Every Day Presents New Cases For Medical Technologists

 

Kathryn Acton can’t escape the flu. Patient beds at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis consistently are full this season with children suffering from the virus, and Acton ’s microbiology lab is experiencing an equally high level of activity.

As a senior technologist in the microbiology department, Acton oversees the lab and seven full-time employees preparing cultures and identifying bacteria and organisms in patient specimens.

“After we read out the cultures, we provide the physician with the sensitivity of an organism so they know which medicine will treat it,” Acton said.

The team works among stacks of red Agar plates, each containing a culture that has grown overnight in an incubator and awaits examination under a microscope.

Although Acton and her staff only know their patients by the names typed on their specimens, the lab plays a crucial role in each child’s health. Determining the sensitivity of an organism present in bodily specimens, such as urine, blood and throat cultures, gives doctors specific answers about which medications will best treat patients’ illnesses.

“We have a huge impact on the patient,” Acton said. “This career is one of the things you can do to really make a difference in the health of the patient.”

Kathryn Acton sets up a culture that will incubate overnight before a medical technologist observes it to see what has grown. Recent popular television shows such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" have higlighted laboratory science, which is an exciting career choice for someone interested in science and is a good analytical thinker.

Usually, 70 percent of the information used in a patient’s diagnosis comes from laboratory information, said Helen Gagen, administrative director of diagnostic services.

Laboratory science is a field recently highlighted on television shows, such as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and Gagen said it is an exciting career choice for any student who is interested in science and is a good analytical thinker. A bachelor’s or associate’s degree in clinical laboratory sciences is required.

“You have to be the type of person who looks at something and wants to go a little deeper,” Gagen said.

In addition to microbiology, laboratory professionals can pursue careers in forensic, virology, chemistry, hematology/oncology, blood bank or biochemical genetics labs.

Acton’s interest in lab work traces back to her days at Bayless High School when a biology teacher took her class on hospital tours to see health care professions in action. Acton decided then she wanted to work in a lab and earned her bachelor’s degree at Saint Louis University.

“I worked in the lab at Glennon for three years during college running diagnostic tests on different machines and drawing blood,” Acton said. “Now, we have students working in our lab from 5 to 9 p.m. It’s a good way to get experience and get a job after graduation.”

During her 20-plus years of service at Cardinal Glennon, testing methods have changed and improved. The most recent development is rapid testing, which will make lab tests quicker, better and more definitive, Acton said.

In addition, Cardinal Glennon’s foreign adoption clinic treats patients of various nationalities. As more people from different countries move to St. Louis, the lab sees even more new things.

“That’s kind of the fun of it,” Acton said. “Every day is different because we see different organisms and different strains.”

Perhaps the most significant advancement in recent years — and one of the most publicized in the news — has been the Human Genome Project.

“The Human Genome Project is paving the way for lab tests, moving to molecular diagnostics,” Gagen said. “It allows us to identify a gene and diagnose patients on a much more specific level.”

Medical technologists and senior techs, such as Acton, work daily from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. They also work some weekends.

In addition to examining patient specimens, Acton oversees the lab’s technical operations to ensure equipment is working correctly, procedures are up-to-date and quality control standards are being met.

Her team of seven examines approximately 100 specimens each day. Because they use the information they find to recommend appropriate treatment to physicians, accuracy is crucial.

As lab work becomes more advanced, Acton is encouraged by the fact that diagnoses become more complex, and her lab is always seeing new things.

“Because patients are getting harder to treat, this job isn’t going anywhere,” Acton said. “This will always be done by hand. You just can’t automate these procedures.”

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