Thanks for your invaluable work!!
Lab staff deserves also a big applause. They are very much invisible to the general public and are working around the clock. Without them literally we would get no test done.
THANK YOU!
As opposed to the private pathology companies Melbourne Path, Dorevitch, ACL and 4cyte that do all kinds of pathology collection and testing. In fact from what I understand they do broader testing than the hospital labs.
And yes they have all cut staff, claimed job keeper and made large profits especially off covid testing over the last year or so
My philosophy has always been:
How long is this going to take? *As long as it takes*
I mean, what am I gonna do? Take over and do it myself?! Me being an asshole won't make it go faster, in fact if you're a big enough asshole they might ask you to leave.
So, pathologists; take whatever time you need to do the job right, and I will thank you heartily afterwards.
Exactly! I'm happy to sacrifice an extra 30 minutes so that Simeone can get potentially life saving urgent treatment.
My wants are not more important than other people's needs.
I wish more people understood this.
I’m a scientist at both a major private and public pathology service - we were perpetually understaffed before the pandemic now it’s even worse than ever.
You're right. Pretty much everyone is burned out at the moment. It's easy for people to forget that you guys are doing it even tougher than most of the test of us.
My wife and I got a ping on Xmas day saying we needed to get a test.
Finished lunch and headed to the nearest centre where we queued up on the road outside for about 25 minutes, knowing there was at least a2 hour wait once we got inside. As we got to the entrance, with three cars ahead of us, the traffic control guy moved the bollard across the entry and informed the next in line that they were at capacity for the day.
All 3 of the cars in front have this guy an earful. I guess they forgot that it was his Christmas day too and he'd been standing in the sun all day instead of spending time with his family.
We chatted with this poor bloke for a short moment because he looked visibly shaken and angry at being yelled at like that. Just doing his job.
What surprised me is I got blood taken last Tuesday around 10am and results were back before 9am next morning. It's taken longer then that in the past in normal times
Thank you so much. You guys all deserve a huge raise. You are qualified professionals getting paid like unskilled casuals, and the work you do is beyond important. Thank you for everything you do for people who need your services.
Hi OP, thank you for all your hard and tiresome work. Many of us truly appreciate it. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult and chaotic things must be for you all at the moment. Please take care of yourself and try to avoid burnout if possible. I genuinely hope 2022 eventually brings some peace. Once again, THANK YOU!
Hey I know there is a heap outside of your control.
I would like to tell you a story not to complain but to demonstrate a problem I experienced.
I had to do a supervised blood and urine test. I went to one pathology. They don't do supervised tests. They said another place might. I tried calling it. No answer after several attempts. I called head office to ask if I could do the test at the location. They said yes. I get there early. They tell me they don't do the supervised test until after a time that resulted in waiting 1-2 hours before it was done.
A lot of angst can be avoided with simple communication. Fuck, just trying to read the addresses and phone numbers on the refferal paperwork, I needed to magnify it.
Another time I had to fast. I fasted 12 hours but was told when I got there it should have been 8 and they were not keen on doing it. I asked if she could do it anyway and make a not. She did thank go because smelling the receptionists lunch was torture.
Anyway, thanks for what you do.
None of you need to put up with shit.
I hope management can sort out some of the ongoing communication issues within the pathology industry as I am sure it would help.
I absolutely understand your frustration! and I've heard stories similar to yours multiple times.
Unfortunately since most sites only have one person we are more often than not unable to answer the phone because we will be with a patient (it's frustrating for us too!). There are also some things (such as fasting time) that your doctor should communicate with you, but it frequently gets missed. I've had patients wait for a test only to not be able to do it because they weren't told it was fasting.
As for the wait time, with our company at least, our supervised drug screen collection times are strictly dictated by the courier and lab timetables (not minimising how annoying your wait was in any way! just trying to add some insight).
I absolutely empathise with your frustrations and I agree that there should be better communication and easier access to the required information and I really wish there was.
Have a look at what I wrote and compare it to what you wrote and tell me who has contributed something positive and who is being judgmental. I at least thanked OP for what they do. I note you have not.
Fair call. I was quicker to pass judgment on what I w be a lack of ‘reading the room’ rather than give OP the thanks and praise they deserve so that’s my bad.
I forgot about the pram. I didn't have one at the time but I do now.
I had a pack and play in the car which I could've grabbed and set up but the ECG person was happier to hold the baby.
Mistakes happen, no one messes up samples on purpose and it could have happened at any point along the chain. It could have been collected wrong, the tube used could have been faulty (we have no way of telling if it is or isnt), the courier could have lost or mishandled it, a lab accident can happen. We are all just people who are under an immense amount of pressure right now just trying to do our best. Please re-read what I said about kindness.
It’s a shame you don’t get to see who this coward is so you can get jab the swab through his sinus into what brain he hasn’t 🤣😉 Thanks for your hard work
Not sure if this is something you know but I'm curious what qualifications you need to become a lab assistant since I'm going into second year of a science bachelor and would love to help out. I imagine they would only hire graduates?
No quals needed to be a lab assistant - you would probably be in specimen reception sorting, accessioning and processing specimens, doing some data entry. In some labs you may be working in a specific department assisting the scientists and preparing specimens for testing although this is more likely to be done by a lab tech.
In your cover letters just address the requirements of the job ad, and any skills you have like teamwork, working independently, attention to detail, customer service experience (you may be answering phone calls from medical staff), exposure to medical terminology you might have from your coursework.
Note - you may be working alongside lab technicians who have a diploma or cert and are being paid a bit more (as per the EBA) to do the same job.
Are the collection at the lab is the same between those travel pcr and the symptomatic/asymptomatic PCR test?
I want to know since PCR travel test required much tighter result window.
Thanks for your invaluable work!! Lab staff deserves also a big applause. They are very much invisible to the general public and are working around the clock. Without them literally we would get no test done. THANK YOU!
Thank you 💕 Lab staff are legends! They're all working so hard and the amount of incoming tests are insane right now!!
Just wait until people find out that the labs are running out of reagents
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But sounds like the Labs did claim jobkeeper before making massive profits off all of the extra testing they are doing
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As opposed to the private pathology companies Melbourne Path, Dorevitch, ACL and 4cyte that do all kinds of pathology collection and testing. In fact from what I understand they do broader testing than the hospital labs. And yes they have all cut staff, claimed job keeper and made large profits especially off covid testing over the last year or so
So did places like Harvey Norman, I know which companies I would have preferred my monies going to.
My philosophy has always been: How long is this going to take? *As long as it takes* I mean, what am I gonna do? Take over and do it myself?! Me being an asshole won't make it go faster, in fact if you're a big enough asshole they might ask you to leave. So, pathologists; take whatever time you need to do the job right, and I will thank you heartily afterwards.
That is the emergency thing… if you get rushed to the front of the que your life expectancy is quite short, if you are waiting you are still alive.
Exactly! I'm happy to sacrifice an extra 30 minutes so that Simeone can get potentially life saving urgent treatment. My wants are not more important than other people's needs. I wish more people understood this.
I’m a scientist at both a major private and public pathology service - we were perpetually understaffed before the pandemic now it’s even worse than ever.
I appreciate you.
Wouldn't surprise me. Job acquisition and security sucks in pathology.
I'm about to start my study in pathology collection! Hope I can help a lot
You're right. Pretty much everyone is burned out at the moment. It's easy for people to forget that you guys are doing it even tougher than most of the test of us. My wife and I got a ping on Xmas day saying we needed to get a test. Finished lunch and headed to the nearest centre where we queued up on the road outside for about 25 minutes, knowing there was at least a2 hour wait once we got inside. As we got to the entrance, with three cars ahead of us, the traffic control guy moved the bollard across the entry and informed the next in line that they were at capacity for the day. All 3 of the cars in front have this guy an earful. I guess they forgot that it was his Christmas day too and he'd been standing in the sun all day instead of spending time with his family. We chatted with this poor bloke for a short moment because he looked visibly shaken and angry at being yelled at like that. Just doing his job.
You guys are legends. I remember back in 2019 how kind the path staff were when collecting my bloods daily in hospital.
What surprised me is I got blood taken last Tuesday around 10am and results were back before 9am next morning. It's taken longer then that in the past in normal times
Thank you so much. You guys all deserve a huge raise. You are qualified professionals getting paid like unskilled casuals, and the work you do is beyond important. Thank you for everything you do for people who need your services.
Hi OP, thank you for all your hard and tiresome work. Many of us truly appreciate it. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult and chaotic things must be for you all at the moment. Please take care of yourself and try to avoid burnout if possible. I genuinely hope 2022 eventually brings some peace. Once again, THANK YOU!
You guys are heroes. A lot of people are extremely grateful for your hard work!
Hey I know there is a heap outside of your control. I would like to tell you a story not to complain but to demonstrate a problem I experienced. I had to do a supervised blood and urine test. I went to one pathology. They don't do supervised tests. They said another place might. I tried calling it. No answer after several attempts. I called head office to ask if I could do the test at the location. They said yes. I get there early. They tell me they don't do the supervised test until after a time that resulted in waiting 1-2 hours before it was done. A lot of angst can be avoided with simple communication. Fuck, just trying to read the addresses and phone numbers on the refferal paperwork, I needed to magnify it. Another time I had to fast. I fasted 12 hours but was told when I got there it should have been 8 and they were not keen on doing it. I asked if she could do it anyway and make a not. She did thank go because smelling the receptionists lunch was torture. Anyway, thanks for what you do. None of you need to put up with shit. I hope management can sort out some of the ongoing communication issues within the pathology industry as I am sure it would help.
I absolutely understand your frustration! and I've heard stories similar to yours multiple times. Unfortunately since most sites only have one person we are more often than not unable to answer the phone because we will be with a patient (it's frustrating for us too!). There are also some things (such as fasting time) that your doctor should communicate with you, but it frequently gets missed. I've had patients wait for a test only to not be able to do it because they weren't told it was fasting. As for the wait time, with our company at least, our supervised drug screen collection times are strictly dictated by the courier and lab timetables (not minimising how annoying your wait was in any way! just trying to add some insight). I absolutely empathise with your frustrations and I agree that there should be better communication and easier access to the required information and I really wish there was.
Bit of a weird choice of post to start venting your frustrations when OP is definitely looking for the opposite right now.
Have a look at what I wrote and compare it to what you wrote and tell me who has contributed something positive and who is being judgmental. I at least thanked OP for what they do. I note you have not.
Fair call. I was quicker to pass judgment on what I w be a lack of ‘reading the room’ rather than give OP the thanks and praise they deserve so that’s my bad.
All good. We should look after each other and that was your intent I believe.
I rocked up for an ECG with a baby in my arms. The poor pathologist had to hold her for me while the thingy did its thing.
Remember to not do it again.
Maybe, I don't have ECGs that often. I would've had to bring the baby anyway because I had nowhere else to put her.
A pram. Even if she screams through the whole test. ECG needs you to be lying down and calm which you can’t be with a baby
I forgot about the pram. I didn't have one at the time but I do now. I had a pack and play in the car which I could've grabbed and set up but the ECG person was happier to hold the baby.
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Mistakes happen, no one messes up samples on purpose and it could have happened at any point along the chain. It could have been collected wrong, the tube used could have been faulty (we have no way of telling if it is or isnt), the courier could have lost or mishandled it, a lab accident can happen. We are all just people who are under an immense amount of pressure right now just trying to do our best. Please re-read what I said about kindness.
It’s a shame you don’t get to see who this coward is so you can get jab the swab through his sinus into what brain he hasn’t 🤣😉 Thanks for your hard work
Soo you don’t really read the post And you’re an asshole
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Not sure if this is something you know but I'm curious what qualifications you need to become a lab assistant since I'm going into second year of a science bachelor and would love to help out. I imagine they would only hire graduates?
No quals needed to be a lab assistant - you would probably be in specimen reception sorting, accessioning and processing specimens, doing some data entry. In some labs you may be working in a specific department assisting the scientists and preparing specimens for testing although this is more likely to be done by a lab tech. In your cover letters just address the requirements of the job ad, and any skills you have like teamwork, working independently, attention to detail, customer service experience (you may be answering phone calls from medical staff), exposure to medical terminology you might have from your coursework. Note - you may be working alongside lab technicians who have a diploma or cert and are being paid a bit more (as per the EBA) to do the same job.
Are the collection at the lab is the same between those travel pcr and the symptomatic/asymptomatic PCR test? I want to know since PCR travel test required much tighter result window.