Diploma in Medical Laboratory (DMLT) after Class 12. In these programmes, students are trained in clinical lab analysis of body fluids and tissues. There are certificate courses also on offer in general and specialties. We are taught almost everything related to a medical laboratory and researches done in it. Apart from core medical subjects, we learn essential things like Laboratory Management, Time Management, Medico Legal, Physiology and First Aid.