Medical Laboratory Technician Mock Interview

Practice 40 Medical Laboratory Technician interview questions covering quality control, instrumentation, and lab safety protocols.

Question 1 of 40

What is one of your biggest fears about being a medical lab technician?

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Entry Level
Experienced
Community Answers

Heather Douglass

Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.

While a career in the healthcare industry is very rewarding, the responsibility that each member of the care team has to shoulder can, sometimes, be overwhelming. As a medical laboratory technician, there is a great deal of responsibility, such as handling specimens, monitoring machines for accuracy, and reporting results. The interviewer wants to know that, although some things related to your work may cause you to be cautious, you are able to handle those things with professionalism and not allow yourself to become so overwhelmed that it interferes with your job performance.

Heather Douglass

Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.

"I guess if I were to say that I fear something, it would be the fear of giving an inaccurate test result for a patient. Many people don't realize the measures that we have to follow as lab techs to ensure that equipment is properly maintained so that our test results are accurate, or that we have to check and double check labels and orders to make sure that we are performing the right tests for the right patient(s). No one wants to make an error that could result in an accurate plan of care being developed for a patient."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

"One of my fears is that I may misread an order or enter the wrong information in the computer and end up having a result that is not correct. I really pride myself on following orders and verifying documentation before and after performing a test so that nothing like this happens."

Ryan Brunner

Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.

"I could think of a number of things that concern me. Being a medical laboratory technician requires me to follow strict guidelines for handling specimens and running tests. I believe the biggest concern that most lab techs will admit to having is the fear of mishandling specimens and ending up with results that are not accurate because of that. This can cause a test to have to be repeated in its entirety."

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Anonymous Answer

One of my biggest fears is not being able to properly identify an abnormal value resulting in releasing false results to the receiving physician. I also do not want to cost the hospital a great deal of money due to my mistakes. I know mistakes happen, but I fear that my mistakes may negatively affect a patient's life.

Rachelle's Feedback

Your example is a good one; however, try to finish your response on a note of confidence.

"One of my biggest fears is being unable to properly identify an abnormal value, resulting in releasing false results to the receiving physician. I do not want to cost the hospital money due to error or affect a patient in any negative way. I know these types of mistakes happen on occasion; however, I will do everything I can to ensure 100% accuracy at all times."

Anonymous Answer

My biggest fear is when the specimen processor mislabelled a specimen, which you would not know until when you received a call that is not the correct patient and you resulted already.

Lauren's Feedback

You provided a legitimate fear. I suggest explaining the mishap more concisely, and offer methods you take to safeguard against this from occurring. By doing so, you will offer a more well-rounded response.

One of my biggest fear is mislabeling a specimen for a patient. Due to the serious ramifications associated with this mishap, I remain completely focused and detail-oriented when working with the specimen processor. I demonstrate pride in my work, and take my role very seriously.

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40Medical Laboratory Technician Interview Questions & Answers

Role-Specific

1.What is one of your biggest fears about being a medical lab technician?

Role-Specific

2.The physical requirements of working as a medical lab tech can often be demanding. Do you feel like you are able to stand for long hours, or lift/transfer equipment, as needed?

Performance Based

3.Have you ever received negative feedback from a supervisor, and if so, how did you handle it?

Critical Thinking

4.If a test system deficiency was discovered or suspected, how would you handle the situation?

Scenario Based

5. Personal protective equipment is provided for all of our employees. If you saw a coworker performing a test that required the use of PPE, but he or she was not wearing it, how would you respond?

Critical Thinking

6.Have you ever had a patient be combative toward you? If so, how did you handle the situation?

Problem Solving

7.If you had a patient come to your lab stating his physician sent him to have his blood drawn, but he didn't bring a lab requisition slip, how would you help remedy the situation without neglecting other patients?

Role-Specific

8.Are you comfortable performing venipunctures?

Operational

9.Some medical laboratory technicians at our facility often work on rotation. Are you willing to work, nights, weekends, holidays, or overtime if needed?

Critical Thinking

10.Has there ever been a time that you had difficulty drawing blood from a patient, and if so, how did you handle that situation?

Discovery

11.What advice would you give others who are considering pursuing a career as a medical laboratory technician?

Communication

12.If a lab specimen were delivered to you without proper labels and identification, what would your response be?

Teamwork

13.Do you feel like you have strong relationship building skills?

Compatibility

14.What sets you apart from other medical laboratory technicians, and why do you feel you will be a good fit for us?

Role-Specific

15.What are some things that you do to help prevent contamination within your work space?

Discovery

16.Why did you choose to become a medical laboratory technician?

Conflict

17.How do you handle times when you have a disagreement with a coworker?

Technical

18.Other than technical work, such as testing specimens, what other duties are you accustomed to performing within a medical laboratory?

Competency

19.If you were the person interviewing employee candidates, what qualities would you look for to fill this position?

Situational

20.Do you feel that you are capable of working independently, rather than having a supervisor or coworker work with you?

Role-Specific

21.Are you familiar with some errors that may occur when using a pipette? How would you prevent those errors?

Tough

22.What is one of your weaknesses, and what do you do in an effort to overcome that weakness?

Critical Thinking

23.Has there ever been an emergency situation in your department, and how did you or would you react in such a situation?

Operational

24.Can you give me some examples of some equipment that you feel proficient operating within a medical lab?

Adaptability

25.Tell me about a time you experienced a significant change in your workplace and how you adapted to the change?

Discovery

26.Do you have any plans that may interfere with being able to commit to long-term employment with us?

Problem Solving

27.If you discovered that a coworker was violating a patient's privacy by discussing his information with someone outside of the care team, how would you respond?

Communication

28.What would you do if a patient complained to you about one of your coworker's conduct toward him/her?

Stress

29.If you began to feel overwhelmed with your workload or other work related issues, how would you handle the situation?

Situational

30.How would you handle the situation if you had a team member who constantly seemed to be abandoning his post and leaving unfinished work?

Experience

31.Are you registered or eligible for registration through a nationally recognized certification agency?

Career Goals

32.Where do you see yourself in five years?

Operational

33.Please describe your experience with laboratory equipment maintenance and troubleshooting.

Diligence

34.How do you ensure accuracy and precision in your work?

Operational

35.Please explain your knowledge of laboratory safety procedures and protocols.

Situational

36.How do you handle confidential and sensitive patient information in the lab?

Diligence

37.How do you stay up-to-date with the latest advancements and technologies in this field?

Role-Specific

38.Can you describe your experience with quality control and assurance in a laboratory setting?

Education

39.After reading the job description, is there any part of the job where you will require training?

Leadership

Medical Laboratory Technician Mock Interview

What is one of your biggest fears about being a medical lab technician?

40Medical Laboratory Technician Interview Questions & Answers

1.What is one of your biggest fears about being a medical lab technician?

2.The physical requirements of working as a medical lab tech can often be demanding. Do you feel like you are able to stand for long hours, or lift/transfer equipment, as needed?

3.Have you ever received negative feedback from a supervisor, and if so, how did you handle it?

4.If a test system deficiency was discovered or suspected, how would you handle the situation?

5. Personal protective equipment is provided for all of our employees. If you saw a coworker performing a test that required the use of PPE, but he or she was not wearing it, how would you respond?

6.Have you ever had a patient be combative toward you? If so, how did you handle the situation?

7.If you had a patient come to your lab stating his physician sent him to have his blood drawn, but he didn't bring a lab requisition slip, how would you help remedy the situation without neglecting other patients?

8.Are you comfortable performing venipunctures?

9.Some medical laboratory technicians at our facility often work on rotation. Are you willing to work, nights, weekends, holidays, or overtime if needed?

10.Has there ever been a time that you had difficulty drawing blood from a patient, and if so, how did you handle that situation?

11.What advice would you give others who are considering pursuing a career as a medical laboratory technician?

12.If a lab specimen were delivered to you without proper labels and identification, what would your response be?

13.Do you feel like you have strong relationship building skills?

14.What sets you apart from other medical laboratory technicians, and why do you feel you will be a good fit for us?

15.What are some things that you do to help prevent contamination within your work space?

16.Why did you choose to become a medical laboratory technician?

17.How do you handle times when you have a disagreement with a coworker?

18.Other than technical work, such as testing specimens, what other duties are you accustomed to performing within a medical laboratory?

19.If you were the person interviewing employee candidates, what qualities would you look for to fill this position?

20.Do you feel that you are capable of working independently, rather than having a supervisor or coworker work with you?

21.Are you familiar with some errors that may occur when using a pipette? How would you prevent those errors?

22.What is one of your weaknesses, and what do you do in an effort to overcome that weakness?

23.Has there ever been an emergency situation in your department, and how did you or would you react in such a situation?

24.Can you give me some examples of some equipment that you feel proficient operating within a medical lab?

25.Tell me about a time you experienced a significant change in your workplace and how you adapted to the change?

26.Do you have any plans that may interfere with being able to commit to long-term employment with us?

27.If you discovered that a coworker was violating a patient's privacy by discussing his information with someone outside of the care team, how would you respond?

28.What would you do if a patient complained to you about one of your coworker's conduct toward him/her?

29.If you began to feel overwhelmed with your workload or other work related issues, how would you handle the situation?

30.How would you handle the situation if you had a team member who constantly seemed to be abandoning his post and leaving unfinished work?

31.Are you registered or eligible for registration through a nationally recognized certification agency?

32.Where do you see yourself in five years?

33.Please describe your experience with laboratory equipment maintenance and troubleshooting.

34.How do you ensure accuracy and precision in your work?

35.Please explain your knowledge of laboratory safety procedures and protocols.

36.How do you handle confidential and sensitive patient information in the lab?

37.How do you stay up-to-date with the latest advancements and technologies in this field?

38.Can you describe your experience with quality control and assurance in a laboratory setting?

39.After reading the job description, is there any part of the job where you will require training?

40.What experience do you have with the training and orientation of new associates?