Laboratory technician

A laboratory technician is a fairly broad profession. We all had to take tests at least once in our lives. Without them, they will not be able to make an accurate diagnosis, admit you to a hospital, and prescribe the correct adequate treatment. Whether it is blood from a finger or vein, a smear from the nose or throat, urine or feces, pieces of tissue or fluid from cavities, all these materials go to the laboratory, where they are carefully examined for deviations, infections, or examination of other features. All this is done by specially trained people called laboratory technicians or laboratory doctors.

Thanks to their work, the attending physicians can accurately say which antibiotic should be used to treat pyelonephritis, what dose of insulin to prescribe to patients with diabetes, what kind of genitourinary infection is bothering the patient, whether the tumor is benign or malignant, and much more. Therefore, now we will tell you in detail about these specialists, what they do and in what cases they should be contacted.

Who is a laboratory assistant?

A laboratory assistant can check the quality of food products, the octane number of gasoline, the presence of harmful chemical compounds in drinking water, air and soil, the brightness of lighting, the humidity of the air in the room, take X-rays, be an auxiliary worker at a university department, and much more. But we will tell you about a laboratory assistant in the classical sense of the word, namely a clinical laboratory assistant.

When imagining this specialist, a girl in a white coat, gloves and certainly with a scarifier in one hand and a cotton swab in the other immediately comes to mind. In reality, lab technicians are different, and they may not always be female. Most people cannot stand blood sampling manipulations and compare a lab technician to a "bloodsucker".

When should you contact a lab technician?

Usually, the list of tests is prescribed by the doctor, and he/she also issues a referral for the tests. But you can go and take the test yourself. You can contact a private laboratory or any private clinic for this service. Laboratory tests are necessary for almost all diseases. Therefore, if your kidneys or back hurt, you will probably be prescribed a general urine test. If you have pale skin and feel lethargic, then you will have a general blood test. If you have an enlarged thyroid gland, then in any case you will be tested for hormones.

What diagnostic methods does the laboratory technician use?

Depending on the type of analysis, laboratory technicians may use the following diagnostic methods:

• microscopic method;
• bacteriological method;
• serological method (RIF, RNGA, ELISA);
• biological method;
• polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

The microscopic method is used in cytology, histology, microbiology and other branches of laboratory diagnostics. Thanks to this method, it is possible to identify some pathogens (gonococcus, chlamydia, etc.), detect parasite eggs, and differentiate malignant cells from normal ones. Its principle consists of applying the material to glass, preliminary staining with special dyes and subsequent examination under a microscope.

The bacteriological diagnostic method is used to determine the type of pathogen in bacteriological infections (cystitis, pyelonephritis, vaginitis, conjunctivitis, tonsillitis and other diseases), as well as to determine the sensitivity of antibiotics to pathogens. Its principle is to grow microorganisms contained in the material on special nutrient media, determine their types and then set sensitivity to antibiotics.

Serological methods of research include various serological reactions (agglutination, precipitation, neutralization, and others). The laboratory technician uses serological diagnostic methods to determine blood groups and the Rh factor, the presence of certain types of immunoglobulins in the blood, the determination of some viral and infectious diseases, and much more.

The polymerase chain reaction method is based on the determination of parts of the pathogen's DNA in biological fluid (blood, urine, vaginal discharge, sputum, sperm). The PCR method is relatively new, but it is already actively used to diagnose most pathogens of infectious diseases, as well as viruses.

What does a lab technician do?

It is clear that laboratory technicians perform analyses. But what kind and how is not at all clear. Therefore, we will tell you about this now. To begin with, we would like to note that there are simply laboratory technicians (specialists with secondary specialized education) and laboratory doctors (specialists with higher education). Laboratory technicians can have different categories (from the first to the highest), which they receive in special classes, called advanced training courses. These specialists can also work in different structures, namely in clinics, clinical hospitals, maternity hospitals, morgues and individual laboratories. It is the place of work and level of education that determines the occupation of a laboratory technician.

Laboratory assistants of the polyclinic

Each large polyclinic has its own laboratory where samples are collected and examined. Both laboratory technicians with secondary education and laboratory doctors work there. The tests are usually taken as prescribed by the attending physician, who issues a coupon for the test. The main tests in the polyclinic are general clinical blood and urine tests and biochemical blood tests. In the women's consultations of the polyclinics, they also give directions for tests to determine urogenital infections, cytological tests of the cervix and bacteriological tests of discharge from the genitals, as well as special genetic tests (screening of pregnant women). All these tests are aimed at timely detection of the problem, differential diagnosis of the disease and the appointment of adequate correct treatment to the patient.

Laboratory technicians of clinical hospitals

In clinical hospitals (it doesn’t matter, children’s or adults’), the range of possible analyses is much wider. But there are also several laboratories there. Usually, large institutions have an urgent (ambulance) laboratory, a central laboratory, a bacteriological laboratory and a resuscitation laboratory. Laboratory technicians of the urgent laboratory, which is usually located in the admission department, collect emergency analyses, such as a general blood test, a general urine test, a blood sugar test, a urine test for acetone and some others for a quick assessment of the patient’s condition and confirmation of the diagnosis. The admission department laboratory works around the clock. The central laboratory is engaged in the planned daily collection of analyses from outpatients of all departments as prescribed by a doctor. Here, not only general clinical studies are carried out, but also more narrowly focused ones, for example, a cytological examination of sputum, cerebrospinal fluid and other biological fluids, a biochemical blood test and others. The bacteriological laboratory conducts a study of analyses for microbiological flora. Examples of such tests may include blood and urine tests and other biological fluids for sterility, bacteriological cultures from the pharynx, nose, vagina, stool analysis for dysbacteriosis, and others. The bacteriological department of the clinical hospital laboratory also carries out internal control of the sterility of the hospital premises, surgical dressings, and instruments. The bacteriological laboratory is usually located separately, and entry into it is strictly prohibited. The resuscitation laboratory is a separate laboratory in which there is a laboratory technician on duty to perform emergency tests. Here, the laboratory technician carries out general clinical and biochemical blood and urine tests, as well as blood group and Rh factor tests, and checks donor blood for compatibility. The resuscitation laboratory also works around the clock.

Maternity hospital laboratory technicians

In maternity hospitals, the organization of laboratories is similar to clinical hospitals. The only difference is that tests are taken not only from pregnant women and women who have given birth, but also from newborns. In addition to general clinical tests and determination of blood group and Rh factor, newborns are also tested for congenital genetic diseases. The maternity hospital laboratory operates on duty. Both laboratory doctors and laboratory technicians with secondary specialized education work here.

Morgue lab technicians

Morgue lab technicians, or histologists, prepare and examine cadaveric material to clarify or determine the cause of a person's death. The second task of histologists is to examine surgically removed tumors (to determine whether they are benign or malignant), parts of removed organs, and aborted material. Histological analyses are difficult to prepare and examine, so the time it takes to complete such an analysis can be up to a month.

Laboratory assistants of individual laboratories

Such laboratories include private structures, laboratories at various research institutes, and highly specialized laboratories. Private laboratories perform almost all types of analyses. Both laboratory technicians and laboratory doctors work there. Research institutes perform highly specialized studies (for example, analyses for all types of hormones at the endocrinology institute, detailed blood analysis at the hematology institute). Highly specialized laboratories study a specific type of analyses. Such laboratories include HIV and AIDS trust offices, tuberculosis dispensaries, and others.

What diseases does a laboratory technician treat?

Lab technicians and lab doctors do not treat diseases or even diagnose them. They only help to determine the presence of a particular disease, identify the pathogen, and differentiate one disease from another using test results. For example, thanks to tests, it is possible to differentiate cystitis from pyelonephritis, hyperglycemic coma from hypoglycemic coma, distinguish a malignant neoplasm from a benign one, appendicitis from renal colic, a common acute respiratory viral infection from a sore throat, and much more.

Advice from a laboratory assistant

To obtain a reliable analysis result, the most important thing is the correct preparation and collection of material. There are certain rules for each study, the main ones of which we will list below.

In order for the laboratory technician to correctly interpret the blood test, it should be taken in the morning, strictly on an empty stomach. At the same time, the intake of alcohol, fatty and spicy foods, and medications should be excluded for 24 hours. If medication cannot be stopped, then it is imperative to warn the laboratory technician about this. Also, the test should not be taken after active physical exercise.

In order for the laboratory technician to correctly interpret the urine analysis, the external genitalia should be thoroughly cleaned and the material collected strictly in sterile containers. It is advisable to use morning urine.

When taking urogenital scrapings, it is important to remember that for the analysis to be performed correctly, sexual intercourse must be avoided for 3 days, antibiotics must not be taken for a week, women should not douche, and men should not go to the toilet for at least 2 hours.

Sperm collection should only be performed in a laboratory. To prepare for this test, you should abstain from sexual intercourse for at least five days and also avoid taking antibiotics.

When submitting stool, it is important to remember that fresh morning material is preferable for research, it should be collected in a clean sterile container. It is also necessary to exclude the use of antibacterial drugs.

When performing a bacteriological analysis of any material, it is very important to have the freshest material, which must be collected strictly in sterile containers. Before submitting the analysis, you must stop taking antibacterial drugs at least a week before.

If you follow these simple rules, the laboratory technician will perform the analysis efficiently and on time.

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