Lab Technician

A Lab Technician plays a vital role in the smooth functioning of medical and research laboratories. As a Lab Technician, your primary responsibility is to perform essential tests and maintain laboratory equipment. Whether working in healthcare, research, or manufacturing, a Lab Technician ensures that accurate and reliable data is collected and analyzed. The skills of a Lab Technician are in high demand, and many industries rely on their expertise to ensure quality and safety. If you are passionate about science and technology, a career as a Lab Technician offers endless opportunities to make a meaningful impact in various fields.

Best Lab Technician Course Overview

In case you want to be part of the medical world, without going through the hassles of MBBS, a lab technician course is a way out. The course creates professionals, with the necessary knowledge of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases. Lab technicians can operate medical equipment and perform medical tests and can assist in lab-related work. During the period of COVID-19, the lab technician course gained more recognition than it had before Medical. The lab technician course deals with medical laboratory science, which deals with clinical laboratory investigations for the diagnosis of diseases. Without proper diagnosis, a proper clinical investigation or preparing a lab report is not possible. The 2-year course teaches students about biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, and blood banking. So, let us have a look at what the lab technician course after the 12th entails.

Eligibility Criteria For Lab Technician Course

The eligibility criteria to get admission (Pharmacy College) for a lab technician course are almost the same for all institutions that offer the course. The criteria which the candidates have to fulfil to get admission for the lab technician course are mentioned below:

1. The student must appear for their 10+2 examination from a recognized board of education in India.
2. The student must secure 45-50% marks in their 12th board examination.
3. While some institutes take admission on the basis of merit/marks secured in 12th board examinations, there are many institutes that conduct entrance examinations and admit students on that basis.

Lab Technician Course Curriculum

The lab technician course consists of core subjects of biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, and blood banking, and the students taking this course receive their knowledge via lectures, practicals, internal assessment, vivas, and internships. The compulsory subjects in the program structure are discussed below:

1. Part 1 contains anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, community medicine, and statistics.
2. Part 2 contains pathology (immunohematology, blood banking, haematology), microbiology (general bacteriology, system bacteriology, and clinical microbiology), and biochemistry.
3. Part 3 contains pathology (histotechnology, cytology, museum study), microbiology (immunology, serology, parasitology, virology, animal care), and biochemistry.

The duration of the course is 2-4 years, and the examinations follow the semester system. Students are also taught to operate laboratory equipment. The Pharmacy diploma programs last for 1-2 years.

Lab technician courses that can be pursued after 12th

There are a variety of lab technician courses that can be pursued after the 12th. Following is the list of some popular Lab Technician courses that students can consider pursuing post the completion of their 12th grade. They are:

1. BSc X-Ray Technology-teaches the usage of radiation for performing diagnosis, using ultrasounds, X-Rays, CT scans, MRIs. On completion, one can work as a radiographer in hospitals, diagnostic centres, and super-speciality hospitals.
2. BSc Medical Imaging Technology- teaches to bring accuracy to jobs, conduct data research, make analytic decisions, and work with computer operating systems.
3. Bachelor of Medical Laboratory technology- a job-oriented course that can provide fast job placements.
4. BSc in Medical Laboratory Technology- a course, which needs the student to study the day-to-day operations of healthcare facilities.
5. BSc ECG and Cardiovascular Technology- this course aims at teaching the students to detect and treat problems related to heart and blood vessels.
6. BSc Clinical Laboratory Technology – teaches to test, identify and diagnose illnesses.

The Skills Required To Pursue A Lab Technician Course

There are also many skills that a lab technician should possess to function properly with the course, apart from educational knowledge. These are a blend of soft skills and core skills. Some of them are:

1. Analytical skills- Lab Technicians are required to handle huge data and multiple samples regularly, identify patterns within data and produce a report, for which good analytical skills can come in handy.,
2. Problem-solving skills- While dealing with issues like contamination, injuries, or a contagious environment, problem-solving skills can assist them in finding solutions.
3. Communication skills- Having stellar communication skills can help in avoiding errors and misunderstandings while reporting. Not only in this profession, but in any other too.
4. Organizational skills – Having good organizational skills can help the Technician in handling multiple samples.
5. Time-management skills— these are needed to ensure smooth, seamless, and timely delivery of test results and other data as required.

Roles and Responsibilities after Completing the Course in 12 the Science:

There are various responsibilities that come under the purview of a Lab Technician. Mostly, these are profession-centric and require only the expertise of a certified Lab Technician to handle and execute them. Following is the list of some of these responsibilities:

1. Collection of specimens for various investigations
2. Accurate diagnosis for treatment
3. Control the environment to prevent the spreading of contagious diseases.
4. Medical disaster management.
5. Testing and certifying diseases
6. Maintenance of records
7. Manufacturing vaccines
8. Collect, type, and cross match blood
9. Test human cell specimens for complex proteins and nucleic acids.
10. Take part in national eradication programs.
11. Research Work.

Career Options for Students Completing Lab Technician Courses After 12th

Lab Technicians enjoy lucrative career benefits as their skills and operational area are critical to the smooth functioning of the healthcare ecosystem as a whole. They can work in a multiplicity of positions. Some of the career options after completing Lab Technician courses are:

1. CT scan technicians
2. MRI technicians
3. X-ray technicians
4. Dental machine technicians
5. Operation theatre technicians
6. Pathology technician
7. Physiotherapy technicians
8. Optical laboratory technician
9. Renal dialysis technician
10. Radiology technician
11. Quality manager

There are also jobs available in pathology labs, research labs, urologist offices, pharmaceuticals, autonomous bodies, private clinics, diagnostic centers and hospitals. The students can also pursue careers in the education line, and be a professor/assistant professor or academician, depending upon their goal.