Top Skills Every Medical Laboratory Technician Should Master

Medical Laboratory Technicians have stood as essential pillars in the healthcare ecosystem, with their role becoming more evident during the COVID-19 Pandemic. MLTs, as they are popularly referred to, were pivotal in conducting diagnostic testing across countries where a COVID-19 case was reported. Do you remember that those who performed the RT-PCR Testing wore PPE Kits to take samples of our swabs for the tests? The medical laboratory technician analyzed these test reports.

What is MLT?

MLTs are primarily responsible for conducting tests on various biological samples, such as blood, tissues, and other bodily fluids, to detect diseases, and monitor patient health, meanwhile helping medical research and innovation. MLTs are also known as medical laboratory scientists. They help doctors detect and diagnose diseases accurately.

Significance of MLT in the Healthcare Ecosystem

There are a few key roles that make them essential in the healthcare system:

Conduct Tests on Bodily fluids and tissues
Collect and monitor samples for Testing
Handle medical instruments with care before and after testing
Keep records of the medical reports generated after testing
Make patients understand the reports in an understandable language and convey the steps of treatment

How has Medical Laboratory Technician Evolved after the pandemic as a career option?

Medical Laboratory work is dynamic and constantly evolving. Hence, many seeking to achieve something in the medical field are looking forward to this career opportunity. The role of medical laboratory Technicians rapidly expanded during the COVID-19 Pandemic, where not only accuracy but also quick delivery were important. Hence, many kinds of test methodologies came forward.

The impact of these test results was humongous. The more efficiently the results came with accuracy the more it helped the government and the doctors to maximize efforts to contain the pandemic and take necessary measures. Therefore, certainly, the role of medical Laboratory Technician has widened its role into the medical field and is swiftly evolving with the advancement of technologies especially in the fields of Biotechnology and microbiology. The role of these medical Laboratory Technicians is not only to take care of patients and medical history of human health, rather MLTs have branched into testing of food security standards with quality checks, obviously as food quality is essential for good health.

Skills required for MLT

1. Hard Skills

i. Phlebotomy

It is basically the skill of drawing out blood from patients for testing purposes. Remember, the last time you went for a blood test? The way they drew out blood is one of the few techniques in phlebotomy. Apart, from being a skill it is a way of tackling nervous patients while drawing out blood.

ii. Reports of Test Results

Report, Record, and Present! Medical Laboratory Technicians usually are responsible for reporting the test results in a clinical setting. Further, they emphasize recording the test results accordingly and using their ability to read and interpret data to present them in an easily comprehensible language. They communicate the results to doctors and sometimes patients.

iii. Clinical Laboratory Testing Techniques and Medical Terminology

Medical Technologists must have deep fundamentals in clinical practices alongside a command of recent trends in laboratory technologies. Besides they need to handle troubleshooting complex diagnostic equipment with great care.

Medical Laboratory Technicians have to be responsible for conducting a wide range of tests with great precision and interpreting results accurately, contributing to critical healthcare decisions. All of these skills hugely contribute to medical research and healthcare innovations.

iv. Maintainance of Instruments

It not only includes cleaning and sterilizing instruments but also keeping it with proper care such that you or anybody doesn’t bump into an accident with the instruments. Often the improper maintenance of instruments might have an impact on the test results.

v. Regulatory Compliance and Ethical Standards

Being aware and adhering to the regulatory norms in the medical ecosystem is essential while performing tests or recording test results. They must ensure the confidentiality of the patient’s medical history to avoid any leaks of sensitive private information about the patient. Additionally, conforming to ethical standards is yet an important factor while dealing with such aspects.

vi. SOP Development

MLTs are responsible for developing SOPs in conducting tests, maintaining instruments, and recording test results. This ensures that the things happening in medical history are adhering to the protocol.

2. Soft Skills

i. Organization

The organization involves the ability to keep track of files, paperwork, and other items. These organizational skills help them work with much greater efficiency and find files on patients quickly when asked by doctors or other medical professionals. This helps the laboratory technicians provide accurate information about test results and treatment options.

ii. Communication

As medical laboratory technicians patient interactions and communicating with them effectively is crucial. The ability to convey complex laboratory findings to healthcare providers and sometimes directly to patients can be challenging but essential. During the COVID, patient-centered care has become the new norm in the healthcare ecosystem, with empathetic communication as a foundation

Medical Technologists must be able to explain procedures without any ambiguity, answer questions, and provide reassurance with sensitivity. This can incredibly enhance patient understanding and can result in a more positive healthcare experience.

iii. Attention to Detail

This skill is really crucial to medical laboratory technicians in a wide range of aspects ranging from listening to the patients, noting down samples, tracking test records, and monitoring the history of medical records of patients, to handling the key equipment with great care and much detail. Whenever something is related to as important as health, even the smallest details need great attention for delivering the best treatments to the patients and diagnosing any problem efficiently.

iv. Inter-Personal Communications

Medical laboratory technicians work with a diverse range of people and professionals. These include patients, medical staff, and other Healthcare Professionals. In this context, Interpersonal communication skills play a key role. MLTs need to deal with empathy, compassion, and active listening with great patience. All of these can help you develop strong relationships at work and build your professional reputation.

3. Advanced Skills

i. Advanced Automation

No matter what automation is going to be the future of medical Laboratory Technician. Laboratories are increasingly integrating robotic systems and artificial intelligence to perform routine tests. As a result, medical laboratory professionals are taking up a lot more complex tasks and data analysis.

ii. Point to Care Testing

Point-of-care testing is on the rise in the domains of microbiology and clinical testing. These POC Testing techniques enable quicker diagnoses and immediate treatment decisions. Nowadays, portable devices and rapid testing kits are becoming more sophisticated, reducing the need for samples to be sent to central labs. Say for, example we had these PPE Kits accompanying doctors and testing specialists to conduct RT-PCR Tests on a real-time basis during the COVID.

iii. Telemedicine and Remote Lab Services

Telemedicine is rapidly gaining popularity nudging the demand for remote lab services. In this context, MLTs can play a crucial role in remotely conducting tests, transmitting results to healthcare providers, plus assisting in virtual patient consultations.

How can we acquire these skills: MLT Certification Course

Eligibility

Since this is a highly professional and technical field, it requires certain eligibility criteria to get into this profession.

A basic 10th and +2 Education with the 12th grade in the science stream
You can prefer a BSC degree or diploma course in microbiology, pathology, or medical laboratory professional course, etc., to advance your career in this field
Further, certification often becomes important apart from the Degree and diploma course, because in a way MLTs need to adhere to and adopt the advancing technologies. Therefore, MLT certification courses become important to become aware of the recent trends and technologies in this field.

Advance Your Career in the field of Medical Laboratory Technician: The Henry Harvin MLT Certification Course

Course Features

Renowned Upskilling platforms like Henry Harvin offer MLT Courses and lab technician course to medical professionals to advance their careers. MLT Certification is one of the most pursued courses in the medical profession.

The Henry Harvin MLT Certification Course offers training in patient care, pathology, disease diagnostics, Biological Waste Management, Medical Laws and Ethics, Hematologic Disorders, etc.

The Examopedia MLT Handbook

About Examopedia

Examopedia is an esteemed educational platform established around 2022. This platform offers comprehensive semester exam content for various universities. Examopedia offers MLT Books to crack your career in as a laboratory technician.

Medical Laboratory Technician Handbook: How Examopedia offers popular Medical Lab Technician books

Medical Laboratory Technician Handbook: Examopedia

This book is published by Henry Harvin and is one of Examopedia’’s popular books for MLT professionals. This book covers a wide arena of topics including Immunology and Serology, Pre Analytical Lab Testing Procedures and Blood Banking, and many more interesting topics.

Conclusion

The Medical Laboratory Technician field as a career option is continuing to evolve in the Health care Sector and so is its role becoming rapidly dynamic. This Dynamism can only be bridged by acquiring and mastering the Top Skills. These skills are not only essential but have a huge impact on increasingly essential in the domains of medical research, microbiology, pathology, and clinical laboratory testing. So, gear up! Advance your skills as a medical professional in MLTs.

FAQs

Q1. What is a Medical Laboratory Technician?

Medical Laboratory Technicians primarily deal with conducting tests on bodily fluids and tissues, maintaining test results and records with essential paperwork, assisting doctors in diagnosing diseases, and sometimes explaining to patients their test results in layman’s language.

Q2. How can I be eligible for MLT Courses?

Once completing Plus 2 in the science stream, you can MLT Course. You can enroll yourself in the diploma or degree courses to get your foundations strong and then further become eligible for MLT Courses in institutions like Henry Harvin.

Q3. What are the top skills required for pursuing a successful career in MLT?

There are some hard, soft, and advanced skills required for becoming successful in the MLT as a career option. However, the Top 5 Skills include:

Knowledge of medical terminology and clinical lab testing methods
Phlebotomy
Regulatory Compliances and Ethical Standards
Emphasis on Quality Check and Attention to Detail
Strong Inter-Personal Skills

Q4. Is the MLT Certification essential?

Yes, MLT Certification is essential for becoming aware of the recent trends in the medical and healthcare sector and evolving technologies in microbiology, etc.

Q5. What are the potential career opportunities in MLT?

There are job opportunities like Laboratory Technician, Pathology Assistant, Laboratory Manager, etc.