This happened before CLIA was implemented. At that time, lab techs do whatever they want in the lab—eat, drink, smoke, etc… including taking kids to work.
I was one of them—I took my 3-year old kid at work. It was just that one day when I could not find a babysitter. I was a single mom, and I was the only one who can work in that shift–so I had no choice.
The lab was small, and only one tech works during a shift.
I was working in micro at that particular moment, when the phone rang. The phone was in a different room, maybe about 15 feet away (we didn’t have wireless phones at that time). So I went to answer the phone. It took me like about 2 minutes before I could get back to the microbiology room.
When I got back, I could not believe what I saw…my kid got into the trash and ate the chocolate agar off a plate! He didn’t eat all of it, but it was obvious he took few bites of it! I was just horrified!! OMG!!!
At that moment, I kept thinking of the Haemophilus influenzae organism I discarded that morning and that it would make my kid sick.
Luckily, he didn’t get sick at all. Never again will I take my kid to the lab.
It wasn’t funny at all when it happened. But it’s hilarious now.
Submitted by:
Felicity Buenvenidez
Medical Laboratory Technician
New Mexico, USA
