Laura’s
Journey
;s
After taking a tour of a hospital laboratory I knew this is the career I wanted to be a part of.
One of the professors I was doing research with offered us a field trip to a local hospital not too far from the college I was attending. Not knowing this career was even an option I said ‘That sounds fun’ and was open to a whole new world of arrival. After taking a tour of this hospital’s lab I knew this was the career I wanted to be a part of.
The hospital even had an MT program (Medical Technologist ~ another work for MLS) but they were only accepting 6 students each year. I applied right then and there with only a few weeks before applications were due. I got an interview but was not accepted the first time. I also wasn’t properly prepared as I just found out about the career. With my Bachelors finished and not knowing what other qualifications the other applicants had ahead of me I started to do some research. I got a job at a Plasma Donation Center and an Animal Reference Lab hoping to gain some experience (indirectly) related to the program I wanted to join.
After a year of working to gain experience, I applied to the program for Medical Technologist for a second time. Throughout the application and even after I got the interview, I was nervous I would not be accepted. But it was truly just a waiting game. Months later the emails were sent and it said I was accepted. I was shocked, not thinking it was real. It was!!! And in August that year, I started the next chapter of my life!
I found out later I had a lot more experience than most of those applying right out of school or doing this program in tandem with their bachelor’s. So even if you don’t get into the program the first time around you always still have a chance if you tailor your resume for the next go-around. Good Luck!
It was a rough time with little sleep and hours pouring over books and training in the hospital's lab. After all the schooling to become an MLS/MT is equivalent to first-year medical school. After a year of extensive learning, I graduated with a Certificate of Completion from the Medical Technologist Program, but I was not yet an MLS. I had to pass the boards.
Only a week after the program had finished, I took my ASCP boards, as I was told the longer you wait after your degree is finished the more you will forget (and may not pass). With a passing score, I started working at the hospital I had been training for the past year. From a student to working as a MLS, it was a smooth transition as I had been helping the techs work on the various equipment I had been learning about. I decided to work as a generalist on the third shift. There were quite a few positions open in the lab but I wanted to maximize my time and working nights meant I would be trained in all of the departments from the get-go. By doing this I could keep my skills fresh and not be stuck in only one or two areas of the lab. I had a plan you see, unlike many in the industry who move up the ladder into management I wanted to take my job on the road. And for that I needed experience.