The Fun Side of Clinical Laboratory Professionals
I once had a nurse call and ask me why she was drawing a patient because the test code said “NA, not applicable.” I sat in silence for awhile to stifle my laughter and then informed her that she was drawing a sodium. Submitted by:Kristi SommerMedical Technologist/ScientistUSA
I had a Doctor call down looking to see if we had any methylene blue. When we asked why they needed it they said they were going to give it to the patient so that they could find where the leak was in their feeding tube. We were all like "ummm..... no, nothing in this… Continue reading Methylene Blue
I was doing inpatient phlebotomy at the time and went up to the cardiac step down unit. Basically, just people on heart monitors under observation at this point. I went into this elderly ladies room to draw her blood and saw her naked standing in the middle of the room throwing feces against the wall… Continue reading Hell No!
A patient needed to collect a stool specimen, so I handed out a stool kit along with some detailed instructions. The patient brought back the hat and says they didn't need it. The patient pooped right into their hand with a glove on, and brought me a glove with a turd in it. Submitted by:Colton… Continue reading Poop in Glove
The doctor went to the microbiology lab and insisted that he needed results immediately. The tech explained that it would take at least 12-24 hours. However, the doctor kept insisting that there must be something the tech could do to make it faster. To appease the doctor, the tech went to the incubator, opened the… Continue reading Impatient Doctor
A lady showed up at our lab’s registration area with an order for a 24 hour urine calcium. I went back to grab everything she would need for the collection process. When I got back, I gave her the supplies and some very specific step by step instructions on how to properly collect a 24… Continue reading On the Rocks
One time we had a patient who was checked in to the laboratory for various stool tests. They brought in a stool specimen that they scooped out of the toilet, toilet water and all, in a Kool-Aid man cup. They even left the straw in the cup for us. How thoughtful!😆 Submitted by:Dawn HarrisMedical Technologist/ScientistArkansas,… Continue reading Kool-aid Stool Container
I entered an elderly patient’s room in the wee hours for blood draw. He had an IV in his right arm, so I automatically went to his left side. I introduced myself and began preparing for the draw. After verifying his name/DOB from the wristband, I noticed the patient’s left arm was under the cover… Continue reading Ward Rounds – Go Fish
An older patient came in the lab and handed me a crumpled grocery bag, indicating he wrapped something inside. I asked him what it was. He told me the doctor told him to drop it off in the lab after he collected the sample. When I opened it, I saw the popsicle stick (the one… Continue reading A Hurtful Misunderstanding
We all get them, unlabeled tubes. What do you do with them? Throw them away, right? I'm always one to have a great teaching moment with our friendly nurses that want pop down to grab them up and label them like it's no big deal. So, I have a drawer full of unlabeled tubes. When… Continue reading Pick A Tube
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