Nancy Lopez

I work as a medical laboratory technician (TO) at St. George hospital in Kogarah at the Microbiology department at the moment.

• I set up urines samples on blood agar/ Mac conkey plates. I run the clear urine samples in a machine called Iris iQ2000Elite urine microscopy system analyser from Beckman Coulter. The machine flag for pathology results and if bacteria or yeast is detected in the urine patient sample. I will then double check by putting the urine in a chamber and look under a microscope to see what kind of organism it is. I will the set up antibiotic plates. If it is coliforms I'll set up two direct sensitivities plates and the antibiotics stamp to goes accordingly with the plates. If it is a streptococcus specimen, I will set one plate with horse blood sensitive agar and the susceptibility stamp.
• At the swab bench nasopharyngeal-, wound swabs, drains, MRSA, VRE for routine analysis. Collected with a swab with blue top. I also perform virology testing by using GenXpert or BD max to test for Inflenza A, B, RSV and Covid. The specimen would be collected in a swab with red top from nasopharyengal site. At the Blood culture bottles bench. I will gram stain positive aerobic and anaerobic bottles from the Bact/Alert Virtuo machine. Then identify if the organism is gram positive, cocci-, bascillus, gram negative, cocci, bascillus or yeast. Then setting up plates accordingly and sensitivites with antibiotiocs.
• At the sterile fluid bench. I will process tissues, sputum, bronchial washings, and CSF which is our most urgent sample. I perform a cell count by using blue detergent to colorised the WBC and divide and count monocytes and polymorphs plus red blood cells. I also perform a cytospin which i gram stain to see if there is any bacteria in the patient sample.II work as a medical laboratory technician (TO) at St. George hospital in Kogarah at the Microbiology department at the moment.I set up urines samples on blood agar/ Mac conkey plates. I run the clear urine samples in a machine called Iris iQ2000Elite urine microscopy system analyser from Beckman Coulter. The machine flag for pathology results and if bacteria or yeast is detected in the urine patient sample. I will then double check by putting the urine in a chamber and look under a microscope to see what kind of organism it is. I will the set up antibiotic plates. If it is coliforms I'll set up two direct sensitivities plates and the antibiotics stamp to goes accordingly with the plates. If it is a streptococcus specimen I will set one plate with horse blood sensitive agar and the susceptibility platehe swab bench will set up Responsible and well organisedswabs, wound, drains, MRSA, VRE for routine analysis. Collected with a swab with blue top.
• I also performe virology testing by using GenXpert or BD max to test for Inflenza A, B, RSV and Covid. The specimen would be collected in a swab with red top from nasopharyengal site.
• At the Blood culture bottles bench. I will gram stain positive aerobic and anaerobic bottles from the Bact/Alert Virtuo machine. Then identify if the organism is gram positive, cocci-, bascillus, gram negative, cocci, bascillus or yeast. Then setting up plates accordingly and sensitivites with antibiotiocs.
• At the sterile fluid bench. I will process tissues, sputum, bronchial washings, joint-, pleural-, and CSF fluid, which is our most urgent sample. I perform a cell count by using blue detergent to colorised the WBC and divide and count monocytes and polymorphs plus red blood cells. I also perform a cytospin which i gram stain to see if there is any bacteria in the patient sample. In the joint fluid we have to look under a microscope to detect gout and pseudo gout crystals.

• Company Overview: The laboratory provided analysis for all chemistry, electrolytes, coagulation, heart marker, haematology and hormones factors in patient blood. A services that was provided 24h a day seven days a week.
• In the coagulation section, I was analysing coagulations factors in the blood using a special tube containing sodium citrate, (usually a light blue top). The coagulations factors that was detected was Fibrinogen, ATP, PK, Antithrombin, D-Dimers, Lupus Anticoagulant and Won Willebrand. Every day maintenance was performed on the machine called STAR MAX from Stago. I also performed daily Quality controls and once a week calibrations (or when new control lot number was being used).
• In the Clinical Chemistry section I was analysing electrolytes in blood plasma that was collected in a green top tube being centrifuged and dividing the blood into red blood cells in the bottom and the plasma at the top having a gel separating the blood components. From the blood plasma I analysed components such as sodium, potassium and chloride with a machine called ARCHITECT c8000 from Abbott. I also analysed glucose, creatinine, cholesterol, albumin, calcium, magnesium etc. On the same machine we analysed some enzymes for example amylase and lipase.
• I analysed cardiac markers such as troponin, myoglobin, BNP was analysed on a different machine called ARCHITECT i2000SR immunoassay analyzer.
• I performed analysing of medicines in the blood such as Lithium, Gentamicine, Ethanol, Paracetamol, Proteins, Bicarbonate, Lactate, Lamotrigine and some of the immunosuppressant medication like Tacrolimus, Cyclosporine and Everolimus with The ARCHITECT i4000SR a multi-module system.
• In the haematology section, I performed automatically analysis with a machine called Sysmex XN where EDTA- tube was used usually purple top tube. I performed full blood count (CBC), neutrophils, monocytes. I had to investigating the sample, right amount of blood, right tube, the patient current sickness and platelets aggregation before rerunning the sample and then manually validate results that was more or less than two standard deviation.
• I also performed some manual analysis such as Malaria, counting white blood cells such as monocytes and neutrohpiles, lymphocytes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and reticulocytes with help of Microscope.
• In the hormone section I analysed different hormone identification levels in the blood serum with a machine called Cobas EE from Roche. The patient blood was. collected in serum blood tube where the blood was centrifuged and a gel divided the red blood components in the bottom of the tube and serum being on top of the gel. A few of the hormones that was analysed was testosterone, aldosterone, progesterone, thyroid markers (TSH, T4, T3), tumour markers (C-19) and many more.
• I sometimes worked in the collection specimen reception where we received all our patient sample tubes and then had to divide them to different analysing section. There was some patient analysis that had to be performed in a different lab so we had to send them away by storing them correctly, freezing some like NfL from CSF.

• Company Overview: Microbiology and virology department
• Setting up medical samples from patients, wounds swabs nasopharyngeal swabs, urine, sputum and blood cultures.
• Identifying bacterial growth of agar plates with MALDI-TOF
• Performing susceptibility testing
• Cultivate bacterial growth over night on agar plates in incubators Carbon dioxide 35 degrees and Oxygen 28 degrees.
• Microscopic analysis for positive bacterial growth in anaerobic blood from BacT/Alert
• I also worked in the serology department performing ELISA (antibody test) for detection of Borrelia and TBE
• I tested serum blood for blood donaters to see that they where negative for HIV, Syphilis, Hepatit B and C