Hi,
    I just left a reference lab to return to the hospital scene. You
would see a noticeable absence of patients and clinicians. This can be
good in that there is less distractions, but it can also be bad in the
disconnection of health care. Workers don't see the patients or the
clinicians concerned about them in the halls of the facility, so the
patient becomes less a sick person and more a nameless numeric entity.
    This attitude in some cases goes right to the top of a company. A
successful reference lab is usually run by a businessman and not a
doctor or scientist. The disconnection widens as the numeric entity is
now a price tag from a businessman's point of view. Since the more
patients samples (aka accessions, aka numbers, aka inventory, aka dollar
signs) are processed the more revenue is generated, thereby driving up
the profit margin. Often this leads to a situation where it is a race to
push out as much product (aka patients results) as possible, somewhat of
a health care factory (in some cases sweat shop). This sounds an awful
lot like many automobile manufacturers I know of.
    If you enter a setting such as this from a situation where you have
been taught to recognize the magnitude of the testing you are
performing, you may be able to TRY to focus on the big picture. Hoping
you are doing some good for somebody. But, bear in mind, not all those
you are working with have had the same background. Many have been
trained in this type of setting, so be prepared to be very aggravated at
times by something you see that you KNOW is just wrong.
    I dont mean to poo-poo the whole industry. Not all of them are "evil
empires". And you could find it advantageous to you, depending on what
stage you are in in your career. The labs are usually immaculate,
organized and efficient. You may learn many new techniques most
hospitals do not do. Usually they pay very well, and offer good
benefits. I just want you to know what you COULD find over time.
hope I didn't scare you (much)
Amos Brooks

Scott Taft wrote:

> If I were a supervisor of a reference lab I would tend
> to interview on Monday (the day the lab is closed as
> given below) because I would be able to focus on the
> interview better with less interruptions.
>
> If a person went in for an interview, let's say for an
> hour, what are they going to see differently in a
> reference lab that they wouldn't see elsewhere?
>
> Scott Taft
> Tucson, AZ
>
> --- Histologic@aol.com wrote:
> > Beware All histotech and Histotechnologist.
> >
> > I worked for Reference Pathology Laboratory In the
> > past.  It is a SWEAT SHOP
> > FACTORY  for slides.
> >
> > You will be cutting sections for 12 - 14 hour days
> > (nights).  They usually
> > interview when the Lab is closed on Monday, so that
> > new prospects do not see
> > what is really going on.
> >
> > BeWare
> >
> > Michael Hamilton, H.T., (A.S.C.P.)
> >
>
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