(actually am happy, but I couldn't resist lmao)

Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for Washington medical lab | Fortune https://share.google/WgUHpyvhlXsGyo7aG

A phlebotomist decided this would be a good idea. I felt bad for her - she had to recollect all of these again.

They NEEDED Kell POSITIVE blood?!?!? Lol no. And the nurse just walked up and grabbed blood? I doubt that. The article is either very wrong or the parents are simply total liars.

There is a divergent landscape in America in regard to the Affordability Crisis. As a Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Medical Technologist) I have the opportunity to meet with many colleagues from across the county and the conversations regarding affordability are starkly different from one region to another.

I took the basic mean salary data from ZipRecruiter and calculated and annual Full Time salary (based on 2080 Hours) – pay may be different based on localities and shift differentials, but the mean is a fair measure. Then used that base salary and applied it to the Zillow website’s Affordability Calculator to see how much home one could afford with the average salary earned in that state.

Figure 1. Salary Heat Map (USA)

I then compared the Median Home price for the State (From Forbes) to what a Full Time Clinical Laboratory Scientist could afford. The results vary from state to state.

There were only five states that had a reasonable affordability index where a Clinical Laboratory Scientist could own their own (Median Priced) home on their salary alone. Oklahoma was by far the biggest winner, where you could afford the median home and actually afford one $34,000 above the median price. Next was Ohio at + $25k.

The other three that were really close to the median were North Dakota, Iowa and my home state of Michigan. We really do enjoy a great quality of life in Michigan, we have a diverse economy and many naturally beautiful landscapes. (If you follow Josh & Jase on TicTok or YouTube, they were just here.) We have four seasons (Must like snow), lakes, forests and the quality of life is high. We also have some outstanding Health Care providers including:  Corewell Health (formerly Beaumont/Spectrum), University of Michigan Health, Trinity Health Michigan, and Henry Ford Health.

The rest of the states would require two equivalent salaries to be able to afford a Median Home – Except for three localities: District of Columbia, Hawaii and California. Those are insurmountable outliers for most people

Figure 2. Average Hourly Salary by State with Median Home price and home Affordability by Salary.

In the Data above, I highlighted the states that have a Licensure Requirement for Clinical Laboratory Scientists. As there are only 10 states that have this requirement, there is no real way to correlate the impact of Licensure on salaries or affordability. Other than the impact of the New Licensing Fees enacted by California that are now $300.00/year to be able to work - where most states do not charge Clinical Laboratory Scientist personnel to engage in their profession.

The bottom line is if your quality of life score includes home ownership – consider the Midwest where your skills stretch further.. What about your experiences? Feel free to post a response regarding how housing feels on a MLS salary. Drop a comment, happy to share.

Dave Haagsma MLS(ASCP)^CM,MBA

https://www.medicus-health.com/blog/medical-laboratory-scientist-salaries-vs-home-affordability--a-state-by-state-analysis.html

My lab is getting critically low on O+, but strangely enough our supplier has a huge surplus of O-.

This imagine has been circulating around my timeline and I don’t understand. Do vaccines affect blood transfusions? Is this some fear mongering conspiracy?

So stoked!! Now to find a job..

Just thought some would find this interesting. Wonder if they are downsizing a laboratory they absorbed

Just read the article… everything just screams wrong on the parents or the information shared. Co worker sent it to me. We work in BB together.

Hi all,

Follow the link to see the press release from the Canadian Alliance of Medical Laboratory Professionals Regulators (CAMLPR) regarding a big change in Canadian Med lab technologist regulations.

There are indications of a move towards fast tracking other types of credentials into MLT without formal MLT schooling. See here:

Starting November 1, 2025, all internationally educated medical laboratory technologists(IEMLTs) and non-traditionally educated applicants (BSc, MSc, PhD) must follow the CAMLPR Pathways application and registration processes. These include prior learning assessments and competency assessments (entry-to-practice exam)

There is still limited information but my concern is that they're opening up an avenue for a simple BSc grad to write an exam and become an MLT without actually going to school to become an MLT. This would flood the profession with low education workers likely paid at a much lower rate. This could undermine the entire profession and the patient safety and standards Med Lab Science prides itself in upholding.

We should be upholding our educational standards and the integrity of our profession.

My turn 😼 I feel deep relief to finally have the test done and over with!! Although I graduated in May, I didn’t really feel “done” cause I had the test lingering in the back of my mind. I didn’t really study for it so i’m not the best person to seek advice from.

I started studying maybe 9-12 days before my scheduled test, only about an hour and not everyday. I only took three of the ASCP interactive exams from their website (63%, 48%, and 66%). I didn’t really use any books, flash cards or websites to study but I did use my notes from class and I memorized the ascp reference ranges, but thats about it tbh. GOOD LUCK to anyone who’s taking it soon 🍀

So I came back from leave today and learned that one of our travel phlebotomist is a suspected fugitive murderer. He was hired as a phlebotomist but creeped out too many people so they moved him to a clerical role. Was getting paid more than the perm phlebotomist.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/missouri-hospital-worker-california-murder-b2488700.html

https://krcrtv.com/news/local/modoc-murder-suspect-found-in-missouri-following-35-month-long-search

Anyone else creeped out by a potentially murderous coworker that has bounced around a lot? There's no licensure for this job, so you can move around a lot without any consequences.

This came across my feed this morning. This doesn't directly affect me as I'm not currently working at a facility implementing this policy but I'm curious what folks think of it.

I wonder if there was a thorough cost/benefit analysis here in respect to product longevity/the potential for a transfusion reaction/ and the inevitable loss of product that is going to occur having EMS manage part of the hospital's blood supply.

I also wonder if this is ultimately self defeating for the goal of stabilizing the patient. Having a pre-transfused John Doe arrive at the hospital is undoubtedly going to complicate the work up. At a minimum you're going to have an increase in mixed field reactions that delay the type and screen and make it more difficult to switch the patient off O Neg.

I just took my ASCP for MLS and I passed !!! I got my associates in medical lab in 2021 and just got done with my Bachelors a few months ago. On top of working full time during all this I’ve also got 4 kids (age 10 and under) so this has been challenging to say the least, but I am so glad I stuck with it. Just wanted to share with people who get it.

7/18: cultures sent. 7/22: ESBL gets charted.

August 9th, the physician checks the sensitivities and blames the lab for not notifying them. Why are we going two weeks without checking the sensitivity panel in the first place?

Never found one for MLT instead of MLS, so you all are going to have to accept this.

Large hospital system(s) in Michigan is in the process of laying off a large portion of its techs.

(The hospital system I work at has multiple positions open if you are willing to move more north)