Who is medical technologist what is their job?

Medical technologists are trained professionals who perform complex scientific tests and analyze the results of blood and bodily fluids. They work in hospitals and independent laboratories using advanced equipment and procedures. Their main intention is to find bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms which produce diseases and find out the chemical capacity of fluids and match blood for transfusions for testing the drug level in the blood which show how a patient reacts to the treatment.   They work closely with physicians and laboratory directors on patient data. They also prepare samples for examining, counting cells, and look for any unnatural cells in the blood and body fluids. They play a very important role in detection, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Medical technologists are also called as clinical laboratory technicians, clinical laboratory scientists, medical technicians etc…
Medical technologists use advanced equipment like microscopes to find very small objects, cell counters to count the platelets present in the blood, and other laboratory equipment they use computerized instruments which are capable of executing number of tests at the same time after performing tests on blood they find out the results and pass on the results for the physicians for further treatment. These days the work of technologists has become less hand on and more analytical. They perform difficult chemical, biological tests related to blood and bacteria.  Medical technologists analyze blood samples for reactions and find out concentration of compounds like blood sugar and cholesterol levels present in the body. They may either work for medical facility or independent laboratory but they main job involves working with infectious specimens. Infection control and sterilization protocols must be followed to minimize the danger of those infections attacking them. They spend most of their timings standing in the laboratory. Those working for hospitals are often expected to work in irregular working hours or they are called on emergency situations.

Salary and remuneration for a medical technologists

Depending on various factors like years of experience, geographical location the salary of medical technologist differs according to rules and regulations of each state.

Many employers look for the candidates who are certified from professional associations.

• The median average annual income of medical technologist is $38,000 per annum.

• The starting salary of medical technologist who is with less than one year of experience is between $29,172 and $36,000 per annum

• Medical technologist who are with one to four years of experience earned an average salary of $28,626 and $39,581 per annum.

• Medical technologists with five to nine years of experience earned between $29,939 and $44,479 per annum.

• The income of medical technologists who are with ten to nineteen years of experience in this medical field earn between $34,653 and $47,892 per annum.

• Medical technologists with more than twenty years of experience will get an average income of $35,438 and $50709 per annum.

The type of employer they work also plays an important role in determining salaries as it mostly depends on the company size and the industry type.

Salaries according to employer type and industries

• Medical technologist working for The U.S federal government earns the highest salary of $111,810 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in doctor’s office earn an average income of $35,392 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in hospital settings earn an average income of $48,935 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in general medical and surgical settings earn an average income of $76,520 per annum.

Salaries according to different states in United States:

• Medical technologists working in Rhode Island can earn an average income of $55,490 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in Maryland can earn an average income of $45,870 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in Connecticut can earn an average income of $45,380 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in Illinois can earn an average income of $62,410 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in Norwich can earn an average income of $53,340 per annum.
• Medical technologists working in Salinas can earn an average income of $52,050 per annum.

Duties and responsibilities of medical technologists:

The duties and responsibilities of medical technologists include using a broad range of medical equipment and devices in a physician’s office or any other medical settings.

They are trained professionals to perform certain types of procedures for analyzing specimens and proving results which will be useful for the physician in knowing the problem of the patient for further treatment.

They duties differ significantly by specialization.

• Their main duty is collect blood and body fluids and materials such as urine, blood and throat cultures.
• They perform tests on different body fluids to find out the results for pregnancy tests, urinalysis, and complete blood counts.
• They confirm and verify the results and report their findings to the doctors.
• They are responsible for performing variety of tasks using computerized systems and advanced laboratory equipment’s.
• Main responsibility is to examine and identify specimens collected form the patients and perform tests and analyze the results and report these results to the physicians.
• They prepare blood and other fluid samples to see if there is any presence of bacteria, virus, fungi, and microorganisms in the body.
• They are responsible for preparing blood samples and body tissues.
• They conduct biological analyses of specimen to check for the presence of virus in the body.
• They should conduct chemical analysis.
• They need to communicate the results of tests performed by them to physicians or medical professionals for further treatment.
• They need to report blood counts to medical professionals.
• They need to keep their laboratory clean by sterilizing certain types of equipment and using various types of computer technologies.
• They are responsible for cross matching of blood samples for blood transfusions.
• They need to modify the procedures of certain types of tests to ensure the accuracy.
• They frequently perform and review quality controls in testing, and decide if the results are within acceptable ranges and research for any problems and correct them.
• They need to maintain a log of supplies used in laboratory and keep designated areas stocked with supplies.

Educational requirements for a medical technologist

Medical technologists analyze and provide treatment for various diseases.

They are usually found working in physician’s offices, laboratories and healthcare facilities.

They use various advanced equipment like computers for making reports, microscopes for finding bacteria and parasites, chemicals etc…they usually share their results with diagnosticians and doctors for providing best course for patient care.

• The minimum educational requirement for being a medical technologists is a high school diploma or general educational development

• At high school level students interested in entering into medical field need to take courses in chemistry, algebra, physics, biology, English, computer science, and mathematics etc…

• After completing high school degree students need to go for bachelor’s degree or earn a two years associate degree in medical laboratory technology in this associate degree students are expected to learn and train, try getting work experience and earn a job as an entry-level medical technologist.

• In associate degree the courses covered are clinical chemistry, phlebotomy, urinalysis, biodiversity, chemical principles, physiology and chemistry.

• Once they complete associate degree which will be provided with clinical experience in clinics or health care facilities.

• And then they can apply for recognitions for bachelor’s degree program in medical technology.

• Bachelor’s degree can be attained in one of these three accredited bodies: the Commission on Accredited of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES), the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS).

• It takes two years to complete this bachelor’s degree those who come from associate degree and four years for those who come from high school.

• In this bachelor’s degree students are expected to learn molecular diagnostics, laboratory management, immunology, and infectious diseases, biological sciences, hematology, genetics, and microbiology.

• They need to complete one year of internship at a local hospital or diagnostic laboratory this internship provides hands on and supervised experience in different laboratory disciplines and diagnostic testing procedures.

Skills needed for a medical technologist

Skills and abilities of medical technologists prove how well they can perform their crucial job and manage different types of analysis.

Medical technologists act as a part of health care professionals who utilize their knowledge of medical technology assisting in diagnosis and treatment of patients who come with different diseases.

By using different techniques and advanced equipment they perform different tests on blood, tissues and body fluids and find out the presence of any virus in the body.

The main skills that a medical technologist needs to have are as follows:

• Observation skills: They must have keen observation skills while testing body fluids, tissues, cultural materials for their biochemical, hematology, immunology and histo-chemical components. These skills are also important for microscope study for making a differentiation between various colors and fine structural microscopic specimens.

• Visual skills: Visual skills are also very important for medical technologists as they need to grasp large volumes of textual info, graphs, different numbers and observations displayed on the monitor or in print form. They must also carefully handle all the laboratory equipment and they are expected to have basic knowledge on how to trouble shoot when any problem arises in the lab equipment’s.

• Communication skills: Medical technologists are expected to have good communication skills as they have to communicate with patients and also doctors. They must exhibit sensitivity and respect, confidentiality when communicating with patients and they need to perform tests as instructed by the physician. They must clearly communicate the results to the physicians which will help them diagnosing the problem of the patient. They are also expected to communicate well with staff and colleagues, and other health care professionals.

• Intellectual skills: medical technologists needs to have intellectual skills for reasoning, measuring, calculating, evaluating, correlate and analyses the results found. They are expected to analyze any abnormalities in the results and make a clear report which should be given for the physician for diagnosing and further treatment to the patients.

• Computer skills: Medical technologists should have hands on experience working with computer to make reports and knowing any information from the internet. They are expected to have knowledge using computer along with scientific knowledge as almost all the laboratories have advanced computer systems they must be in a position to handle the systems. Along with operating computers they must have knowledge in telecommunications skills.

Certifications for medical technologists

Certifications and licenses differ from one state to another those seeking to become medical technologists need to approach concerned state board of health or board of occupational licensing and get the information about certification and licenses.

As it is a must in some states and few states are liberal.

The following are the details of certifications and licensures.

• In most of the states employers look for the technologists are certified by a professional associations.

• The most common certification who has different requirements is the Board of Registry of the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the American Medical Technologists, the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel, the Board of Registry of the American Association of Bio-Analysts.

• Medical technologists who get certifications from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) are the personnel who are eligible to use letter MT by law for medical technologists.

• And those who get certified by the NCA National Credentialing Agency are eligible for using letters CLS for clinical laboratory scientist.

• Eleven states in United States require medical technologists to get a state license. the following are the states which requires license  Florida, Georgia,  Louisiana,  Montana,  West Virginia, Hawaii, and north Dakota, California, Nevada, Rhode island, Tennessee.

• California needs certification for getting license than all the other states that only require professional associations before they get state license.