Medical Technologist Career Journal v664g

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST  

Correct Name of Career o Medical Technologist Education and/or Training Required o Some important skills of a medical technologist are computer skills, the ability to use a microscope, and patient care. o Some high school courses could include microbiology, general anatomy, and science. o The first thing that someone should do when they are interested in becoming a medical technologist is get their bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree in medical technology will prepare someone for work in this field. This four-year program is focused on mainly natural science and often has an internship required at the end of the course. Getting their bachelor’s degree is a minimum entry level requirement for a medical technologist. Usually after the person completes this they decide to become a laboratory director. To do this they need a master’s degree. o There are many subspecialties someone can work in after their residency as a medical technologist. Some specialties are blood banking, chemistry, hematology, immunology and microbiology. It is not a requirement for someone to have a

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subspecialty in medical technology but some people choose to take this path. Responsibilities and Daily Activities o Some daily activities of a medical technologist are complex analysis of microscopic, immunologic, biologic, bacteriologic, hematologic, and chemical tests and their results. However, some other activities that a medical technologist might be asked to perform are preparing cultures of tissue samples, establishing and monitoring programs that ensure data accuracy, microscopically examining slides of bodily fluids, cross-matching blood for transfusions, chemically analyzing blood or urine for toxic components, analyzing lab reports for accuracy, operating and calibrating equipment, and delivering test results to physicians, researchers or patients. o Medical technologists are known for performing urinalysis tests. However, there are other tests that medical technologists perform. One of these tests that they perform are pregnancy tests. The purpose of this test is to know if a women is

pregnant or not. If the test comes back negative after a couple has been trying to get pregnant for a while it could show the medical technologist that the couple might have a problem with either of their reproductive systems. Another test that these doctors perform are HIV tests to prove if a patient has HIV or not. If this test comes back positive the patient’s immune system begins to wear down as the body tries to fight off the infection unsuccessfully. The third test that medical technologists perform are diabetes tests. This test is obviously done to prove if someone has diabetes or not. If a patient come back positive with diabetes it shows them that their pancreas isn’t producing insulin/ it isn’t working in their bodies. This can cause the patient to have to watch what they eat so that they don’t intake a large amount of glucose. o There are various work places that medical technologists can work in. Some choose to work in hospital; clinics; industrial or research labs; or sales, service or 

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technical development for companies that make medical supplies. Salary Range o Mid-range: $56,317. o Values are for Owensboro, Kentucky. o Salary is highly variable education, performance, and years of experience. . Documentation of Sources o Study.com. (nd). Medical Technologist: Job Description, Duties and Requirements. [accessed 24 February 2016]. Retrieved from http://study.com/articles/Medical_Technologist_Job_Description_Duties_and_Re quirements.html o Allied Health Profession. (nd). The Medical Technologist (MT). [accessed 24 February 2016]. Retrieved from http://www.healthpronet.org/ahp_month/06_04.html o University of Wisconsin. (nd). Medical Technology. [accessed 24 February 2016]. Retrieved from http://www.uwosh.edu/med_tech/what-is-elementaryhematology/what-is-a-medical-technologist o FamilyDoctor.org. (nd). HIV and AIDS. [accessed 24 February 2016]. Retrieved from http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/hiv-andaids/diagnosis-tests.html

o Salary.com. (nd). Medical Technologist (AS). [accessed 24 February 2016]. Retrieved from http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Medical-Technologist-AS

Salary-Details-Owensboro-KY.aspx Self-Reflection o I have never heard of this career before. o A good thing about this career is you get to help people every day. o A bad thing about this career would be delivering bad news to your patients. o I don’t think I would enjoy this job. o I wouldn’t like this job because it would be hard to inform your patients about the bad news.