What does a medical laboratory scientist do?
As a medical laboratory scientist, you will be responsible for analyzing various types of body specimens, including blood, tissue, and urine. You will conduct scientific testing on samples and report the results to physicians. These results play an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions or illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. Your duties and responsibilities may include maintaining laboratory equipment such as microscopes and cell counters, tracking patient outcomes, and conducting differential cell counts. You are also expected to oversee the work of laboratory technicians.
Medical laboratory scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical laboratory scientist resumes:
- Attain extensive phlebotomy experience with a challenging pediatric patient population.
- Perform complex laboratory diagnostic tests as medical laboratory scientist in hematology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, urinalysis and blood bank.
- Evaluate quality control within the laboratory using standard laboratory test and measurement controls while maintaining compliance with CLIA and OSHA.
- Execute and analyze test in areas including, hematology, urinalysis, serology, bacteriology, chemistry and transfusion services.
- Assist in Cerner LIS system implementation and resource as super user.
- Experience in immunology, infectious disease testing, and therapeutic drug monitoring.
- Still perform all MLA duties (mention below) in addition to current MLT obligations.
- Display superb manual dexterity, extreme focus, and patience in a fast-pace work environment.
- Perform CLIA waive tests and the associated quality control as defined in the laboratory's work instructions.
- Skil in manual body fluid analysis, manual slide making, manual differentials, and manual urinalysis.
- Lead project officer in the implementation, validation, and training of a new DOD wide LIS system.
- Perform phlebotomy and specimen collection with accordance to hospital policy.
- Possess knowledge of bacteriology, mycobacteriology and ova and parasitology.
- Provide tutoring/exam preparation or OJT students for categorical ASCP certification exams.
- Perform work requiring manual dexterity, excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Medical laboratory scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Medical Laboratory Scientists are proficient in Patients, ASCP, and Clinical Laboratory.
We break down the percentage of Medical Laboratory Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 13%
Performed tests on both pediatric and adult patients including high complexity analysis and other laboratory examinations as requested by physicians.
- ASCP, 11%
Key projects/skills: Technical/scientific broad experience concurrent with all or most technical requirements for ASCP certified medical technology.
- Clinical Laboratory, 10%
Followed established procedures to perform routine clinical laboratory testing including administrative support and general clerical tasks.
- MLS, 8%
Hired as a full-time MLS in a busy hospital, performing many lab procedures and verifying results.
- Proficiency Testing, 5%
Participate in proficiency testing of unknowns and internal and external continuing education programs to keep current of developments within field.
- Patient Care, 4%
Cross-trained in microbiology and chemistry to expedite specimen results to providers and improve patient care.
Common skills that a medical laboratory scientist uses to do their job include "patients," "ascp," and "clinical laboratory." You can find details on the most important medical laboratory scientist responsibilities below.
The three companies that hire the most medical laboratory scientists are:
- Carle Foundation267 medical laboratory scientists jobs
- University of Washington109 medical laboratory scientists jobs
- Ascension Michigan108 medical laboratory scientists jobs
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Compare different medical laboratory scientists
Medical laboratory scientist vs. Histologic technician
A Histologic Technician prepares tissue specimens for routine and special procedures to confirm a patient diagnosis. They work in hospital laboratories, government agencies, public health departments, and other institutions.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between medical laboratory scientists and histologic technician. For instance, medical laboratory scientist responsibilities require skills such as "clinical laboratory," "mls," "patient care," and "laboratory tests." Whereas a histologic technician is skilled in "tissue specimens," "ihc," "sectioning," and "microtome." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, histologic technicians reach similar levels of education than medical laboratory scientists. Histologic technicians are 0.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Medical laboratory scientist vs. Pharmacist technician
Pharmacist technicians assist pharmacists in their daily activities. They receive prescription medicine order requests of customers, validate the prescription, prepare the medicines, properly label medicine bottles, and hand them off to customers. They also answer customer inquiries and attend to customer concerns. Pharmacist technicians also manage the pharmacy's inventory and ensure that all records are up to date. They are also authorized to create purchase requisition requests for medicines that are running low and need to be refilled, but these requests should still be authorized by a doctor.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real medical laboratory scientist resumes. While medical laboratory scientist responsibilities can utilize skills like "ascp," "clinical laboratory," "mls," and "proficiency testing," pharmacist technicians use skills like "math," "direct supervision," "hipaa," and "collective bargaining."
On average, pharmacist technicians earn a lower salary than medical laboratory scientists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, pharmacist technicians earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $36,689. Whereas medical laboratory scientists have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $54,393.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Pharmacist technicians tend to reach similar levels of education than medical laboratory scientists. In fact, they're 2.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for medical laboratory scientists in the next 3-5 years?
Gerald Bergtrom Ph.D.
Professor of Biological Sciences (Emeritus) & Teaching & Learning Consultant, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
-Medical science will need to respond to new challenges arising out of climate change and the aging population. Supported (as always) by basic sciences, medical science will focus on big-picture biology, represented by the ever-growing number of "...omics". These include genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics... and the enabling technologies that let us look at a lot of genes, gene products, and biochemical reactions at the same time. Finally, the ever-improving gene-editing technologies can lead to the treatment of disease, leading to a greater understanding of the disease and biological process in general.
Medical laboratory scientist vs. Certified pharmacist technician
A certified pharmacist technician is responsible for assisting patients by providing medicines based on their needs or their physicians' prescriptions. Certified pharmacist technicians must be able to supply the correct medications, including the right dosage to patients. They must also have a broad understanding of the medical industry, providing medicinal information to patients and referring them to the right health professionals as needed. Certified pharmacist technicians also monitor medicine inventories, manage supplies, and create sales reports.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a medical laboratory scientist is likely to be skilled in "ascp," "clinical laboratory," "mls," and "proficiency testing," while a typical certified pharmacist technician is skilled in "direct supervision," "math," "telephone calls," and "inventory control."
Certified pharmacist technicians earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $37,078. Comparatively, medical laboratory scientists have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $54,393.certified pharmacist technicians typically earn similar educational levels compared to medical laboratory scientists. Specifically, they're 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical laboratory scientist vs. Medical technologist, generalist
A Medical Technologist Generalist performs day-to-day operations in the laboratory such as routine testing, quality control, and maintenance of instruments. They also develop, perform, and evaluate the accuracy of laboratory procedures.
Types of medical laboratory scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
