It is extremely frustrating as a lab tech to hear nurses talk about the lab like we just press buttons. In fact it is appalling, especially when we go through many of the same, and many more, college courses.
They even go so far as to refer to our profession as one where you don't have to think. Wow. I couldn't imagine someone not thinking when they are identifying antibodies your patient has, then trying to type the corresponding antigen negative blood so your patient doesn't have a transfusion reaction. Or when we are performing a differential that lets the doctor know the patient has CLL.
Not to mention that we have to look at previous labs and document why there has been a significant change. Or worse yet, figure out that the results are not consistent, and the nurse or CNA has mislabeled specimens.
We bust our butts, and when we are not actively testing specimens, we are calibrating, running QC, and doing maintenance on the machines.
All while getting paid much less for being just as essential and having just as much education.
Also, we do not cause your specimens to be hemolyzed. We are not shaking them up, I assure you. They cannot become that way from sitting around, even though specimens don't sit around in the lab when tests are ordered. On that note, clots occur from not inverting the tubes once they are drawn. Also not us, generally the phlebotomist is drawing the specimen, but the only clotted tubes we get are from nurses and CNAs. We don't want to give you the bad news either.
We need to be recognized as essential medical professionals as well as nurses. We know plenty that nurses don't, and vice versa. It's just hard to listen to people on their pedestals with no respect or understanding about the profession they bash.
I wouldn't even call this a rant, because it is only addressing the misconceptions that I hear repeatedly.
This was definitely a tech because we don't have phlebotomists and he was the one checking the tubes for clots. But that wasn't the point of my post to begin with.
Anyone in the lab should be checking for clots, foreign matter, etc, when they have the tubes in their possession. Good practice (per my son). And many facilities call phlebotomist lab techs because it sounds more 'technical' and inspires trust (per my facility's lab director, as we do the same exact thing). Not sure about your facility as I can't answer for everyone
Medical laboratory technologist requires a bachelors degree, and medical laboratory technician is an associates. Is that the difference?
Does MLT refer to both? Both seem to get shortened to "tech". That's where some of my confusion comes from.
This is why I wish I knew more about every different department in the hospital. Phlebotomists, medical laboratory technicians, and medical laboratory technologists are each different roles with different levels of education but all get lumped into "lab" by the rest of the hospital. Hard to get recognized for your training and education when it's all "lab".
And many facilities call phlebotomist lab techs because it sounds more 'technical' and inspires trust (per my facility's lab director, as we do the same exact thing).
Isn't that like calling a CNA/MA a "nurse" to inspire trust? Glad we have title protection.
Isn't that like calling a CNA/MA a "nurse" to inspire trust? Glad we have title protection.
Amen. That's why when taking a phone order I ask for credentials. Just because the person says office nurse doesn't mean they are a nurse. My son doesn't much like the 'lab tech' designation either as it diminishes his role and causes confuse as we've seen in this thread
Medical laboratory technologist requires a bachelors degree, and medical laboratory technician is an associates. Is that the difference?
Does MLT refer to both? Both seem to get shortened to "tech". That's where some of my confusion comes from.
This is why I wish I knew more about every different department in the hospital. Phlebotomists, medical laboratory technicians, and medical laboratory technologists are each different roles with different levels of education but all get lumped into "lab" by the rest of the hospital. Hard to get recognized for your training and education when it's all "lab".
Yes, that's the difference. My sons letters are MT (the word lab/oratory) is not in there
Anyone in the lab should be checking for clots, foreign matter, etc, when they have the tubes in their possession. Good practice (per my son). And many facilities call phlebotomist lab techs because it sounds more 'technical' and inspires trust (per my facility's lab director, as we do the same exact thing). Not sure about your facility as I can't answer for everyone
Again we do not have phlebotomists in our lab. All of our lab staff have bachelors degrees. I work very closely with them in my current role. And again, that wasn't the point of my post.
And we have yet another OP who has disappeared when anarchy didn't ensue after their antics.
I really don't have contact with labs anymore, as I'm a Hospice Nurse. However, this thread has been a learning experience for me. I now know more about why things are done the way they are than I ever did when I worked the floor.
Thank you, to the Lab professionals who responded. It's been very informative.
Sorry you [OP] have such a negative opinion of nurses. I have never seen or even heard any nurses ranting about the "stupidity" of lab, quite the opposite in fact. If I have a question about a lab test I can and do call even in the middle of the night and the lab tech on duty has always been very helpful, respectful and nice. Now maybe he or she complained to fellow lab staff about the dumb nurse that just called with a stupid question but if that the case I was never treated less than professionally and respectfully and no nurses I know ever treat lab staff as less than other professionals.
In my experience, animosity between nursing staff and lab staff is common place. I think that it mostly stems from a lack of understanding/knowledge about the roles and responsibilities of healthcare workers in different disciplines. Nurses generally know very little about the education and certification of lab professionals. They tend to see everyone in the lab as a "lab tech" with no real distinction between a phlebotomist, medical lab technician and medical technologist. Most nurses are unaware that medical technologists spend 4+ years in school to earn their degree and are required to take many "hard" science classes that nursing majors are not. However, most lab personnel seem to be unaware of the high levels of liability, responsibility and abuse that nursing staff must endure to provide patient care. I don't see any problem with a medical technologist proclaiming that his/her education is no less than an nurse's education but he or she must also realize that education isn't everything in the world of patient care. Lab employees seem to often lament the difference in pay scales between nurses and themselves based on education while not considering work environment or level of liability.
Having said all of this, I still don't know how to improve the relationship between nursing and lab. Clearly, every member of the healthcare team has an important role to play but its difficult enough just trying to improve the relationship between day shift and night shift in the nursing dept.
Hoosier_RN, MSN
3,968 Posts
Correct.