Medical Laboratory Technician

Alternative Job Titles for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

• Certified Clinical Laboratory Technician
• Clinical Laboratory Technician (Clinical Lab Technician)
• Laboratory Assistant (Lab Assistant)
• Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech)
• Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT)
• Medical Laboratory Technicians (Medical Lab Technician)
• Medical Technician

Job Tasks and Activities for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

• Analyze and record test data to issue reports that use charts, graphs, or narratives.
• Analyze laboratory findings.
• Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems.
• Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
• Analyze the results of tests or experiments to ensure conformity to specifications, using special mechanical or electrical devices.
• Clean medical equipment or facilities.
• Collect biological specimens from patients.
• Collect blood or tissue samples from patients, observing principles of asepsis to obtain blood sample.
• Conduct blood tests for transfusion purposes and perform blood counts.
• Conduct chemical analyses of body fluids, such as blood or urine, using microscope or automatic analyzer to detect abnormalities or diseases and enter findings into computer.
• Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
• Consult with a pathologist to determine a final diagnosis when abnormal cells are found.
• Cultivate micro-organisms for study, testing, or medical preparations.
• Enter patient or treatment data into computers.
• Examine cells stained with dye to locate abnormalities.
• Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
• Maintain medical laboratory equipment.
• Obtain specimens, cultivating, isolating, and identifying microorganisms for analysis.
• Operate laboratory equipment to analyze medical samples.
• Perform medical research to further control or cure disease.
• Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
• Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
• Prepare standard volumetric solutions or reagents to be combined with samples, following standardized formulas or experimental procedures.
• Set up, maintain, calibrate, clean, and test sterility of medical laboratory equipment.
• Supervise or instruct other technicians or laboratory assistants.
• Supervise technical medical personnel.
• Test biological specimens to gather information about patient conditions.
• Train medical providers.

Interests for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

• Realistic
  Designing, building, or repairing equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors.
• Investigative
  Studying and researching scientific subjects and human behavior.
• Conventional
  Following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting.

Skills for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

In order of importance

• Active Listening
  Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
  Importance: 72/100
• Reading Comprehension
  Reading work-related information.
  Importance: 63/100
• Speaking
  Talking to others.
  Importance: 60/100
• Critical Thinking
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
  Importance: 60/100
• Science
  Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
  Importance: 56/100
• Writing
  Writing things for co-workers or customers.
  Importance: 53/100
• Quality Control Analysis
  Testing how well a product or service works.
  Importance: 53/100
• Instructing
  Teaching people how to do something.
  Importance: 53/100
• Operations Monitoring
  Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
  Importance: 53/100
• Time Management
  Managing your time and the time of other people.
  Importance: 53/100
• Complex Problem Solving
  Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
  Importance: 53/100
• Monitoring
  Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
  Importance: 53/100
• Social Perceptiveness
  Understanding people's reactions.
  Importance: 50/100
• Coordination
  Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
  Importance: 50/100
• Service Orientation
  Looking for ways to help people.
  Importance: 50/100
• Judgment and Decision Making
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
  Importance: 50/100
• Active Learning
  Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Learning Strategies
  Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
  Importance: 47/100
• Operation and Control
  Using equipment or systems.
  Importance: 47/100
• Management of Personnel Resources
  Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
  Importance: 47/100
• Equipment Maintenance
  Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
  Importance: 44/100
• Troubleshooting
  Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
  Importance: 44/100
• Systems Analysis
  Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
  Importance: 44/100
• Mathematics
  Using math to solve problems.
  Importance: 44/100
• Negotiation
  Bringing people together to solve differences.
  Importance: 41/100
• Equipment Selection
  Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
  Importance: 41/100
• Persuasion
  Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
  Importance: 38/100
• Repairing
  Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
  Importance: 38/100
• Systems Evaluation
  Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
  Importance: 31/100
• Operations Analysis
  Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
  Importance: 28/100
• Management of Material Resources
  Managing equipment and materials.
  Importance: 25/100
• Management of Financial Resources
  Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
  Importance: 25/100
• Technology Design
  Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
  Importance: 25/100
• Programming
  Writing computer programs.
  Importance: 22/100
• Installation
  Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
  Importance: 6/100

Knowledge for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

In order of importance

• Chemistry
  Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
  Importance: 68/100
• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  Importance: 68/100
• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Importance: 65/100
• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Importance: 63/100
• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  Importance: 62/100
• Public Safety and Security
  Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  Importance: 61/100
• Administrative
  Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  Importance: 59/100
• Medicine and Dentistry
  Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  Importance: 57/100
• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  Importance: 50/100
• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Importance: 48/100
• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Importance: 48/100
• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Importance: 39/100
• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Importance: 38/100
• Engineering and Technology
  Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  Importance: 30/100
• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  Importance: 30/100
• Physics
  Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
  Importance: 29/100
• Telecommunications
  Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Importance: 29/100
• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  Importance: 25/100
• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  Importance: 22/100
• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  Importance: 20/100
• Transportation
  Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Importance: 18/100
• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Importance: 17/100
• Therapy and Counseling
  Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  Importance: 15/100
• Foreign Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
  Importance: 15/100
• Philosophy and Theology
  Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
  Importance: 12/100
• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Importance: 11/100
• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  Importance: 7/100
• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Importance: 3/100
• Food Production
  Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  Importance: 2/100
• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  Importance: 2/100
• Geography
  Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
  Importance: 2/100

Physical Abilities for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

In order of importance

• Near Vision
  Seeing details up close.
  Importance: 75/100
• Oral Expression
  Communicating by speaking.
  Importance: 72/100
• Problem Sensitivity
  Noticing when problems happen.
  Importance: 72/100
• Information Ordering
  Ordering or arranging things.
  Importance: 72/100
• Oral Comprehension
  Listening and understanding what people say.
  Importance: 69/100
• Finger Dexterity
  Putting together small parts with your fingers.
  Importance: 66/100
• Written Comprehension
  Reading and understanding what is written.
  Importance: 66/100
• Selective Attention
  Paying attention to something without being distracted.
  Importance: 53/100
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  Keeping your arm or hand steady.
  Importance: 53/100
• Category Flexibility
  Grouping things in different ways.
  Importance: 53/100
• Visual Color Discrimination
  Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
  Importance: 53/100
• Control Precision
  Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
  Importance: 53/100
• Speech Recognition
  Recognizing spoken words.
  Importance: 53/100
• Manual Dexterity
  Holding or moving items with your hands.
  Importance: 53/100
• Written Expression
  Communicating by writing.
  Importance: 53/100
• Deductive Reasoning
  Using rules to solve problems.
  Importance: 53/100
• Flexibility of Closure
  Seeing hidden patterns.
  Importance: 53/100
• Speech Clarity
  Speaking clearly.
  Importance: 53/100
• Inductive Reasoning
  Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
  Importance: 50/100
• Number Facility
  Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
  Importance: 50/100
• Perceptual Speed
  Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Mathematical Reasoning
  Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
  Importance: 50/100
• Originality
  Creating new and original ideas.
  Importance: 47/100
• Time Sharing
  Doing two or more things at the same time.
  Importance: 47/100
• Far Vision
  Seeing details that are far away.
  Importance: 47/100
• Visualization
  Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
  Importance: 47/100
• Multilimb Coordination
  Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
  Importance: 47/100
• Fluency of Ideas
  Coming up with lots of ideas.
  Importance: 47/100
• Speed of Closure
  Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
  Importance: 44/100
• Auditory Attention
  Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
  Importance: 44/100
• Memorization
  Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
  Importance: 41/100
• Trunk Strength
  Using your lower back and stomach.
  Importance: 38/100
• Hearing Sensitivity
  Telling the difference between sounds.
  Importance: 35/100
• Depth Perception
  Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
  Importance: 31/100
• Stamina
  Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
  Importance: 28/100
• Response Orientation
  Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
  Importance: 28/100
• Extent Flexibility
  Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  Importance: 28/100
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  Keeping your balance or staying upright.
  Importance: 25/100
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
  Importance: 25/100
• Reaction Time
  Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
  Importance: 25/100
• Static Strength
  Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
  Importance: 25/100
• Gross Body Coordination
  Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
  Importance: 25/100
• Dynamic Strength
  Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
  Importance: 25/100
• Speed of Limb Movement
  Quickly moving your arms and legs.
  Importance: 25/100
• Rate Control
  Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
  Importance: 25/100

Tools and Technology used by Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

• Hematology analyzers
• Chemistry analyzers
• Anaerobic jars or accessories
• Phlebotomy trays or accessories
• Tissue culture coated plates or dishes or inserts
• Capillary or hematocrit tubes
• Coagulation analyzers
• Histology tissue cassettes
• Petri plates or dishes
• Glucose monitors or meters
• Liquid scintillation counters
• Robotic or automated liquid handling systems
• Microscope slides
• Multipurpose or general test tubes
• Chromatographic detectors
• Laboratory mixers
• Tissue embedding stations
• Microcentrifuges
• Temperature cycling chambers or thermal cyclers
• Microbiology analyzers
• Multiwell plates
• Lancets
• Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators
• Laboratory diluters
• Bench refractometers or polarimeters
• Dry baths or heating blocks
• Fluorescent microscopes
• Stereo or dissecting light microscopes
• Gas chromatographs
• Blood bank analyzers
• Benchtop centrifuges
• Compact disc CD or labeling printers
• Laboratory chillers
• Hypodermic needle
• Manual single channel air displacement pipetters
• Hemacytometer sets
• Laminar flow cabinets or stations
• Shaking incubators
• Tube rotators
• Extracting equipment for laboratories
• Immunology or serology test kits or supplies
• Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
• Microplate washers
• Warming cabinets
• Specialty plates for bacteria
• Surgical instrument brushes or instrument stylets or instrument wipes
• Urinalysis analyzers
• Winged infusion needle set
• Blood bank cell washers
• Electronic multichannel pipetters
• Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
• Platelet mixers
• Colorimeters
• Blood collection needle holders
• Manual or electronic hematology differential cell counters
• Binocular light compound microscopes
• Laboratory vacuum pumps
• Micrometers
• Blood collection needles
• Triple beam balances
• Spectrometers
• Notebook computers
• pH meters
• Dropping pipettes
• Tourniquets
• Laser printers
• Spectrophotometers
• Blood collection syringes
• Desktop computers
• Ultracentrifuges
• Analytical balances
• Electrolyte analyzers
• Personal computers
• Medical software
  • Commercial plate reader software
  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • Hematology laboratory workflow management software
  • Laboratory information system LIS
  • MEDITECH software
  • Medical digital imaging software
  • Medical software
  • Medical system integration software
  • Microscopic image capturing software
  • Quality control software
  • Reimbursement screening software
  • Specimen tracking software
  • Sunquest Information Systems Sunquest Laboratory
  • Test result delivery software
  • Test routing software
• Word processing software
  • Google Docs
  • Microsoft Word
  • Word processing software
• Electronic mail software
  • Email software
  • IBM Notes
  • Microsoft Outlook
• Data base user interface and query software
  • Data entry software
  • Database software
  • FileMaker Pro
• Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Spreadsheet software
• Accounting software
  • Billing software
• Development environment software
  • National Instruments LabVIEW
• Computer based training software
  • Quizlet
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • SAP software
• Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office software
• Analytical or scientific software
  • Minitab
• Presentation software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Employment Industries for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

• General medical and surgical hospitals; private
  124,900 employed
• Medical and diagnostic laboratories
  73,100 employed
• Offices of physicians
  30,800 employed
• General medical and surgical hospitals; local
  17,500 employed
• All other ambulatory healthcare services
  13,400 employed
• Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences
  9,300 employed
• Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state
  8,900 employed
• Federal government, excluding postal service
  8,500 employed
• Temporary help services
  8,400 employed
• Colleges, universities, and professional schools; private
  6,900 employed