Medical Technologist Role and Responsibilities In Healthcare

The health sector is quite broad, encompassing many roles and departments. One such function is that of the medical technologist. As a medical technologist, your functions primarily reside in the laboratory. You will be responsible for carrying out various tests and lab procedures.

This responsibility means that it is pivotal for you to understand how you fit in the picture and what tasks you must carry out properly. Without a fundamental understanding of your roles, you may not be able to perform them correctly. As a medical technologist, your interaction with a patient is minimal, but they are dependent on your results.

Responsibilities Of A Medical Technologist

As a technologist, you work in the laboratory to carry out a range of tests. These tests include blood banking. The examinations occur in sterile conditions, or else anomalies may result in a faulty outcome. As a technologist, you are assisting the doctors in carrying out the treatments in the following ways:

Data Collection

You must examine and collect relevant data on urine and blood samples for analysis. You then log your results into the hospital’s database and update them with every examination. Employing sophisticated machinery such as cell counters ensures the accuracy of your outcomes.  Doctors will use this information to run a treatment course.  Your responsibilities will also branch out towards categorization. Upon receiving blood samples, you must appropriately label them and store them in the blood bank.

Review Data

The tested data must be revised and submitted to relevant pathologists and specialists to confirm your findings, such as abnormal cell activities. Using lab apparatus such as scalpels, you will prepare tissue samples for the microscope. You will place all fluid pieces in Petri dishes so you can study them. Once you have reviewed the data, make them into a presentation and send them to a doctor.

Lab Conditions

Always maintain an updated checklist on the lab’s inventory. Ensure the lab’s conditions are still sterile before and after use. Cleaning the lab also includes storing away clean apparatus. Make sure you follow the standard operating procedure and wear lab safety equipment such as gloves.

Working With Patients

You might be wondering about the increasing demand of the x ray technician colleges globally.

New generations are far keener to explore the depths of the field than ever before. Now the scope of your work branch outside a lab. Here, operating machines such as X-rays to obtain diagnostic information is the leading role. You may also work in an operation theater to ensure equipment is sterile after use. Since this is an overly technical field, you require sharp skills for operating high-powered machines. Your expertise must include understanding the device and its operation.

When you’re well-informed about your responsibilities, medical technology will better suit you for your roles which we will explore in detail. You will also understand what fields you can embark on and how well you can fulfill its demand.

Roles Of A Medical Technologist

As a medical technologist, you carry out many roles which require a range of expertise and technical skills, such as:

Clinical Pathology

As a medical technologist, you will conduct several tests on the human body. The reason behind this system is to identify diseases and their degree of transmission. You will work with many collected fluid samples such as spinal, blood, and urine to determine the patient’s conditions. With blood samples, you can select the blood type and categorize that information in your patient’s data log. The data must be accurate as doctors and nurses will consult lab reports to determine treatment.

Anatomical Pathology

As an anatomical pathologist, you will examine tissues obtained from biopsy and surgeries. Under a microscope, you will study their cell and structure and determine any damage done to the tissue. You may even check the chromosomes under the microscope to determine the genetic makeup. Sometimes you look at the tissue sample with the naked eye to establish your working ground. You may even take it a step further and determine molecular, genetic, or genomic testing.

Machine Operation

As a medical technologist, you may look into hospital machines. These machines include MRI and X-rays. You may ask a patient to prep for their tests and conduct it on them. As this is your area of expertise, you may explain the results to the patients and guide them to a doctor. You will utilize these results to update a patient’s data logs.

Transfusion Medicine

You may look into deducting your service working at blood banks alone. As a transfusion expert, you collect blood samples for transfusions after surgeries or dialysis patients. Before you can use a blood bag, you are responsible for screening and filtering the blood. When you screen blood, you are looking for transmittable diseases such as HIV and blood contaminants such as high drug levels. If the blood is contaminated, you discard the sample safely.

Forensic Pathology

You may look into forensic pathology and study anatomical evidence. Under a microscope, you will prepare many different tissue samples and specimens. Your lab findings will be necessary for determining the cause of death and making reports in your conclusions.

Anesthesia and Operation Theatre Technicians

As a technician, you are concerned with the sterility of the theatre. A sterile condition is necessary for the patient’s treatment. Using high-tech machinery with high pressure, you clean equipment after every procedure and ensure no contaminated equipment is lying around. You may also support patients after their surgery by monitoring their anesthesia levels and providing the effects that have worn off.

Plaster Technicians

As a plaster technician, you may help doctors put on platers on fractured limbs. The impact of the accident’s injury and severity determines your services, such as needing a brace or a simple splint.

Conclusion

Medical technologists are highly skilled professionals. Their work is centered on labs to collect data and make lab reports on patients using high-tech machinery. Their advanced skills make them suitable for preparing samples and examining them under a microscope for data logging.

Their services may extend beyond a lab setting, and they may assist doctors in looking after patients, such as putting on splints. They may not directly interact with the patients, such as sterilize the operation theatre. They may also operate sophisticated machinery such as X-rays to advise patients. If you have what it takes with top-notch skills, this field may be your calling.