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?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
Example Answer
Entry Level
Experienced
Community Answers
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 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 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 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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