Hi MLT’s!! I’m a recent graduate of a MLS program in Canada and am registered to write the CAMLPR exam general bundle in June (core+micro+histo). Since we’re the first cohort to write it instead of the CSMLS, there’s not rlly much info on what kinds of questions and depth of topics will be covered on the exam and there are no practice exams. I’m just wondering what kinds of topics that are typically high yield and most likely will be on MLS (Westgard etc).

For those who wrote it this year, pls tell what kinds of resources you would recommend to study and what kinds of topics. I understand that the exam itself is confidential, but any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!:)

I’m excited for the next chapter of my life, but at the same time I am nervous What tips and advice can you give me?? Any advice any of you going into your second year??

I also have a learning disability I’m also on the autism spectrum as well.

Not looking for a diagnosis, we already have one. Just wanted to share with the group. We're seeking treatment for him right now, still working out options.

I been working as a MLT for a year now. I been going back and fourth with deciding if this is something I want to do for the rest of my rest. After working for a year I come to the conclusion that I don't want to do this forever. I can see myself doing this prn or part time but not full time. Im not sure what career to pivot to. I know alot people who left the lab to do nursing, IT, field service and I dont want to do that. IT does not interest me, definitely not trying do nursing. I used to be a medical assistant and enjoyed that more than I do as a MLT. I honestly went into this career because I wanted to step away from patient facing roles and work more solo. Reason why I left medical assistant is because of the pay and grew tired of working with Dr's and I realized I hate being told what to do. Anyways, looking into careers that are either on the administrative side or out of Healthcare altogether. Not sure what I want to do, I just know I need out of the lab. ​

I have been searching these, because people say they are numerous and affordable, but I have only been able to find a few in the south. My state (MS) has 1 one-year post bac, the others seem to require you to get a master's. I have a degree in biology and was looking for affordable 1 year programs. Is there a database I can use?

Background : 59 yr old female with 30+ year history of RA, Felty's syndrome and platelet clumping (EDTA reaction).

I have clumped so aggressively that, for a period around 20-25 years ago when I had monthly draws due to methotrexate prescription, I was drawn sitting next to the centrifuge in the lab annex of the clinic to make sure the sample was readable.

Subsequent to that, I now get occasional draws 4-6 times a year. I have made a practice of letting the phlebotomist know that I clump and they need to draw a citrate (blue top) tube. Occasionally they would ignore the request and I would get the call that the platelet count clumped and needed to be redrawn. To avoid extra pokes (and because I am not an easy draw : rolling/ducking veins, butterfly needles needed, even ultra sound to set an IV for a procedure a few years ago), I tried to self advocate and insist on the blue top draw.

Around 3 years ago I started to get not just push back but utter refusal by the tech to draw the tube if it was not on the orders (and it NEVER was). My doctors couldn't find a code to even order it. Once incidence involved a call from a new doctor receiving the CBC results to tell me that my platelet count was dangerously low and I should go to the ER for a transfusion. After several hours there and 2 more draws by the ER staff (the second one with citrate tube) I was sent home with my perfectly normal range platelet count.

I have tried Quest and LabCorp.. neither will draw a blue top tube on request if it's not indicated on the orders nor do the phlebotomists seem to have any awareness of a specific protocol for EDTA clumping. The most recent visit(today) at LabCorp involved my PCP's nurse walking over with the order while I waited at the lab (they are in the same business complex) but there wasn't a code to order it and neither the lab nor the doctor can find one so the lab will not draw the test. I declined to get drawn if they couldn't run all the tests and the nurse went back to her office to see what she could find out.

She called me about 30 minutes later and they have found the test but are not allowed to order it. It seems it can only be ordered by certain entities for studies or special permissions with the lab. So basically my PCP can't order a test for me to be performed to get accurate results for BASIC bloodwork.

We are going to try another lab in the area that doesn't seem to restrict access to ordering a blue top citrate tube, so hopefully we have found a solution.

My reason for posting this is to find out if anyone in the profession has any insight on why this is happening, was there some post-covid shift in lab protocols (timing wise that's the only possible correlation I can find) and whether there is a procedure we should be following to get the care I need.

Cold agglutinate but at least this neut is happy about it

Hi everyone,

I’ve been considering going back to school for MLT in BC and would really appreciate honest insight from current MLTs in BC or Canada before I fully commit to the program.

I’m leaving my current healthcare job and trying to figure out if this is the right long term fit for me. I’m excited about healthcare and science but also nervous about investing years into school, loans and a career change.

For those currently working as an MLT:

- Do you genuinely like your job? Why or why not?

- How is the pay, benefits, and maternity leave?

- I know nights are pretty inevitable at first but realistically, how long did it take before you could move into mostly days/evenings?

- Would you say the work-life balance is good?

- If you deal with general anxiety, do you find the job manageable or very stressful?

- Are you allowed to wear your own scrubs? Any restrictions?

- Anything you wish you knew before becoming an MLT?

I’d especially love insight from people working in BC but I’d appreciate hearing from anyone in Canada.

Thank you so much :)

So my wife recently got told their EMS company wants to start giving out blood products, Looking over the procedures it says if they suspect a transfusion reaction give the product to the receiving facility. This seems like it can cause problems with one no initial sample and accepting a unit that wasn't administered by the lab. Have any of you guys had this happen or currently deal with it? Thank you

For those of us that have been in the field (MLS, MLT, and Assistants), how has your workplace handled receiving sample bags that either

1. Have more than one patient in them, but only one requisition

or

1. Receiving a bag that has a requisition for a completely different patient, but the samples provided are for someone else?

I know that these kind of mix ups happen, but at least for the lab assistants at my lab, its been happening more frequently...so much so to the point that the owner has started a log of mixed samples and wants them to report the clinic that is doing it. I know that lab assistants should be catching these mistakes when they're labeling, but one time it slipped under the radar for one assistant (he came into work dead tired because he already worked a 14 hour shift and was back to work 9 hours later) and he was reprimanded for it because his entire job is making sure labeling is appropriate. They didnt grill him or anything and he was there for 7 years, so thats why maybe they took leniency on him compared to the newer assistants. Its kind of annoying having to amend reports because the doctors, nurses, or clinics were inept enough to mix up samples they were sending to us. Its even funnier when they call demanding to know why it was rejected just for CSRs to say "you messed up the samples..." and then they're quick to blame the lab

...They'll probably tell the patient that the lab messed up anyway absolving themselves from responsibility

Watched the nurse draw it. Knew something looked off – the flow was slower than usual and I could see a little redness creeping in. But she's been doing this for years and I've been doing this for months, so I kept my mouth shut and sent it anyway. Lab rejected it within an hour.

Spent the rest of my shift overthinking every single tube I sent down. Second guessing whether that bruise was my fault. Wondering if the lab people have a nickname for me yet. Anyway, I learned my lesson. I'll speak up next time even if it's awkward. For the lab folks here, what's something you see new people do that tells you "they don't know what they don't know yet"?

Just took my exam about 2 hours ago. I definitely let out a sigh of relief after I saw the preliminary pass screen!

Hi! I just finished submitting my final transcript from the current spring semester and was wondering if anyone could tell me how the program is? And if I have a good chance of getting in? ):
I have a 3.8 GPA and a 3.7 science GPA 🥲 and I’ve heard it’s competitive so I’m scared I won’t even get a chance.
• I’m also trying to figure out why the classes are formatted the way they are(?) it makes me confused because I’m gonna have to explain that to my supervisor IF I get in. And if it’s really intense, I might have to stop working…. Or find another campus job..

Any help would be great thanks!!! 😊

took my exam this afternoon and have been giddy ever since! updating my email signature and flair never felt so good lol

Helloooo I don’t think this post breaks the rules but I’m sorry if it does.

Anyways I’m a phleb and usually buy my scrubs from the scrub truck(idk how common that is elsewhere) and I love them but they are sooo expensive. I also really don’t like Walmart scrubs. Basically just asking where everyone buys their scrubs?
Also I’m in a rural area so Walmart is my only other in person option without driving over an hour and gas is pricy.

Please help.. I need to validate a manual dilution for an alinity analyte.

The current linearity goes up to 10.. we need our reference range to go up to 20. According to manufacturer we can do a dilution, but how do I validate it?? We are thinking spiking samples.

I’m just confused why we have to validate a manual dilution when the AMR itself isn’t changing and already validated

I am a PhD graduate from a good enough school. I am faced with the question of designing my career track to enter the HLA lab. I am interested in the technologist position because it will help boost my profile for the HLA fellowship. Is it true to think in this way? Alternatively, I can do postdocs. I was wondering if it is possible to do a postdoc in other fields and establish that competitive profile in applying for the HLA fellowship? I am also wondering if it is possible to apply in this coming cycle. Thank you!

Hi all! I recently passed my ASCP BOC MLS exam and I've debated making this post for a few days now since I'm relatively new to this page, but I thought it would be good to share my experience in case there are MLS/MLT students looking for different ways of studying for the MLS exam. I want to first start out by saying that what might have worked for me, may not work for you so feel free to adapt my methods to fit your way of studying. This is not a guaranteed study method to pass, this is just the way I went about studying that worked for me. The way I'll set this post up is by listing the materials I bought to study and then any comments regarding that resource and what it helped me with as well as my study plan.

Study Materials:

1. ASCP BOC MLS Exam Content Guide

• I went through the exam content guide for each individual section and highlighted the topics within each section that I absolutely needed to review in red highlight and things that I needed to lightly review in yellow highlight.
  • Doing this helped me guide my studying so that I wasn't reviewing topics that I already knew well which saves you a lot of time if you are studying on a time crunch.

1. ASCP BOC Quick Compendium of Medical Laboratory Sciences (2nd edition)

• Once I went through the exam content guide and did my highlights, I would go through whatever subject I was focusing on that day, for example, if I wanted to study blood bank, I would go to the section that correlated with the topic I highlighted in red to review that specific area and made notes/things to remember.
  • I ended up using this compendium A LOT for the tables that were in some of the different sections but also for a quick summary of whatever topic I was studying.

1. ASCP BOC Study Guide Medical Laboratory (7th edition)

• I won't lie, I didn't use this resource a lot, it is good to go through and answer questions in each of the sections so that you get used to the way that questions are structured, but it was mostly practice questions and then the answers were in the back of the book with no explanations.

1. ASCP BOC MLS Practice Exams

• This resource came with the study bundle I bought that included the Quick Compendium and Study Guide.
  • I used the practice exams A LOT whenever I finished a certain section. It was sort of like LabCE where you could choose the subject you wanted practice questions for and how many questions you wanted to do. For example, once I had gone through and studied all of the topics I needed to in blood bank, I would go to the BOC MLS Practice Exam on my ASCP account and choose 50 or 100 questions of just blood bank. Once I was done, I would go back through the questions I got wrong and read the explanations. (NOTE: the explanations given for some of the questions will not be helpful.)

1. Clinical Laboratory Science Review: A Bottom Line Approach (7th edition) by Patsy Jarreau

• This was a really good book if you need anecdotes or fun ways to remember certain things.

1. Quick Review Cards for Medical Laboratory Science (3rd edition) by Valerie Dietz Polansky

• These flashcards were my holy grail when I didn't want to carry huge books around with me. They were bulky when you have all of the sections on the ring but if you're focusing on one section at a time, they fit in your bag super easily so you can review at any time. I liked these cards because the summary tables were so neat and concise. I found these really helpful when I needed to quickly glance at something.

1. LabCE by Medialab

• I used this to complete computer adapted practice exams. I will say that the questions on LabCE were more general and not written the same way they are on the ASCP exam. I did the same thing I did with the ASCP practice questions where I reviewed everything I got wrong to understand why I got the question wrong. I will say that LabCE does a way better job of explaining the correct and incorrect answers than the ASCP website.
  • I'll be very frank, I would do the computer adaptive practice MLS exams and would get around a 58-62% with an average difficulty of 7.2, so I'm not sure about how this correlates with whether or not you will pass the exam (if anyone has any idea, feel free to comment).

Study Plan:

I was casually studying all subjects for two months before I actually took the exam and then did a 2 week study plan leading up to my exam day that went as follows:

Week 1:

1. Pick a subject for every day of the week going from your weakest area all the way to your strongest.

Example of my study schedule:

-Monday: Blood bank

-Tuesday: Microbiology

-Wednesday: Chemistry

-Thursday: Hematology/Hemostasis

-Friday: Urinalysis/Body Fluids

-Saturday: Immunology

-Sunday: Day OFF

1. Focus on the one area of the day as if it were a school day (8AM-3PM, listen to yourself and take breaks as needed). Go through the topics you highlighted in red for the specific subject and make notes and then review.

2. After reviewing the topics in the section, take a practice exam of 50-100 questions with only that subject (I used LabCE for this step).

3. Write down the questions you got wrong, the correct answer, and why that answer is correct.

4. Repeat these steps with the other subject areas.

Week 2:

I ended up doing one practice computer adaptive exam per day and reviewed my wrong questions while using my Polansky flashcards to go over the sections.

Week leading up to exam date:

I'm going to be completely honest, I did not touch anything. I listened to myself and didn't do anything since I was getting really horrible migraines every day leading up to my exam day so I took the week to relax but if you want, you could use the week to review any last minute stuff.

Final advice:

1. This is one of those exams that you don't know what they're going to ask you so it's ok if you went through all of the studying and still don't feel prepared on your exam day, just try your best to remain calm and answer the questions to the best of your ability.

2. If at some point during the exam you feel like you're doing bad, just keep going and trying to answer the questions to the best of your ability and see what happens. Also, don't change any of your answers unless you know for a fact it's a different answer choice. It might be really hard to do, but try to trust your instincts.

3. It's not the end of the world if you don't pass the exam the first time. A lot of people don't pass it the first time and that's ok. That means that you take a step back and try a different approach for the next time you go take it.

To end this really long post, I want to reiterate that this is the method that worked for me and is not a guaranteed way to pass the exam the first time. At the end of the day, it's luck of the draw what test you get on your exam day, so all you can do is go in and try your best. If anyone has any questions or there are MLS reading this that want to give some advice, feel free to comment. Good luck! You guys got this!

First of all, I hope I'm not spamming, since I'm sure many people took/are taking their exam soon. Second of all, I didn't know how to flair this, but it's news to me!

It's been a grueling two years, working every weekend, having no time off, trying to obtain a 4.0, and my clinical semester being 16 weeks of constant 64 hour work weeks, but I finally made it! I'm board certified! I still have to bridge to MLS, but that's a much lower time investment since I have a bachelor's degree already. Then who knows what I may do!

Congrats to all this year's graduates, good luck to those taking it this year and next, and stay strong! I have no study tips, I am bad at studying.

I’m currently a Sophomore entering my junior year of college as a Medical Laboratory Science Major. Recently I be realized that idk if that’s something I really want to do due to what I’ve heard about the limited pay. Because of this I spoke to my dad who is in cybersecurity and he recommended I do that instead. I’m just unsure what to do and need advice. How hard is cybersecurity really? Is the lid of MLS pay and moving ranks real? Should I maybe die cyber security and have a health major?Please help I have to have a decision by 11:59

Update: Ok guys after unregistering and registering myself I have decided to stick with the MLS program. It is something that I really really love and interests me. My only fear was not being paid that well but that’s not the most important thing and that may change by the time I enter the field. Additionally, someone recommended that I obtain certificates and get experience when I can in cybersecurity if I really wanted to enter the field while pursuing MLS, which is super smart! Thank you all for the help!!!