Just last week I was on an overnight shift. I received Covid swab samples from the ED. Everything is perfect until I found one of them was collected in a gel swab with an orange top. So I called the ED and asked for a sample recollection.
Me: “Hi, I need a recollection for the Covid swab collected from this patient please”
Nurse: “What is wrong with it? I checked everything before I sent it!”
Me: “It is collected in the wrong swab.”
Nurse: “What do you mean?!!! I collected it with the orange top swab, like what is written on the system!!” (She was getting angry.)
Me: “Yes it was an orange top swab, but it should be the dry swab, not the gel swab”
After I said that, there was a moment of silence from the other end. Finally she admitted her mistake and she sent me the correct sample after a while.
To some, lab logic can be confusing. Some things might look the same yet are so different. Never assume. Ask the lab! We’ll let you know 😛
Submitted by:
Venezia Govita
Laboratory Assistant
Melbourne, Australia
