Clinical Laboratory Scientist / Laboratory Educator 

(Female, Age 46) from Kaysville, UT

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 46 who works as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist / Laboratory Educator in Kaysville, UT. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Clinical Laboratory Scientist / Laboratory Educator
Salary $45,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week
Company Size (not answered)
Location Kaysville, UT
Years Experience 15 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
Hospital chain in the Intermountain West. Hospitals throughout Utah and Southern Idaho.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Am responsible for the outcome of laboratory testing performed in the hospital. I am also responsible for providing and maintaining the continuing education requirements of all the laboratory personnel.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
401K, tuition reimbursement for further academic pursuits, medical/ dental

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
I feel well compensated.

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I only have to work with other lab employees and nurses. The one thing I don’t like about my job is having to do new employee orientation every month.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I have an office within the laboratory of the hospital.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 2
Benefits: 5
Hours: 1
Co-Workers: 3
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 6
The Actual Work: 7

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am
8am to 9am Got to work at 9 am. Got my computer up and running, checked my emails and phone messages. One of our sattelite laboratories had a question regarding CLIA regulations that I was able to research and answer.
9am to 10am Went out into the Rapid Response lab and got a feeling for how every one was doing. Asked if anyone needed any help. Went back to office to begin work on the latest “Good Laboratory Practices” PowerPoint that needed some tweaking.
10am to 11am Had a management council meeting that lasted until 11:30. All the department heads gave our laboratory administrator an update on their various departments. I briefed him on my educators meeting in which I tried to explain to the nurse educators the new microbiology procedures. Told him that the educators were unable to comprehend what I was talking about and maybe we needed to bring that info to another group.
11am to 12pm Had lunch. Answered some emails about getting the hospital computer educator to commit to a time to train our specimen processors on the new computer stuff they needed to know.
12pm to 1pm Went to a Rapid Response lab staff meeting and did an inservice about phone etiquette. Handed out quizes at the end. Gave an update on the educational deficiencies they still needed to correct.
1pm to 2pm Corrected some Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) and put the date completed in the proper employees file. Went out and did some work in the chemistry department while some of the techs went to lunch.
2pm to 3pm Had an emergency management meeting in which our laboratory director told us that he had taken another job and would only be with us for 2 more weeks. That kind of soured the mood for the rest of the day.
3pm to 4pm Finished up the SOPs and made sure that the 3 new employees we had were up to date on their compliance requirements. Called the head of the CLS department at Weber State University and made sure that she had students signing up for our Childrens Health Connection which is being held in July.
4pm to 5pm Went home
5pm to 6pm
6pm to 7pm
7pm to 8pm
8pm to 9pm
9pm to 10pm
10pm to 11pm
11pm to 12am

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
Got the job through an old friend.

What was the application process?
Resume along with a paper application.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes I had to interview with the 3 laboratory supervisors who asked me a lot of questions about my ability to think on my feet. I only had one interview and then was offered the job.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
If I had a misunderstanding with a Dr. how would I handle it. If an fellow employee wanted to gossip about someone else how would I handle it. If my boss asked me to do something unethical what would I do.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
There was so much to learn. I didn’t feel properly trained until I had the job for about a yearl

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I had to learn all of the different analyzers, and how to troubleshoot. How to perform testing on patients, and monitor the validity of those tests by having quality control materials which fell into a predetermined range. I had to learn the computer system unique to that lab.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
I couldn’t do the job I have without the educational backqround I have. The degree I have is very job specific.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
Somewhat. You never know what your getting into until you actually have the job and are responsible for the lab results you put out.

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Get a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences. First I would make sure that I am cut out to do this kind of work. Very good job for analytical person. If you like being around people, be a nurse instead.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Highly technical skills. The ability to multi-task. Very strong organizational skills. Be able to think on your feet. Be very detail oriented.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
You must have at least an Associate’s degree to work as a technologist/technician.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Find your own way of checks and balances so you don’t make mistakes. Check your work twice. Find your own motivation as to how your job impacts patient care.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
My current employement IS my career. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

What are your current career goals?
I plan on retiring in the next 10 years. I have already acheived my professional goals, being part of my laboratory management team.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
It is a career that is very fufilling. It has great financial opportunities. Job security is one of the highest in the medical field because a lot of young people are using the Clinical Laboratory Sciences degree as a stepping stone to becoming a doctor. There are great opportunities to walk into a “day job” right out of college, instead of having to start in graveyards and working your way up.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Clinical laboratory scientist 1 year 32000 Generalist in the laboratory setting.
Prior Job 2 Clinical Laboratory Scientist/ Transfusion Specialist 5 years 28000 Worked in transfusion services (blood bank) doing blood types, and getting donor blood ready for transfusion.

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:1.73

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
3.5 Weber State University Clinical Laboratory Sciences Bachelor of Sciences degree
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)

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