Working in a reference lab as an MT

I was wondering how it is working at a reference lab particularly Quest Diagnostics as a medical technologist. I have heard it can be boring in reference labs because you only perform one assay over and over again on a high volume of specimens. Is that true?

To me it seems like it might be better than a hospital since there aren't really any stats and doctors and nurses aren't there to harass you about results. Is this accurate and does anyone have more insight into working in reference labs?

I use to work for reference labs..I worked for ICL and Smith-Kline Beecham before Quest bought them out.The manager of the Atlanta lab ( main lab) is my old boss from those days...

The work is high volume but not necessarily boring. Most of those types of labs have several different tests you are trained to do and you rotate within a department so it isn't necessarily boring.
Like any lab you may have a good manager or a bad one and the lab itself may be well run or poorly run.
That's why it's always best to talk to people who work there before you apply to get a feel for the place.

Good luck.

Thanks for your response. It is the first that I heard that a reference lab is ok to work at. I like how they have some rotation so you don't get bored.

Are there stats with a turn around time where it has to be done right away or is it more relaxed and at your own pace? I will try to talk to the people there before I apply.

Michelle in Woodstock, Illinois said: Thanks for your response. It is the first that I heard that a reference lab is ok to work at. I like how they have some rotation so you don't get bored.

Are there stats with a turn around time where it has to be done right away or is it more relaxed and at your own pace? I will try to talk to the people there before I apply.

As fro stats it depends.....some reference labs have hospital affiliations so they are required to finish the hospital workl they receive by a certain time so it can uploaded by the LIS to the charts so the doctors can view the results...
Some reference labs do specialty tests like fetal lung maturity tests that are consdiered stat as of course the ob doc is awaiting the results...
So there are a few circumstances where you may have a stat to do.
The miajority of the work except for micro of course is usually 24 hr turnaround but it depends on the reference lab's policies.

Good luck...