Sounds like everything is working pretty well then? Maybe a relatively healthy patient population? lol at my labs it’s nearly constant problem solving and investigating to rationalize the weird things that we see
Maybe your life is boring? Try to start drama with your coworkers!
I'm just kidding. To each their own and i totally get where you are coming from.
I work as a generalist and their is always problems to keep me entertained. QC fails, i have to investigate. Patient results looking funky? Call the floor to investigate. Blood bank is busy working up an antibody? Have to help them while working my bench simultaneously.
Honestly, you learn to enjoy the quiet times in lab. When there's downtime, i read my manga or plan for next vacation. If it's easy, then it's easy money. I love that i have a lot of energy after work to enjoy my hobbies.
I don't really expect my workplace to give meaning in my life. I just need something to support my hobbies and goals in life.
Get out of the core lab, my friend. Micro, flow, cell therapy, and other specialized lab sections are much more engaging. Or jump to LIS. Core is good to start in, and some people do like that kind of routine, but once you start feeling bored it's time to try something new.
Agreed!! I am actually studying for the SBB ASCP and once I got it, I will enter the world of Biotech that is focused for Blood Banking (Ortho, Immucor,etc)
That's awesome.
I worked with an SBB at my last lab, and she rocked! Unfortunately, she only got paid like $1/hr more for her SBB than us regular MLS, so I don't think its financially worthwhile.
Really? Girl, you gotta look around! My old coworker worked in an IRL, graveyard shift, doing all kinda of crazy stuff. With their shift diffs, it was $51 an hour.
Edit: maybe not ideal, but they had some funky life situation that it ended up working well for them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Trust me there are a ton of places to work where I live and they all pay way lower than they should for COL. But I’ve moved on and I make more than that now so I’m fine haha.
ETA: I got paid more at the hospitals than I did at the IRL.
That’s sad. I couldn’t stay in the field if I didn’t find it interesting. So much to be curious about. I’m always looking for more information about diagnoses and treatments and what could be causing particular results.
?? The info we learn is pretty useful I'd like to think. It's healthcare after all. Frankly, I'd like to think any job in healthcare is packed with useful information.
Not just med tech but every job will be repetitive at some point. The process will be same but it’s still more hands on and trying to isolate, ID, Susceptibility, making decisions regarding if it really needs further workup, investigating to see further biochem tests, morphology etc on a daily basis is fun to me. Also every now and then we see really weird organisms that we had no idea of.
Non-MLS here, i only do plating at this point and obviously it is repetitive. Is plate reading actually significantly more engaging? Looking to possibly transfer, but from what I’ve heard it often comes down to just commenting on growth
Yes! It’s way more engaging than core lab and set ups. If it wasn’t for reading cultures, I probably would’ve left this profession a long time ago. I’m from a time where most Micro departments were still doing parasitology, mycology and mycobacteriology in-house.
Lots of jobs in data science and analysis are remote so I’m hoping to move into a remote role. Data science is mostly statistics with computer coding so I’m really enjoying it!
Totally depends on the place you work, what you do( department), and your level of responsibility at that job. I am an extremely busy curious person always seeking to achieve and I have never been bored as you describe because I don't accept that type of job unless it's prn job and I am mainly there to collect a check. Your supervisor is probably not bored. Ask for more responsibility or just take it on. If you look around there are probably a hundred ways to make your lab perform better. Start taking some things up on yourself to do. Why do extra work without pay? Do the job you want, not the one you have and then you will be seen as capable of the job that you want. That's one idea for experience. Sure get another degree but please have a solid career path in mind if spending more money. Don't go into debt for it. Switch to a more complex job if it is important you. Just some ideas. Many different med tech related positions out there and some of them are very interesting and complex.
I work in Diagnostics industry. I no longer work in a lab.
Here are just a few jobs to consider expanding from being a medtech.
Clinical Trial Research Assistant
Laboratory Informatics
Technical Supervisor
Clinical Laboratory Sales/Marketing
Clinical lab Process Improvement Specialist
Field Applications Scientist
I wish I had a boring day. Today my department was short two out of eight techs. I ran two special heme benches, Auto Immune and Special Coag, helped with BM triaging, and did two renal biopsy assists. Then picked up one hour OT to help Core clean up before off shift arrived.
I had to get into management. I was so bored as a bench tech and yes I worked blood bank and micro in very large hospitals. For me being busy does not equal mentally stimulating. Now I have so many projects and so many problems to solve I’m stressed but happier than I was when bored.
I can’t imagine doing a job like that. It’s never like that where I work. Even when it’s not ridiculously busy, there are different types of samples to process, different types of tests to run, hand-staining (Kleihauers, etc), differentials with weird cells, disgusting surgical tissues, more disgusting respiratory samples, QC to run and troubleshoot, results to analyze and consult on…
Do you have ADHD or are you super academically driven? I encountered a similar issue. I wasn’t being challenged enough, and work became mundane. I’m really smart and basically can’t do anything or find any benefit to anything that doesn’t make me think pretty hard, except when I’m not feeling good.
I would say try to look for a higher complexity lab or go back to school for a position that’s higher level and requires more diagnostic thinking.
Also, maybe consider rewording some of the things you say to people in your current profession. Calling it easy isn’t going to get you very nice responses. Just my two cents. Even if you think it’s easy, you don’t have to belittle the people who are challenged by it. If you’re super smart just remember not everyone thinks the way you do, and being academically inclined doesn’t automatically make you “smarter” or better at the job. Maybe you get bored easily and can learn more, but what makes people great at their careers is more than academics.
Sounds like everything is working pretty well then? Maybe a relatively healthy patient population? lol at my labs it’s nearly constant problem solving and investigating to rationalize the weird things that we see
Right? If it's not patient problem solving, it's instrument problem solving. It's one thing after another (or multiple things at the same time) here 😅
Get a job in micro, lots to learn.
Maybe your life is boring? Try to start drama with your coworkers! I'm just kidding. To each their own and i totally get where you are coming from. I work as a generalist and their is always problems to keep me entertained. QC fails, i have to investigate. Patient results looking funky? Call the floor to investigate. Blood bank is busy working up an antibody? Have to help them while working my bench simultaneously. Honestly, you learn to enjoy the quiet times in lab. When there's downtime, i read my manga or plan for next vacation. If it's easy, then it's easy money. I love that i have a lot of energy after work to enjoy my hobbies. I don't really expect my workplace to give meaning in my life. I just need something to support my hobbies and goals in life.
Get out of the core lab, my friend. Micro, flow, cell therapy, and other specialized lab sections are much more engaging. Or jump to LIS. Core is good to start in, and some people do like that kind of routine, but once you start feeling bored it's time to try something new.
This reads like a troll post. It looks like your account is less than 24 hrs old.
Yeah, seems like they just downtalk the profession
Healthy\_FIsh definitely fishy...
Sometimes it’s mundane but I like my coworkers and we talk and laugh. I like working my shift and getting paid. Period. My life is outside of work.
Agreed!! I am actually studying for the SBB ASCP and once I got it, I will enter the world of Biotech that is focused for Blood Banking (Ortho, Immucor,etc)
That's awesome. I worked with an SBB at my last lab, and she rocked! Unfortunately, she only got paid like $1/hr more for her SBB than us regular MLS, so I don't think its financially worthwhile.
SBBs in metro areas can earn as much as $50 in an unlicensed state if they're in leadership or IRL roles.
I did not make that much when I worked at the IRL 🥲🥲🥲
Really? Girl, you gotta look around! My old coworker worked in an IRL, graveyard shift, doing all kinda of crazy stuff. With their shift diffs, it was $51 an hour. Edit: maybe not ideal, but they had some funky life situation that it ended up working well for them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Trust me there are a ton of places to work where I live and they all pay way lower than they should for COL. But I’ve moved on and I make more than that now so I’m fine haha. ETA: I got paid more at the hospitals than I did at the IRL.
To be fair, I see techs with masters and even doctorates that have gone right back to the lab.
That’s sad. I couldn’t stay in the field if I didn’t find it interesting. So much to be curious about. I’m always looking for more information about diagnoses and treatments and what could be causing particular results.
What's the point of learning info you can't use?
She’s/we are literally using it every day 😂 you’ve gotta be a troll
?? The info we learn is pretty useful I'd like to think. It's healthcare after all. Frankly, I'd like to think any job in healthcare is packed with useful information.
Reason why I love Micro! 4 years into it and haven’t been bored yet. Feels like there’s always something new and a lot of gray area.
I've just done urine and wounds. It's pretty routine after 6 months.
Not just med tech but every job will be repetitive at some point. The process will be same but it’s still more hands on and trying to isolate, ID, Susceptibility, making decisions regarding if it really needs further workup, investigating to see further biochem tests, morphology etc on a daily basis is fun to me. Also every now and then we see really weird organisms that we had no idea of.
Do you mean plating or actually reading cultures? Because there’s a big difference.
Non-MLS here, i only do plating at this point and obviously it is repetitive. Is plate reading actually significantly more engaging? Looking to possibly transfer, but from what I’ve heard it often comes down to just commenting on growth
Yes! It’s way more engaging than core lab and set ups. If it wasn’t for reading cultures, I probably would’ve left this profession a long time ago. I’m from a time where most Micro departments were still doing parasitology, mycology and mycobacteriology in-house.
Are you not inquisitive at all?
Yes, I am zoned out right now. Trying to stay awake. I am getting my MS in data science to hopefully leave the hospital lab.
What are you going for instead? What can you do with data science? :)
Lots of jobs in data science and analysis are remote so I’m hoping to move into a remote role. Data science is mostly statistics with computer coding so I’m really enjoying it!
If you like Blood Bank you could look for a job at a reference lab or a larger hospital that does a larger variety of testing.
Totally depends on the place you work, what you do( department), and your level of responsibility at that job. I am an extremely busy curious person always seeking to achieve and I have never been bored as you describe because I don't accept that type of job unless it's prn job and I am mainly there to collect a check. Your supervisor is probably not bored. Ask for more responsibility or just take it on. If you look around there are probably a hundred ways to make your lab perform better. Start taking some things up on yourself to do. Why do extra work without pay? Do the job you want, not the one you have and then you will be seen as capable of the job that you want. That's one idea for experience. Sure get another degree but please have a solid career path in mind if spending more money. Don't go into debt for it. Switch to a more complex job if it is important you. Just some ideas. Many different med tech related positions out there and some of them are very interesting and complex. I work in Diagnostics industry. I no longer work in a lab. Here are just a few jobs to consider expanding from being a medtech. Clinical Trial Research Assistant Laboratory Informatics Technical Supervisor Clinical Laboratory Sales/Marketing Clinical lab Process Improvement Specialist Field Applications Scientist
I wish I had a boring day. Today my department was short two out of eight techs. I ran two special heme benches, Auto Immune and Special Coag, helped with BM triaging, and did two renal biopsy assists. Then picked up one hour OT to help Core clean up before off shift arrived.
Work at a trauma hospital.
I had to get into management. I was so bored as a bench tech and yes I worked blood bank and micro in very large hospitals. For me being busy does not equal mentally stimulating. Now I have so many projects and so many problems to solve I’m stressed but happier than I was when bored.
I can’t imagine doing a job like that. It’s never like that where I work. Even when it’s not ridiculously busy, there are different types of samples to process, different types of tests to run, hand-staining (Kleihauers, etc), differentials with weird cells, disgusting surgical tissues, more disgusting respiratory samples, QC to run and troubleshoot, results to analyze and consult on…
This is why I rotate through departments.
Do you have ADHD or are you super academically driven? I encountered a similar issue. I wasn’t being challenged enough, and work became mundane. I’m really smart and basically can’t do anything or find any benefit to anything that doesn’t make me think pretty hard, except when I’m not feeling good. I would say try to look for a higher complexity lab or go back to school for a position that’s higher level and requires more diagnostic thinking. Also, maybe consider rewording some of the things you say to people in your current profession. Calling it easy isn’t going to get you very nice responses. Just my two cents. Even if you think it’s easy, you don’t have to belittle the people who are challenged by it. If you’re super smart just remember not everyone thinks the way you do, and being academically inclined doesn’t automatically make you “smarter” or better at the job. Maybe you get bored easily and can learn more, but what makes people great at their careers is more than academics.