Who is a microbiology technologist

Toggle navigation Demo. Experience CompAnalyst: Demo. Medical Technologist - Microbiology. Job Description. Compare Jobs. Similar Jobs. Job Openings. Also referred to as: Microbiology Clinical Lab Technologist. Years of Experience. Education Level. Company Size. Job Openings for Medical Technologist - Microbiology.

To become a microbiology medical technologist you must complete a baccalaureate degree as well as an accredited medical laboratory sciences MLS program.

Upon receipt of the degree and completion of the MLS program, the student may then take a test for certification. In some states, like California, New York and Florida, laws also require medical technologists to be licensed.

There are many different types of microbiology laboratories for a medical technologist to work, including hospital laboratories, reference laboratories, public health laboratories and food industry laboratories. Medical technologists working in state, food and private laboratories will typically have standard working hours with time off during weekends. However, medical technologists working in hospital laboratories can expect to work any day of the week, including holidays, due to the nature of patient care in clinical settings.

Microbiology medical technologists detect and identify infections from patient specimens. Specimens can be from urine, feces, tissue, body fluids, bone or hair. They determine from the samples if particular microbes are present, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites or mycobacteria. A medical laboratory technician MLT will first set up the specimens for testing. A microbiology medical technologist MT will then continue with the testing by observing growth or changes in the testing medium that indicate the presence of an infection.

Upon identification of the microbe, proper treatment can be provided to the patient by a physician. There are many specialty areas in a microbiology laboratory in which a medical technologist can work. Bacteriology determines the presence of bacterial infections. Mycology focuses on fungal infections. Parasitology searches for parasites such as helminths worms or blood parasites like malaria.