Category: LOL Moments

We’ve always received stool specimens from patients in a lab-provided container. Well, one day, a patient handed me a rather unique stool container...the stool was in a big ziplock bag! OMG! It was a see-through bag and the bag was about 3/4 full of the patient’s semi-formed and soft stool. I just could not believe… Continue reading Unique Sample Container

I work at a small town hospital in Central Florida. 25 beds to be exact. Part of the charm of working with a smaller team is that you get the chance to know everyone from every single department throughout the hospital. The nurses at the inpatient wing normally do their bedside reporting at around 7am,… Continue reading The Whore is Coming!

I have been working in the laboratory profession for over 45 years. But back when I first started, my RN friend brought me a urine sample and it was not labeled. I stopped him and said that his sample was no good. No patient name or any other identifier whatsoever. He asked, "What you want… Continue reading Oh No You Didn’t

Normally when a patient were to ask what container can be used to put a stool sample in, we would just say any clean container will do as long as it can be closed shut. An older lady called and asked what she can collect her stool in. We told her that it doesn't have… Continue reading Jar of Poop

This story happened back before our previous lab manager retired. Talk about a dry sense of humor, hers is as dry as the sands in the desert! A nurse walked in and asked what the difference is between serum and plasma. She gave her the whole lecture that the difference is whether or not an… Continue reading Serum vs Plasma

Before becoming an MLT, I was employed as a Clinical Laboratory Assistant. I clearly remember my VERY exciting first week with my first CLA position. I was still new at drawing blood, but was becoming more confident as time went on. I was on a hot streak of no missed sticks for that particular day,… Continue reading Out Like A Light

At times, there’s a thin line between downright stupidity and overwhelming curiosity. Here’s my dry ice story. One time, an order of frozen reagents came in and was shipped in dry ice. I had a legit hypothesis and my goal is to carbonize water. After all, if conditions are right with temperature and pressure, it… Continue reading Don’t Play with Dry Ice

A few years ago, we received a pinworm paddle with poo smeared all over all sides of it....and a small amount of blood. Apparently, she did not read her directions and had SHOVED that entire pinworm paddle up her little kid's little butt. Ouch poor guy. It makes me angry and heartache all at the… Continue reading Pinworm Paddle Mishap

I was a fairly new phlebotomist at a rural hospital that got in patients from all over. One day I get a call down to Emergency for a blood draw. The patient was from a correctional facility who had started a fight and was there due to their fight protocol since blood was shed.  I… Continue reading Scared of Needles

I don’t know about other schools, but the MedTech school I went to had a certain way of doing things. When we started learning about phlebotomy, we didn’t have a dummy at all to practice on—we had to practice on our classmates (all human and can feel pain). ? However, what’s more interesting, is when… Continue reading Semen Analysis at School