Job description Medical Laboratory Technician in the Northeast Region

Find out what work is like for a medical laboratory technician in Canada. This work description is applicable to all Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists' assistants (NOC 33101).

Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations

Description

Medical laboratory assistants and workers in related technical occupations perform pre-analysis and pre-testing tasks such as collecting blood and other samples, processing specimens, and preparing special chemicals called reagents for use in testing. They conduct routine medical laboratory tests and set up, clean and maintain medical laboratory equipment. They are employed in medical laboratories in hospitals, clinics, research facilities, post-secondary educational institutions and government research laboratories.

Work week duration

Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations usually work between 35 to 40 hours per week.
Between 35 to 40 hours

Job duties

Here are some of the main activities and tasks that Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations have to perform, and some of the physical demands they involve:

  • Collect, label, sort and prepare blood, tissue and other samples from patients
  • Log and validate patient samples and prepare them for testing
  • Set up medical laboratory equipment
  • Prepare chemical reagents to be combined with biological samples for testing
  • Conduct routine laboratory tests and sample analyses
  • Perform quality assurance of testing techniques and record results
  • Clean and maintain medical laboratory and medical laboratory equipment.

Physical demands Help - Physical Demands

  • Making repetitive motions
  • Handling material manually
  • Standing
  • Bending or twisting the body
  • Walking and running
  • Sitting

Physical demands

Physical demands are the physical activities that the job requires the worker to do. Physical demands are selected according to the likeliness that workers will have to perform them for at least half of the time they spend at work.

Workplaces and employers

Here are the typical workplaces where Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations are employed and some of their main characteristics:

  • Research facilities
  • Government research laboratories
  • Post-secondary educational institutions
  • Medical laboratories
  • Clinics
  • Hospitals

Work environment Help - Physical Work Environment

  • Indoors, environmentally controlled
  • Biological agents
  • Standard safety equipment
  • Dangerous chemical substances
  • Skin injury
  • Hazardous conditions

Physical proximity from others Help - Physical proximity from others

  • Physically touching or very close

Work environment

The work environment refers to the physical setting in which people work. The characteristics and conditions of the work environment are selected according to the likeliness that workers will be exposed to them at least once a week.

Physical proximity from others

Physical proximity from others refers to the physical distance between individuals in the workplace. The likeliness that the job requires to perform tasks while being physically close to other people is rated on a scale with 3 levels: "Somewhat close", "Close" and "Very close".

Related job titles

Here are some other related job titles that are found in the same occupational category (NOC 33101), and a list of similar occupations:

  • medical laboratory aide
  • medical laboratory assistant
  • medical laboratory technician
  • phlebotomist
  • phlebotomy aide

Similar occupations Help - Similar occupations

Similar occupations

This section lists other occupations that are part of the same broad occupational category as Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations in the National Occupational Classification (NOC). These occupations involve similar core qualifications but involve different responsibilities. To see more similar occupations, use the Job Transition Tool.

Sources Occupational and Skills Information System & National Occupational Classification

Labour Market Information Survey
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