Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Enter data from analysis of medical tests or clinical results into computer for storage.
• Establish or monitor quality assurance programs or activities to ensure the accuracy of laboratory results.
• Operate, calibrate, or maintain equipment used in quantitative or qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers, or computer-controlled analyzers.
• Provide technical information about test results to physicians, family members, or researchers.
• Select and prepare specimens and media for cell cultures, using aseptic technique and knowledge of medium components and cell requirements.
• Conduct chemical analysis of body fluids, including blood, urine, or spinal fluid, to determine presence of normal or abnormal components.
• Operate, calibrate, or maintain equipment used in quantitative or qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers, or computer-controlled analyzers.
• Collect and study blood samples to determine the number of cells, their morphology, or their blood group, blood type, or compatibility for transfusion purposes, using microscopic techniques.
• Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment.
• Obtain, cut, stain, and mount biological material on slides for microscopic study and diagnosis, following standard laboratory procedures.
• Cultivate, isolate, or assist in identifying microbial organisms or perform various tests on these microorganisms.
• Cultivate, isolate, or assist in identifying microbial organisms or perform various tests on these microorganisms.
• Harvest cell cultures at optimum time, based on knowledge of cell cycle differences and culture conditions.
• Analyze laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results.
• Supervise, train, or direct lab assistants, medical and clinical laboratory technicians or technologists, or other medical laboratory workers engaged in laboratory testing.
• Supervise, train, or direct lab assistants, medical and clinical laboratory technicians or technologists, or other medical laboratory workers engaged in laboratory testing.
• Collect and study blood samples to determine the number of cells, their morphology, or their blood group, blood type, or compatibility for transfusion purposes, using microscopic techniques.
• Cultivate, isolate, or assist in identifying microbial organisms or perform various tests on these microorganisms.
• Develop, standardize, evaluate, or modify procedures, techniques, or tests used in the analysis of specimens or in medical laboratory experiments.
• Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment.
• Obtain, cut, stain, and mount biological material on slides for microscopic study and diagnosis, following standard laboratory procedures.
• Provide technical information about test results to physicians, family members, or researchers.
• Analyze samples of biological material for chemical content or reaction.
• Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment.

Skills

• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

Abilities

• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

Knowledge

• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • 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.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Education

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

×

Education and Training Opportunities

• Seattle University
  900 Broadway, Seattle WA 98122-4340
  School Type

  Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above

  Admissions
  School Size

  5,000 - 9,999

  Financial Aid 206-296-6000
  Other Degrees Offered

  Undergraduate degree or certificate offering,Graduate degree or certificate offering
  Website

  http://www.seattleu.edu/
  Program Name
  Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist
  Length
  4 years
  Award Level
  Bachelor's degree
  Save
  Program Name
  Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist
  Length
  4 years
  Award Level
  Bachelor's degree
  Save

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• University of Washington-Seattle Campus
  1400 NE Campus Parkway, Seattle WA 98195-4550
  School Type

  Public, 4-year or above

  Admissions
  School Size

  20,000 and above

  Financial Aid 206-543-2100
  Other Degrees Offered

  Undergraduate degree or certificate offering,Graduate degree or certificate offering
  Website

  https://www.washington.edu/
  Program Name
  Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist
  Length
  More than 4 years
  Award Level
  Master's degree, Bachelor's degree
  Save

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Close

Pay

Washington Annual Salary

68650/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

33.01/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

7,750

Yearly Projected Openings

630

Personality

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

• Attention to Detail
• Integrity
• Initiative
• Analytical Thinking
• Concern for Others
• Cooperation

Tools

• Anaerobic jars or accessories
• Analytical balances
• Bench refractometers or polarimeters
• Benchtop centrifuges
• Binocular light compound microscopes
• Blood bank analyzers
• Blood bank cell washers
• Blood collection needle holders
• Blood collection needles
• Blood collection syringes
• Calorimeters
• Capillary or hematocrit tubes
• Chemistry analyzers
• Chromatographic detectors
• Coagulation analyzers
• Colorimeters
• Compact disc CD or labeling printers
• Desktop computers
• Dropping pipettes
• Electrolyte analyzers
• Electronic multichannel pipetters
• Extracting equipment for laboratories
• Fluorescent microscopes
• Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators
• Fume hoods or cupboards
• Gel documentation systems
• Glucose monitors or meters
• Hemacytometer sets
• Hematology analyzers
• Histology tissue cassettes
• Hypodermic needle
• Immunology or serology test kits or supplies
• Laboratory balances
• Laboratory chillers
• Laboratory diluters
• Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
• Laboratory mixers
• Laboratory vacuum pumps
• Laminar flow cabinets or stations
• Lancets
• Laser printers
• Liquid scintillation counters
• Manual multichannel air displacement pipetters
• Manual or electronic hematology differential cell counters
• Manual single channel air displacement pipetters
• Microbiology analyzers
• Microcentrifuges
• Micrometers
• Microplate readers
• Microplate washers
• Microscope slides
• Multipurpose or general test tubes
• Multiwell plates
• Notebook computers
• Osmometers
• Personal computers
• Petri plates or dishes
• Phlebotomy trays or accessories
• Photo attachments for microscopes
• Photometer
• Pipetter inserts or accessories
• Platelet mixers
• Robotic or automated liquid handling systems
• Specialty plates for bacteria
• Spectrometers
• Spectrophotometers
• Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
• Stereo or dissecting light microscopes
• Surgical instrument brushes or instrument stylets or instrument wipes
• Temperature cycling chambers or thermal cyclers
• Tissue culture coated plates or dishes or inserts
• Tissue embedding stations
• Tissue processors
• Tourniquets
• Triple beam balances
• Tube rotators
• Ultracentrifuges
• Urinalysis analyzers
• Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
• Warming cabinets
• Winged infusion needle set
• pH meters

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Medical software
• Office suite software
• Presentation software
• Project management software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software