Anyone work as Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS)?

[revinnova]

I'm interested in getting my CLS license. Is it just looking at stool, urine, and blood samples all day? I was also if their are other careers I can move onto if I go become a CLS.

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[Aaliah thomas]

I'm interested in getting my CLS license. Is it just looking at stool, urine, and blood samples all day? I was also if their are other careers I can move onto if I go become a CLS.

Hey Revinnova

That's quite unusual. You want to get a license in clinical laboratory scientist,but are hesitant to deal with body fluids. Don't worry you may not do much of manual work because with increasing automation and the use of computer technology, this work has become less hands-on and more analytical. Also be assured as rapid job growth and excellent job opportunities are expected in this sector. You can also go for some specialist programs .in Blood Banking or ..Hematology., to excel in this field.
Hope this is going to solve your confusion a to some extent.

 

[revinnova]

Hey Revinnova

That's quite unusual. You want to get a license in clinical laboratory scientist,but are hesitant to deal with body fluids. Don't worry you may not do much of manual work because with increasing automation and the use of computer technology, this work has become less hands-on and more analytical. Also be assured as rapid job growth and excellent job opportunities are expected in this sector. You can also go for some specialist programs .in Blood Banking or ..Hematology., to excel in this field.
Hope this is going to solve your confusion a to some extent.

lol, I'm not hesitant to deal with fluids. Sorry for the wording. What I meant to say was is there more to it than analyzing fluids.

 

[SoDakMLS]

I'm interested in getting my CLS license. Is it just looking at stool, urine, and blood samples all day? I was also if their are other careers I can move onto if I go become a CLS.

I'm an MLS of 3 years (the new certification title for both MT's and CLS's) currently working at a ~500-bed hospital in on the night shift. Our lab breaks down into 5 areas: Chemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, Blood Bank, and Histology (although Histo is essentially separate). I rotate benches in Chem, Heme, and Blood Bank. If you have any specific questions about working in this type of setting, feel free to ask.

As a general summary of my job, you're there to produce quality results. There's a lot more analyzer "babysitting" than is advertized by the field to potential recruits. Performing daily and periodic maintenance, doing assay quality control, troubleshooting errors. And with the instruments available now, there are few areas that involve hands-on work and tech interpretation (at least in a clinical lab--I suspect specialty reference labs that do more esoteric testing are probably more hands on). As far as using critical thinking, you basically ask "does this make sense?" when you review results before charting the. You interact with nurses over the phone quite a bit--in my case it's to ask for a specimen redraw or to ask for more information that would explain sudden drastic changes in lab results (it's commonly unpleasant). Very little interaction with physicians on the night shift.

I have friends that left the hospital to work in clinics. The pay is less and you are pretty much half tech, half phlebotomist in that setting. You do get to know the nurses and physicians you work with though, so some of the job aspects are better than at a hospital. There are a few techs who after I believe a minimum of 3 years bench experience and a LOT of self-study can take special certification tests. In practical terms, it puts you on a path to "lead" a section of the lab (Like Blood Bank, Heme, or Chem). To climb higher than that you'd probably need a master's degree with some administrative training.

I would say the problem with the field is that it's terribly flat (meaning very little in the way of promotions). Smart and ambitious young people that enter this career field frequently leave. We lose about 3-4 people on the off shifts every year who go back to medical, PA, or PT school (myself included this year).

 

[revinnova]

I'm an MLS of 3 years (the new certification title for both MT's and CLS's) currently working at a ~500-bed hospital in on the night shift. Our lab breaks down into 5 areas: Chemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, Blood Bank, and Histology (although Histo is essentially separate). I rotate benches in Chem, Heme, and Blood Bank. If you have any specific questions about working in this type of setting, feel free to ask.

As a general summary of my job, you're there to produce quality results. There's a lot more analyzer "babysitting" than is advertized by the field to potential recruits. Performing daily and periodic maintenance, doing assay quality control, troubleshooting errors. And with the instruments available now, there are few areas that involve hands-on work and tech interpretation (at least in a clinical lab--I suspect specialty reference labs that do more esoteric testing are probably more hands on). As far as using critical thinking, you basically ask "does this make sense?" when you review results before charting the. You interact with nurses over the phone quite a bit--in my case it's to ask for a specimen redraw or to ask for more information that would explain sudden drastic changes in lab results (it's commonly unpleasant). Very little interaction with physicians on the night shift.

I have friends that left the hospital to work in clinics. The pay is less and you are pretty much half tech, half phlebotomist in that setting. You do get to know the nurses and physicians you work with though, so some of the job aspects are better than at a hospital. There are a few techs who after I believe a minimum of 3 years bench experience and a LOT of self-study can take special certification tests. In practical terms, it puts you on a path to "lead" a section of the lab (Like Blood Bank, Heme, or Chem). To climb higher than that you'd probably need a master's degree with some administrative training.

I would say the problem with the field is that it's terribly flat (meaning very little in the way of promotions). Smart and ambitious young people that enter this career field frequently leave. We lose about 3-4 people on the off shifts every year who go back to medical, PA, or PT school (myself included this year).

Great! That answered a lot of my questions.