One evening, a patient came into the lab to give a urine specimen.
The phlebotomist handed him a specimen cup and explained, “Fill it about halfway and bring it back to me when you’re done.”
A few minutes later, the patient came out of the bathroom carrying the cup.
The phlebotomist took one look at it.
There was barely anything in it.
She said, “I’m sorry, but we need a little more than that.”
The patient looked at the cup, then back at her.
“Really? I thought I gave you quite a bit.”
She explained that they needed enough specimen to perform the testing.
He sighed.
“Well, that’s all I could get.”
The phlebotomist handed the cup back.
“Okay. Just try again.”
About five minutes later, he returned.
This time, the cup was almost completely full.
She smiled.
“Perfect. Thank you.”
She labeled the specimen, placed it in the specimen bag, and set it aside.
The patient started to leave, but suddenly stopped.
“By the way…”
The phlebotomist looked up.
“I don’t think that first cup was mine.”
She froze.
“What do you mean?”
The patient pointed toward the bathroom.
“I think I accidentally used the cup I brought my wife to collect her specimen in.”
The phlebotomist slowly looked at the cup in her hand.
Then she looked at the patient.
Then she looked back at the cup.
After a long silence, she quietly said…
“I’m going to need you to sit down for a minute.”
Submitted by:
Candy Cane
Medical Laboratory Technician
USA
