Do your fellow lab techs trade stories about your pipetting prowess when you’re not around? Are you considered the king or queen of the tasteless joke? Do you have a knack for getting everybody on the same page for takeout? If so, it’s quite possible that you are a Lab Legend.
Here are five more signs that you are a Lab Legend.
You are a pipetting ninja: Your technique is flawless. Your speed and accuracy are second to none. You are so fast that your hands are nearly imperceptible to the human eye. The healthcare world – the entire universe, really – is fortunate that you’ve chosen to use your powers for good.
You are a blood-smear speed demon: Again, your quickness defies laws of physics, but not at the expense of reliable test results. It doesn’t matter how many slides you have to prepare or how little time you have to do it. All your smears are uniform – some might even say they’re pretty. There’s a fine line between art and slide prep.
You don’t make labeling errors: Hey, nobody’s perfect. Except for you when it comes to labeling. Somehow you always have every detail straight when you put pen to paper, regardless of how much sleep you got the night before. You don’t mess up the date for a month or more after the New Year like some of your colleagues. You are keenly aware of the time at all times.
You are a troubleshooting champion: Are you the de facto IT professional at your lab? Do your coworkers come to you for problems related to analyzers, strainers, and their personal smartphones? Whether you’re happy to fix people’s broken-down stuff or you’d rather just be left alone to do your job, the word is out. You are the “techie.” It’s probably best to embrace it.
You are an overachiever: You work best when you set small goals for yourself. “I am going to clear this absurdly long pending list in one hour,” you decide. Then, to everybody’s surprise but your own, you do it! It’s not like you’re getting paid by the piece, but challenging yourself helps keep you sane. Some might appreciate that about you. Others might think you’re trying to show them up. Haters gonna hate.
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I am a labelling queen in the lab. I have such perfect handwriting some coworkers have asked me to write sloppier so they don’t look bad! I always have at least two forms of ID and have NEVER mislabeled a tube in my 30 year laboratory career 🙂
Wow, that’s quite the record. Nice work!
As someone making their way into lab tech I find it comforting to see that I have some of these traits already 🙂 Guess I have my work cut out for me!