Medical Technologists

Medical laboratory personnel usually work a 35- to 40-hour week, with night or weekend duty often required in hospitals. However, with the current staff shortage, overtime in some facilities has become common, with required amounts of overtime hours assigned to staff.

Medical technologists must exercise meticulous care in their work to avoid risk of exposure to diseases or contamination of a testing sample, requiring the retesting of the patient. Plastics have replaced glass, so risk of cuts from broken equipment is greatly reduced. Chemicals and their containers and usage have also improved with the advancement of technology, so chemical burns are rare. Lab workers must often work under pressure at painstaking tasks. Workloads can be heavy because of occasional staff shortages.