Biomedical Laboratory Science

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Six Signs to be a Biomedical Lab Tech

You’ve always been the type of person who takes a painstaking amount of time to make sure the details are correct and meticulously recorded. You’re a multitasking whiz who enjoys order and routine in your life. Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a career that capitalized on all of these characteristics?

It’s important to make sure that your personality and natural gifts align with the profession you pursue. You’ll be happy to hear that a medical lab tech career might be right up your alley! This will allow you to join the fast-growing healthcare field while still getting to work a technical, behind-the-scenes job.

If this seems like an ideal option for you, keep reading to see if you have what it takes to launch a successful medical lab tech (MLT) career!

6 Signs you’re cut out for a medical lab tech career

We spoke with Tammy Renner, Rasmussen College’s national MLT program director and 33-year MLT veteran, to identify some common characteristics that the best MLT’s share. See how many describe you!

1. You’ve always loved science

MLTs usually have a strong background in chemistry, biology and physiology. Specifically, knowledge of tissues and cells is required, as is an expert understanding of chemical compositions and interactions.

Source: rasmussen

Building a career in the biomedical laboratory sciences.

Passion is the key to success, says Jim Smith in his keynote speech at the London NatureJobs Career Expo.

Jim Smith is a successful scientist by anyone’s measure. The UK scientist helped discover key growth factors required for the early development of embryos, and has received numerous awards for his scientific contributions. Smith now juggles three high-level roles at the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute of Medical Research and the soon-to-be-opened Francis Crick Institute in London with the running of his own lab at the MRC.

Like many people who have excelled in their field, Smith’s career has the illusion of being planned from the start. However he says this was not the case. He didn’t study biology until he was persuaded to take a cell biology class at the University of Cambridge while studying for a degree in natural sciences.

He fell so in love with the subject that he progressed to a PhD studentship with the famous development biologist Lewis Wolport. “You should allow yourself to fall in love with your subject, become engrossed by it,” Smith says. This passion is a key to success he stresses, because it drives you to put the necessary effort in. “There are times in your career when you know that working twice as hard will produce double the results, at these times you should work 3 or 4 times as hard,” Smith says.

Finding the ‘niche’ in science that you are most passionate about can be challenging.