Purpose To provide pre-mlt students opportunity to visit a clinical laboratory setting, interact with practicing laboratory professionals, view modern laboratory instrumentation and practices, and prepare a formal report of their experience. Course value 100 possible points, resulting in 20 % of the course grade. Tour arrangements Austin area students are strongly encouraged to participate in a tour arranged by the course instructor, where they will be joined by a member of the laboratory staff who will conduct the tour and be available for questions. Students not able to attend the pre-arranged tour must inform the course instructor by phone or email as soon as possible for assistance in arranging a tour on their own. Tour guidelines 1. Know where you are going and when you are expected! BE ON TIME! Once you have identified and committed to a tour, research its location, driving directions, parking arrangements, the location of the laboratory and the name of the tour guide. 2. As a representative of Austin Community College and the MLT program, students are expected to abide by a code of conduct and dress. The basic DO s and DON Ts are as follows: DO s DON Ts Listen carefully to instructions, guidelines and other information provided by your tour guide. Write down the names of the instruments you observe in the laboratory departments and make notes of the information presented by your tour guide. Ask timely well-constructed questions. At the end of the tour, thank this busy professional for their time. If you currently work in a clinical laboratory setting, you can wear your work attire as long as it is clean and neat otherwise: Dress conservatively business casual. Wear comfortable closed-toed shoes with nonmarking soles. (Clean sneakers are fine; socks or other hosiery are a must!) Use good hygiene - ie., clean hair, nails, NO body or mouth odor. Remove visible body piercings / jewelry (small tasteful earrings are acceptable.) Be prepared! Review the required elements of your report before you go on the tour. Know ahead of time what you need to view, ask or learn. ***AT NO time are you to photograph, record video, audio, or copy anything that could compromise a patients privacy or a clinical site s integrity. College and Health Sciences Social Media Policy prohibit the actions of any student or faculty that would compromise a patient s privacy or a clinical site s integrity. ***NO patient or clinical site information is to be posted on any social media site. Don t interrupt the tour guide during an explanation. If your question does not get addressed during the explanation, ask it after he/she has finished. Don t wear clothes that are overly revealing; show any midriff, or fit poorly (too tight, sloppy loose, etc.) Don t wear jeans of any color. Don t wear T-shirts with pictures, logos or writing on them. Don t wear sandals, flip-flops, or opentoed shoes of any type. MLAB 1101 Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Science Page 1
Bring the example worksheet (included within this document), additional paper with hard backing (like a spiral notebook) and a pen. 3. Observations. As you are touring, observe and make notes regarding: The lay-out of the laboratory. Are the departments in one large room, or are they separated by walls? Is there a core or stat lab? Are the specimens processed in a central location, or are they processed in the individual departments? Is this lab is classified as waived, moderately-complex or highly complex under CLIA regulations? Make note of the availability of safety equipment and PPE. Instrumentation. Name and describe the purpose and/or tests performed by the major pieces of lab equipment in each department. IMPORTANT: You will see and hear about many different pieces of equipment (instruments). You probably will not be able to absorb all of the information about the types of tests performed for each instrument during the tour, so it would be a GREAT idea to at least write down the names of the different instruments and do some online research later, to include in your final report. You will be graded heavily on the types of instruments you see, so be prepared to write quickly and do research later. Staffing. How many personnel does lab employ? What is the mix of medical laboratory scientists (formerly called medical technologists) to medical laboratory technicians? Does the laboratory employ phlebotomists or does the professional staff draw all the blood? Does this particular laboratory have openings for new MLTs at this time? If no, how often do openings come up? Who is head of this laboratory? Is there a pathologist on-site at all times? Patient services. Does this lab exclusively serve in-patients, out-patients, or a mixture of both? Is there a particular type of testing this laboratory does or is it a general mix of lab testing? Is this a reference laboratory? If so, from where are the specimens delivered and by whom? Reporting of patient test results. Are results entered into a computer database or are results hand-written? If computer based, how are the results transmitted to the physician? Does the technician or technologist enter all the results, or do the results transmit directly into the computer from the instrumentation, or both? 4. Questions. Additional questions to consider. Note: It is NOT necessary to ask all of these questions; they are examples. How did you get into the clinical laboratory field? What do you view as the role of the laboratory in patient care? How much interaction do you have with the patient? Is that the way it is with most technologists in this lab? MLAB 1101 Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Science Page 2
What was your first job in the clinical laboratory? What is the most difficult part of your job here? What are the chances for advancement in the clinical lab? Are you afraid of contracting a disease while working with blood samples? Where did you go to school to be qualified to work in this field?. Tour Project Worksheet. An example is provided at the end of this document. Writing the Final Report General instructions: Use the information gathered during the laboratory tour - including your interview with a laboratory professional, and your Internet research of the functions and test performed by the major laboratory equipment you observed to write a minimum four page report. An example outline of how the report should be constructed and the grading rubric are provided. Coversheet: A report coversheet is required and does not count as part of the report s minimum four pages. The coversheet must include the vital information listed on the grading rubric (see below). Report body: The report body must be word processed / typed with 1.-2 line spacing. All major headings (outlined below) must be included. Not ALL questions need to be addressed, but the more information provided the better. Logical organization of the information allows for easier instructor grading and will result in a better score. Spelling (including no-typos) and grammar are mandatory. Report Headings, to be included within the body of the report: 1. Laboratory Overview 2. Staffing 3. Patients / patient services 4. Instrumentation your findings on the departments major instruments. Please list them by department.. Reporting of Patient Test Results 6. Summary of your observations and impressions of this clinical laboratory. 7. Resources a listing of research sites and resources used, including web sites. MLAB 1101 Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Science Page 3
Clinical Laboratory Tour Project Worksheet Name of Laboratory & Address: Laboratory Staff Name Credentials (MLT, MT, MLS, etc.) Title (Administrator, Department Head, Technologist/Technician, etc.) Laboratory Departments Department Instruments Noted (if any) Examples of Tests Performed Space to write observations/impressions. Use backside if needed. MLAB 1101 Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Science Page 4
Laboratory Tour Report Grading Rubric Student Name Date Received Grading Area Cover sheet includes: Course name and number Name and location of laboratory Laboratory contact person s name, credentials and title Name & credentials of course instructor Date submitted Your full name Appropriate content of all seven (7) major headings is included within the report. Points Possible Points Awarded Instructor Comments 3 ( points per heading) Each major heading is thoroughly covered for this laboratory, especially for laboratory equipment (instrumentation). Additional research for the report is included, such as Internet resources, visits to other laboratories, interview with laboratory professional, etc. Length of the summary is adequate but is not too lengthy. 3 ( points per heading) Grammar and spelling are 100% correct. 10 Report is neatly word-processed. 2 Report is submitted on time. 3 Total 100 MLAB 1101 Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Science Page