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 hour urine specimen for the test her doctor ordered. I even remembered telling her to place the specimen on ice to make sure it stays cold during the collection process.
After I finished, I asked her if she has any questions and if she understood all my instructions. She nodded, thanked me, and left.
The next day, the lady came back with a her 24 hour urine specimen. After registering, she handed me the specimen. It was quite full, but oh well maybe she just pees a lot. When I got back to the main lab, I was going to measure the urine volume when I noticed something floating in her urine. There were ice cubes in it! Apparently she placed ice cubes in her urine to keep it cold!
She misunderstood what I told her. Instead of placing the specimen on ice, as in a cooler full of ice, she placed some ice cubes in it and gave me some urine on the rocks! I can’t help but laugh! As for the specimen, a repeat collection was set in motion.
Submitted by:
Felicity Buenvenidez
Medical Laboratory Technician
New Mexico, USA
Wow this never happened to me before 🥴