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How much experience do you have in the field and how long did it take you to feel comfortable?


Mosaics

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I started in the field in 1973, so I've had something like 41 years in the job.

 

I started as a very junior member of staff at the (then) Blood Group Reference Laboratory (working with, amongst others, Joyce Poole, when she was a humble Senior Biomedical Scientist) and stayed there for about 5 years.  I then moved to the (now defunct) Westminster Hospital (a large London Teaching Hospital), where I worked in Haematology for about 3 years, and then moved to Blood Transfusion.  Following this, I went to the Blood Transfusion Laboratory at Mayday Hospital in Croydon, Surrey (a District General Hospital).  After that, I went to the Blood Transfusion Laboratory at Ealing Hospital (another District General Hospital), firstly as a locum Chief Biomedical Scientist in Blood Transfusion, and then as a substantive Chief Biomedical Scientist in Blood Transfusion (the laboratories here were run by a private company, named The Doctors' Laboratory - all the other positions were with the National Health Service).  Then I went back to the, now, International Blood Group Reference Laboratory, working as a locum Chief Biomedical Scientist in Joyce Poole's (now Head of Red Cell Serology) laboratory.  After that, I started at the NHSBT-Tooting Centre as Reference Laboratory Manager in Red Cell Immunohaematology, and, a couple of years later, was promoted to Reference Service Manager in the same laboratory.

 

I have served on the national council of the British Blood Transfusion Society and am, at present, Chief Examiner in Transfusion Science for the Institute of Biomedical Science.

 

How long did it take me to feel comfortable?  In terms of feeling comfortable working in a blood transfusion laboratory, I suppose about a year, maybe a year and a half.  In terms of public speaking at conferences, on university courses, symposia, etc, I suppose about 5 years or more.  Now, however, I actually look forward to public speaking.

 

Maybe I should now go to a psychiatrist, after that last statement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The time it takes to feel comfortable... I think it is based on two issues, 1)how disciplined (consistent) you are and 2)the scope of your aggregate experience. It has been said, that an individual may have 5 years of experience of knowledge building or 1 year of experience multiplied 5 times which is, in essence, only 1 year. I agree with Malcolm, 12-18 months.

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I agree with Dansket and Malcom, about 12-18 months.  At my first job I was a generalist and not just dedicated to Blood Bank.  It gave me good experience in seeing the overall impact of lab results on patient care.

 

As a supervisor/manager it was every bit of 12-18 months to make the transition from bench tech to supervisor.  That was much more of an adjustment as there were more responsibilities as a manager.

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I have 28 years of experience. I agree 12-18 months for a tech. About 2 years for a supervisory/management role.

And yes, questions from new techs are always well received. I like fresh eyes looking at my procedures; they tend to find things that the "old timers" gloss over. Or they bring up things in a policy that are crystal clear to me, because of course I wrote it, but are confusing to them. So I rewrite it, because I feel that new techs rely more heavily on the policies than the experienced techs do.

However, if I get a lot of "well, at my old place we did it this way", I gently correct them that now they are in my house. :)

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Yes, the 12-18 months to feel comfortable/confident. My first position was on the evening shift in Blood Bank. I learned so much from my rather eccentric, but very knowledgable and enthusiastic coworker who willingly shared her 20 years of experience.  Also, the small staff and the fact that no "boss" was present on our evening shift made you learn to work independently, solve your own problems, and make decisions (good ones, hopefully) pretty darn fast.  It was a wonderful environment to start my career.

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Even after a tech reaches the "feel comfortable" phase, there are still a number of situations that will arise in the blood bank to test their comfort zone!

 

12-18 months seems about right to me. Depends on a lot of variables. Motivation level. Questions/Answers. Independently working or who the coworkers are. Among others.

Edited by goodchild
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I have worked in Blood Bank for 20 years.  I felt comfortable fairly quickly but credit that to the techs that trained me during my clinical rotations and at my first job.  They were both BB "superwommen" and made sure I know everything inside out. 

 

That said I think how long it takes to be comfortable varies by the person... I know tech that have worked in BB nearly as long as I have and they still do not feel comfotable...

 

A very wise woman once told me that true blood bankers were not trained...they were born. 

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Malcolm, I was unaware that the UK had not introduced child labor laws prior to 1973!!  :confuse:

 

Back on topic.  I used to tell my new blood bankers that they would start feeling comfortable and confident between 12 and 18 months but if they ever got to the point of thinking they had "seen it all" and there were no more surprises, reality would jump up and slap them a good one with something new and different.   :eyepopping:

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More than 12 years of Blood Bank experience including 10 years as QA and blood bank manager.

 

First twelve to eighteen months were really tough as I got training as blood bank technologist and then also worked my way to QA position within short period of time.

 

I would not have done it without very supportive medical director who gave me proper mentoring! 

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On and off, about 15 years.  It took me a couple of years to become more "comfortable" in all areas of the lab, in that I felt that my judgement improved to the point where I felt more confident that I probably wouldn't harm a patient from either overconfidence or "analysis paralysis". 

 

At times, Blood Banking may seem a little more dramatic thank some other areas of the lab, but one of the key points I try to make with students/trainees is this:  Blood Banking calls on the same skill sets that you use in the rest of the lab.  If you can multitask, keep cool under pressure, understand your limits, and recongize that little bell that rings in your head that says "Wasn't there something odd about (insert situation here) that I learned in school/read about in a journal/saw on a similar case once?", you'll do fine in Blood Bank, and welcome!

 

(Of course, it helps to love Blood Banking too!)    :wacko:  :crazy:

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  • 3 months later...

About 25 years, a few years in the middle as a manager of Hematology and sundry areas, but pretty much otherwise as a generalist.

 

I think I may have been feeling pretty comfortable after a few years, but in this business, that's when you have to be the most careful.  If I become complacient and burn a few burgers at McDonald's, that's one thing, but one has to stay on thier toes, especially when working in a hospital!

 

Scott

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I did 1 year as a lab assistant in Cytogenetic, took a trainee post in Cytology and did the Biomedical sciences degree part time. Qualified and everything went pear shaped with cell path so got transferred over to histology. At the time I was doing multidisciplinary on call (chem, haem, micro) so I retrained in haem. 18 months later I took a post as blood bank manager of a small lab for 3 years, had a relationship breakdown and came home. Now working as a normal specialist and much prefer it to the management stuff. So as a qualified BMS 11 years, in a lab 17 years, and in haem/trans 7 years.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello all.  Recently signed up for the form, actually completed validation today to complete registration. 

 

Started in the field in 1993 with the millitary.  After just over 10 years in the military, I had accrued 6 years in Transfusion Service in a large military Medical Center in Washington State.  I then worked for 2 years as a testing tech in a military Donor Center and moved to the position of civilian Supervisor for the next 8 years.  Recently, within the last year, took a position as the QA Coordinator for the Transfusion Service in which I worked at while in the military - felt as if I was coming back home.  I was fortunate to be able to work with my old supervisor at the Transfusion Service for about 4 months prior to her 30 year retirement - boy is she missed and her position is still pending hiring actions.  Last month, I was able to successfully make it through our AABB/CAP inspection which boosted my confidence level for my current postion - I have been involved in numberous AABB/FDA inspection over the years as a tech/junior manager with the military and also as the supervisor at the Donor Center. 

 

To sum it up, just over 20 years in the lab field, with about 16 in Donor Center/Transfusion Service.  I still remember my first night as a newly trained tech in the Transfusion Servcie working solo and just waiting for the Trauma pager to go off - PRICELESS.  Another funny story was that night, I was afraid to leave the section to use the restroom just in case someone needed blood.  I couldn't set down; had to constantly do the dance - my bladder was full.  :huh:  Each new position had its learning/confidence curve, but after a year or so, I felt pretty confident.

Edited by elkinscf
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