My work as a Medical Laboratory Specialist
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Careers & Jobs
Medical Laboratory Specialist (68K)
Enlisted
Officer
- Active Duty
- Army Reserve
- Open to Women
- Entry Level
Overview
The medical laboratory specialist conducts tests on the tissue, blood and body fluids of patients.
Job Duties
- Perform elementary blood banking and clinical laboratory procedures in hematology, immunohematology, clinical chemistry, serology, bacteriology, parasitology and urinalysis
- Collect blood specimens by venipuncture and capillary puncture
- Pack, unpack, inspect, store and distribute blood and blood products
- Assemble, disassemble and maintain laboratory equipment
Training
Job training for a medical laboratory specialist requires 10 weeks of Basic Combat Training and 52 weeks of Advanced Individual Training, including practice-testing specimens.
Some of the skills you’ll learn are:
- Medical laboratory procedures
- Study of human parasites and diseases
- Laboratory administration and record keeping
Helpful Skills
- Interest in biology, chemistry and algebra
- Ability to follow detailed procedures precisely
Required ASVAB Score(s)
Skilled Technical (ST) : 106Learn more about the ASVAB and see what jobs you could qualify for.
Compensation
Total compensation includes housing, medical, food, special pay, and vacation time. Learn more about total compensation.
Future Civilian Careers
The skills you learn will help prepare you for a career with privately owned laboratories, hospitals, clinics or research institutions.
The certifications available to you after continued study and experience are medical laboratory technician, cytotechnologist and clinical laboratory technician. Specific educational criteria must be met before you can qualify for certification.
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- My work as a Medical Laboratory Specialist
MY WORK AS A MEDICAL LABORATORY SPECIALIST
Hi my name is Sergeant Stacey Swayze I’m a 68 Kilo medical laboratory specialist. By being a 68 Kilo I currently work at the United State Army Institute of Surgical Research in the laboratory support division. This is a little bit different from just the clinical laboratory where you work in areas such as hematology, or coagulation or microbiology. Here we have those sections but we do our work in support of the research protocols that are used to benefit the Soldiers that are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. On a day to day basis we come in, we run samples from both human and animal bloods and use those results to find the different factors and the different parts that are used to stop bleeding all in support of the Soldiers.
