I withdrew from med school circa one year ago, have a certificated of
completion for the first two years (finished third year and then
dropped out).

I'm having difficulty figuring out how precisely I would go about
entering into this field (on any level) as I'm trying to maintain my
medical involvement and knowledge (hoping to eventually return to
school and complete my MD). Specifically, there appear to be a morass
of certifications and qualifications, and I'm having difficulty wading
through all of this in order to arrive at what exactly I would have to
do in order to get hired in an actual lab.

Certification options seem to include a route involving work in a lab
under supervision for a variable period: how does one go about getting
into a lab in the first place sans certification? I don't believe I
can get any more cash for additional schooling (formal at least, I'm
certainly well-aware that I would have to hit the books to pass
examinations and such), so I'm not interested in matriculating into a
formal program.

Does any of this make any sense lol? I'm facing going back to
convenience store work (what I was doing while an undergrad and prior
to medical school). Additionally, I'm in Massachusetts if that makes
any difference; I understand there are some distinctions from state to
state in terms of requirements etc.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Ryan

jedilworth

Check out this page:

http://www.ascp.org/FunctionalNavigation/certification.aspx - click on
"get certified" and explore what you might need on the next page of
links.

ASCP is the largest certifier of laboratory technologists in the U.S.
Not sure how your med schooling would fit into their certification
requirements but it's worth looking at this page first.

Working in a laboratory is more, well, "technical" than being a medical
student. You will probably have to start at the bottom somewhere. You
are not unteachable - it's just that your med school training isn't
really a lot like what we in the lab go through. You have to learn about
quality control. You have to know all the basic chemistry behind the
tests. You have to know LOTS of different cell types. You have to be
organized, dextrous, and be good at extreme detail work - matching
numbers and names to specimens. You have to be able to multitask. Big
labs may have their own phlebotomy teams - small labs require their
techs to perform testing AND draw blood. Microbiology and blood bank are
a whole other ball game entirely. Micro usually starts people at the
setup bench. That's unfortunately where you will stay unless you get
some more formalized training. We have two MLT's and over 20 MT's
reading our plates. We wouldn't let anyone without formal training read
plates out. Even after that, it takes a good year to get someone
basically functional in microbiology. Blood bank is very precise and can
be either really slow or life and death adrenalin rush busy. If you
screw up you can directly cause demise of the patient. They probably
won't let you just walk into THAT department without formal training.

Please don't make the assumption that many physicians do that lab work
is easy to learn or you can just walk in and "do it." It's a lot more
complicated than most docs realize. Don't take the TV show "House" as
any kind of example of the real lab in action :-). Seeing these doctors
perform extremely difficult and involved sendout tests in a couple of
minutes on the show makes me roar with laughter.

If you know how to draw blood that's a GOOD thing to know and can get
you into a door somewhere. If you're willing to work some off-shifts
(crappy weekends and 3rds) I'm sure someone will hire you and train you.
Contact your local laboratories and ask some questions.

Also, if they put in a lot of time to train you, only to have you leave
and go back to medical school, this MIGHT not go over real big. I would
downplay this. Because of the upcoming mass exodus of techs that were
trained in the late 60's/early 70's, lab managers are looking for young
people who are going to STAY. If they bend over backwards for you I
think you ower them a few years at least.

If you are at U. of Mass. they have a big hospital lab there don't they?
Call the lab manager and make an appointment. Explain your situation.

Good luck.

Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
Microbiology

bob

What kind of lab?

For a research lab, it is pretty much up to the people involved. You
have skills; sell them.

If you are dealing with something specialized, you are probably best
off seeking local advice. If you want to work somewhere, ask them.

bob

Thanks for the responses,

Just wanted to comment on the House thing; my gf's daughter is 17 and
LOVES this show, and wants to go to med school eventually...I watch
this show with them and can't help but spout my opinions on how
UNrealistic the program is, whether in regards to the lab, a team of
residents, or a hospital at large. Similar to your gripe is the issue
that these residents under House perform surgery and radiology without
assistance (or any prior training apparently: surgery exposure
consists of 3mos in med school and some minor rotation during
residency, certainly NOT qualifying one as a surgeon) as well as the
lab work, something individuals in these fields would and should take
issue with (and radiologists/surgeons are an extremely nasty bunch
general lol).

I suppose for the flow of the show, the writers have chosen to
'condense' the hospital and the number of minds that typically work
'together' (I put this in quotes, having worked in a real hospital
setting, there is definitely a sense of territoriality in 'real-life'
ie surgeons versus internists) into a single group of generic 'do-it-
all' wunderkind docs, led by a doc who in 'real-life' would likely
have lost his license LONG AGO, let alone be a respected leader.

One more rant, the entirely un-realistic and irresponsible use of
tests to confirm or rule out each and every possibility on a
differential; makes for great TV, but NOT good doctoring or public
health!

My two cents...