New MRSA superbug strain found in UK milk supply - Health News -Health & Families - The Independent

New MRSA superbug strain found in UK milk supply - Health News - Health & Families - The Independent.

A new strain of MRSA has been found in British milk, indicating that the superbug is spreading through the livestock population and poses a growing threat to human health.

The new strain, MRSA ST398, has been identified in seven samples of bulk milk from five different farms in England.

The discovery, from tests on 1,500 samples, indicates that antibiotic-resistant organisms are gaining an increasing hold in the dairy industry.

This is extremely worrisome as MRSA or Methicillin-Resistent Staphylococcus aureus is a huge infection control concern and the increased use of important antibiotics with livestock is further creating these problems. Unfortunately, we are going to need new research to find new antibiotics at the rate resistance is occurring so we can battle these infections.

-K

Nerdy Christmas Gifts!

I know this is a little late since it is Christmas today but I thought this list was too adorable not to share.  It comes from BioTechniques and has a something for any biology or microbiology nerd! Perhaps you might even find something to use for a future gift.

I hope you enjoy the list and everyone is having a great holiday season. More posts coming soon!

-K



On the twelfth day of Christmas, my labmate gave to me...

Twelve Stem Cell Researchers Modelling,

In the final installment of our holiday gift list, we present twelve stem cell researchers posing for a calendar (proceeds go to fund stem cell research) as well as other items to decorate your home or office.



Eleven Neckties A'Biology-ing,

Actually, there's a good number of biology-inspired neckties for your dad. So we narrowed it down to eleven of our favorites.



Ten Ornaments Infecting,

Forget the glass bulbs on your Christmas tree. This year opt for Petri dishes full of parasites.



Nine Microscopes A'Talking,

The road to the Nobel Prize starts young, so here’s a talking microscope and other unique gifts for the little scientists-in-training in your life. These gifts are not only fun but give your little ones a glimpse into your work. And who know? Maybe they’ll return the favor one day by solving one of the roadblocks in your research!



Eight Arms Tattooed,

You’ve dedicated your mind to science; now it’s time to dedicate your body as well.



Seven Boils A-Bursting,

The lab can sometimes be a painfully dull place. So, here are a few gifts to help spruce up your colleagues’ work area.



Six Blood Cells A’Cleaning,

While bathing in blood and bacteria seems counterproductive, these gift ideas are intended to help you get cleaned up. Plus they smell great too!



Five DNA Earrings,

It’s time to accessorize! Here’s our picks to complete your outfit, including DNA earrings, a proteomics messenger bag, sex-cell cufflinks, and a mitochondria laptop bag.



Four Stuffed Nucleotides,

Most people think molecular biology is hard, but these plush toys bring out the softer side of nucleotides and microbiology.



Three Books on Science ,

This holiday season, take a break from your PubMed literature searches and get a broader perspective of how science is being done in the twenty-first century with these three books on crowdsourcing, biohackers, and kingdoms ruled by microbes.



Two Frozen Cerebral Hemispheres,

Kitchenware has been conspicuously absent from the realm of geeky holiday gifts. This year, we found three kitchen-related gift ideas that change that, including a brain-shaped ice cube tray.



And a Partridge in a Petri

With a clever twist on the lyrics of a traditional Christmas carol, this greeting card will bring a smile to colleague and family alike.

It's the end of the semester!

Well, it's almost time for the semester to come to a close.

I had my last lab today in Transfusion Science on the topic of transfusions reactions. We had to perform a full antibody investigation, ABO and Rh typing, DAT and finally phenotyping of two donor units as well as two patient samples. It's amazing to see how far the class has come from the start of the semester. During the first two weeks, we could barely perform ABO and Rh typing in 3 hours, let alone all of these tasks!

I have a research poster due tomorrow and I decided to create my poster around Pseudomonas aeruginosa nosocomial infections due to colonized water reservoirs in a hospital environment. I found some very interesting articles on how increased prevalence of biofilms due to low-pressure faucets are causing an increase in infections.

Besides all of my final assignments, my exams are starting in less than a week with Clinical Infectious disease leading it off! I have to buckle down and starting reviewing my notes to ensure I have ESBLs and Skin infections down pat. Both of these topics gave me a little bit of trouble due to the sheer volume of information I need to retain and the important details for both.

In personal news, I received a grant from CSMLS to attend LabCon 2013 in Victoria, BC! I am so excited and honoured to have been selected and cannot wait to see the new, exciting things happening in respect to Medical Laboratory Science!

-K

Testing for Diabetes and a Little Catch Up

So my posts have been, *ahem* lacking, for a better word over the past two months. To summarize, school consumed most of my time as well as working a part-time job, so blogging was put on the back burner for a bit. I promise to try to blog more and give you some exciting tidbits from my classes!

First up is some testing for diabetes mellitus or type II diabetes. Unfortunately, diabetes is becoming extremely prevalent throughout the world. It's estimated that 1 in 3 people born after 2000 will have type II diabetes at some point in their lifetime. With these statistics, knowing proper diabetes testing is incredibly important as lab professionals will be running this test quite frequently.

One diagnostic test is the fasting plasma glucose. Patients must fast for 8-10 hours prior to testing to ensure an accurate result that is not affected by a sugary meal or drink. The blood sample must be collected in a grey top tube (potassium oxalate and sodium fluoride preservatives) to ensure active glycolysis doesn't break down the sample, which would cause the results to be falsely decreased.  The reference interval for fasting plasma glucose is 4.1-5.9 mmol/L. Any result over 7.0 mmol/L would be diagnostic for type II diabetes.

Another test that is used to monitor diabetes as well as diagnose, is HbA1C (hemoglobinA 1c).  This looks for the amount of glycated hemoglobin present in a patients blood which will let the physician know how well the patient is monitoring their blood glucose levels. Glycation of hemoglobin occurs when the concentration of glucose is increased in the blood and the sugars covalently bond to hemoglobin to form a ketoamine (HbA1C). This is directly proportional to plasma glucose levels. Since red blood cells have a life span of ~120 days, you can see how well the patient has been managing their blood glucose over a 3 month period.  Typically, you would want a patient with diabetes to have a ratio of 7% HbA1C or less. This would indicate their diabetes is being managed effectively while this would be out of the normal range for someone without diabetes. The non-diabetic range is 4-6%.

This was just a taste of what I had to know for my chemistry test on Monday. I'm hoping that I can manage a decent mark because I have been so stressed over my midterms lately. Hope if you're in school, you are through your midterms by now!

To reward myself for completing the last of my tests before the finals, I treated myself to some froyo!

-K

Tablets and Textbooks:

I had the pleasure of being able to use a Samsung Galaxy Tab for one week as a part of a "Tablet Challenge" from Rogers. 

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a new 10.1" tablet that has 4G speed capabilities as well as WiFi. It uses the Android platform and has access to Google Play as well as the Android Market for apps, games and music. It would be comparable to an iPad in terms of size and weight.

My task was to try to use a tablet for as much of my school work as possible to see if it's possible for tablets to replace textbooks and computers in the future. The Rogers Innovation Report noted that 35% of Youth believe tablets can replace textbooks within the next 5 years!  I was excited to give this a try, especially with my program which is very dependent on PowerPoint presentations.

Is it possible? Do you think tablets are going to be a required item in schools soon?



First, the positives:

• I enjoyed having the 4G capability and immediate access to the internet. This was great to bring up quick facts or additional research I needed for class notes.


• The tablet is extremely useful for presentations. I had two presentations last week and was able to incorporate it into both by using it as a guide, as well as playing music. The speakers are great quality and I was able to play music in a 25 person class room with no trouble.


• I was able to view PowerPoint/Office/Excel files on the tablet while simultaneously having a web browser open to make notes.

The one major thing lacking was the compatibility between PowerPoint presentations and the Polaris Office that is provided on the Tab. Unfortunately, while I could read PowerPoints, I could not edit them or add notes without altering the format of the slides which prevents me from downloading them to my laptop. This created a bit of trouble later in the week when I went to get the files out of my drop box (which is a great app I highly recommend!).

Overall, I found myself gravitating back towards my laptop for creating presentations, notes and editing note slides. While the tablet was great fun things, such as watching Netflix or using twitter, it did not fit well into my science heavy program.

I personally don't think we are there yet where textbooks could be replaced by a tablet or a laptop. For my program specifically, we don't use textbooks everyday, rather they are a reference to supplement the lectures we receive. The textbooks I do own are the "old-fashioned" hardcover - so I tend to leave them at home. Most of my textbooks are not available for online use or a textbook I could download to have on my computer which leaves me little choice. I think in the future this is something the publishers should look towards, perhaps by offering an "online rental" such as they have in the US, or an online subscription where you would be entitled to all new editions for the designated time you purchase for. We are still a few years away from publishers offering ALL textbooks online, which means most students will have to a mix of online and hardcover books for a bit longer.

I would recommend the Samsung Galaxy Tab in general. It was fun, easy to use and allowed for easy presentations! But, I do feel it would be better used by social sciences or perhaps engineering where large amounts of textbooks are required for every day use. One of my friends in engineering purchased a tablet last year and downloaded all his textbooks to it instead of lugging his 1000 page books to school!

Check out the Rogers Innovation Report Here!

So that's it! Do you have a tablet? Any recommendations for great apps to use for school? I'm all ears!

-K

Michener Campus Day

As many of you know, I attend The Michener Institute in Toronto.

I highly recommend my program, as well as my school to anyone looking to receive professional training in a health care field. The support and quality of teaching here is unbelievable and I cannot speak about Michener enough.

I wanted to alert any potential students that Michener is holding "Campus Day" on November 10th at 10am. There will be program information from students and professors as well as tours of the school. If you are at all curious about the programming or the school itself, I would recommend going! Quite a few of my classmates will be there and will be able to answer tons of questions about student life. It's always great to get different perspectives from current students to get a real feel for the program, rather than just the general information.

If you are interested about learning more about Michener and the programs available, check out http://www.michener.ca/campusday/ and sign up!

-K

PS: As always, I'm available via email if you have a specific question!

CPR Makes You Undead - Heart and Stroke Foundation

Are you looking to learn basic CPR while also taking in the signs, sounds and attractions of Halloween? Now is your chance at CPR Makes You Undead - Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada will be trying to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest CPR Training Session EVER!

It is taking place at Canada's Wonderland in the GTA on October 25th from 5:30-7pm and will give you a basic understanding of CPR called the CPR Anytime™ Family & Friends™ Personal Learning Program. Knowing any kind of CPR can help you in emergency situations and possibly save a person's life. 


For the low price of $14.99, you can receive this training as well has have access to Canada's Wonderland! After you complete the training session, you are able to ride all of the great rides and take in some of the Halloween attractions such as the maze and zombie zones!

Tickets are available here: Tickets and for more information (and neat video links they send out) follow @CPRUndead on twitter.

-K

Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

If you haven't been following this news, you might not be aware of the fungal meningitis outbreak currently happening throughout the United States. Unfortunately, patients have been falling ill after receiving a epidural steroidal injection to treat for back pain.

Steroids are typically used to treat inflammation and pain in more severe cases where NSAID's (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are not enough. These injections are put into the epidural space which surrounds the dura matter and meninges. This is a very sensitive area due to it's proximity to the spinal cord and CSF.

Epidural diagram showing injection spot

Many of the patients who received steroid injections fell ill including fever, headache, nausea and worst of all, deep brain stroke. After these symtoms presented, a CSF sample was taken and analyzed in the lab.

What you would see in the lab:

When you receive a CSF sample in the lab, it must be processed immediately due to the delicate nature of the specimen and  severity of the disease. CSF is typically only taken if someone is very ill and needs to be analyzed since collecting the sample is invasive and sometimes difficult to achieve.

It was noted in the CDC report that the patient's white count was elevated with predominately neutrophils present.  Neutrophils will typically be elevated in any sort of infection but mostly in a bacterial or fungal infection while lymphocytes will be elevated in a viral infection within the CSF.

Glucose was also low which is significant as it shows there is something within the CSF using up the glucose to replicate and grow. This is again, typically seen within a bacterial or fungal meningitis.

Total Protein was increased within the CSF which is seen due to the microorganisms present. In bacterial meningitis, TP will be elevated even higher than in fungal meningitis.

What was found:

The type of fungal meningitis present in this patients was determined to be Aspergillus fumigatus, a fungus that typically only causes disease in immunocompromised patients. Due to the fact these people were receiving steroid injections, this was most likely suppressing their immune system allowing the fungus to take over.

Aspergillius fuigatus

Aspergillus fumigatus normally is seen as a respiratory infection and causes aspergillosis, a name for the wide range of infections caused by this fungus, but meningitis is not usually one of them. The most common forms are allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, pulmonary aspergilloma, and invasive aspergillosis (Wikipedia). We inhale Aspergillus spores every day but because we have healthy immune systems, we will not become infected. Most infections are seen in immunocompromised patients such as patients with AIDS, Leukemia or someone who has received a stem cell transplant recently.

Right now, more patients are becoming infected due to the contaminated steroid injections and I can only hope that they will stop using all drugs coming from this compounding facility. Unfortunately, the fungus has an incubation time of ~ 1-3 weeks before symptoms can present so I can only expect we will see more and more people falling ill within the next week. If you think you or any of your family members have been exposed to Aspergillus through epidural steroid injection, please contact your local medical professional.

-K

Little-known fecal transplant cures woman's bacterial infection -CNN.com

Very interesting story on what can be done after a C.diff infection! This is why VRE/ESBL/MRSA organisms must be taken seriously and work needs to be done to prevent over use of antibiotics. Also, proper sanitization of hospital equipement and areas.

Little-known fecal transplant cures woman's bacterial infection - CNN.com.

After surviving a near-fatal car accident, Kaitlin Hunter found herself battling a devastating bacterial infection in her colon that also threatened her life.

The persistent infection was beaten through a little-known technique involving the transplant of fecal matter from Hunter's mother, which put healthy bacteria back into her colon.

Is it science or is it art?

I framed my first Titan protein gel from Chemistry last year. As you can see, I managed to not apply sample in two of the lanes but hey, it still turned out ok!

It was an easy thing to put together. I already had the frame from Winners ($6) and the craft paper was a purchase at Ikea of all places for 10 cents. Put it together and bam, cute framed art!

I love to keep all my science-y things to remind myself of where I started and where I'm going.

Do you have keepsakes from school? I know it's an unlikely place to have them from!

-K

Flu and Societies

School has been busy for the last two weeks.

I am currently in the throes of organizing a bake sale in support of our Light The Night fundraiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. We have a had a ton of support from the students and staff of the school and have already cleared $200 after 2 days of sales!

On top of this, I am the newly elected president of our Med Lab Students' Society! While I did not expect this nomination, I am excited to get going with events for our newly created society. I am already organizing some events including speakers and networking events for people to enjoy. If you have any ideas on what some passion health care students would like to see, leave a comment.

While this has been going on, I caught the flu which I am struggling with. My throat is closing up and I'm trying to fight it off with loads of peppermint tea and rest. Anyone else catching the fall flu? Unfortunately, fall is flu season so if you are eligible for the flu vaccination, please go and get vaccinated! Check out the Toronto Public Health Website here: http://www.toronto.ca/health/flu/

I am in the midst of typing up a post on flu vaccinations right now and you should see it in a few weeks!

-K

Light The Night

I am the head of a fundraising effort the Michener Med Lab program is putting forth to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada by participating in Light The Night Walk.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada’s Light The Night Walk is the nation’s night to pay tribute and bring hope to all those affected by blood cancer. The walk will take place on October 3rd, 2012 at David Pecaut Square in Downtown Toronto.

Our current fundraising goal is $2000 for the group with individual fundraising goals of $100. If an individual is able to raise $100 they will be eligible for a t-shirt and a light up balloon to carry in support of the cause, in support of someone with cancer or someone who as passed on.

All donations over $25 are eligible for a tax receipt! If you can't make the $25 donation any amount helps make a difference. The cost of a Starbucks Latte is all I'm asking!

I will also be planning further events within Michener to help raise money (bake sale, 50/50 etc) so if you want to participate then as well, I encourage it!

My donation page is here: Krista's Donation Page and I'd love if you could take a look and pass it on to someone else if you can't donate now. Appreciate your support!

Thanks!

-K

Orientation Time!

Most students groan and roll their eyes when they think of orientation. I would know, I'm typically one of those students.  I'm here to say that if you have the opportunity to go to orientation, you should go.

Orientation is weird and awkward for everyone. Some of the activities are strange or not something you would normally participate in but don't worry, other people are sharing in your embarrassment as well. This nervous energy makes it easier to talk to your fellow classmates and form some friendships before you even step into the classroom.

I am helping with orientation this year and I'm actually having a great time when I'm not even participating in the fun activities! I've already made new friends from other programs and I am excited to check out some of the museums and the Jays game that are a part of our Orientation program.

Take in all activities you can! Pottery class? Do it! Baseball game? Of course! The best part of orientation is that is isn't strange for you to attend something "alone". Sure, it's great to have friends that you'd like to go with but the chance of you knowing someone in the class, event, activity is pretty high. Maybe you saw them when you checked in for your program or perhaps you talked to them at lunch. It's a chance for you to talk to the people around you and completely go out of your comfort zone without having to worry about having a reason to talk to this person. You share the same reason - it's Orientation!

Bottom line, ATTEND THINGS. These events were planned for you to go to so it's not "weird" for you to show up, even if you think very few people are going. You will meet great students and have fun!

-K

How to (not) pack when leaving for School

The summer has almost come to an end which means it's time to head back to school. For some this could mean a shift in their daily schedule and for others this means packing up the massive amount of
crap things they have accumulated throughout the summer and hauling it back to school. I fall into the latter category.

I leave to head back to Toronto on Wednesday at 10am. I am flying out of Winnipeg to Ottawa, then driving down to Toronto a few days later. I HAVE NOT PACKED YET.

Things I have done instead:

• Moved my suitcase around to appear like things are occurring.


• Hung things up in closest.


• Took things down I just hung up and moved them to organized "pile" on floor


• Manage to lose two different right-footed shoes.


• Painted my nails,


• Put on new Nike Running shoes and scissor kick down the hallway. 

Obviously, I am further procrastinating by writing this blog post about my procrastination. Meta blog.

I am excited to head back to school but the packing is daunting and from experience, I know I'm going to end up hurriedly throwing things together the day before I leave. My advice is to start now if you are heading off to school this fall!

-K

Blood Drive: A Final Plea

So many of you know, I am an Assignment Saving Lives Student Recruiter for Canadian Blood Services. If I recruit 20 UNITS of blood (with 5 being new units) I am able to receive a bursary for my schooling. I attend The Michener Institute of Applied Health Sciences in Toronto and, as you can probably guess from the name of my blog, I am a Medical Laboratory Sciences Student. I will be directly involved with blood donation and even Canadian Blood Services when I graduate in 2014.

I was told today that what matters is the "TOTAL UNITS" donated to my team. I need to have at least 20 units when I currently only have 11.

The way the information for the program is worded is that you have to recruit 20 blood donors with 5 being new donors. I was under the impression this meant the people you recruit to donate. Obviously, some people may have health issues, faint while donating, low hemoglobin etc which prevents them from completing their donation. If that happens, these people do NOT count in my total.  I understand that they want to get units of blood but this is extremely hard to fulfill when you aren't going to delve into the health issues a person may have.

If anyone knows where I can get 9 units of blood (har har har) or has a group of people (Work, school, team) that is going to donate and would be willing to use my Partner ID, please let me know. You'd be helping me out tremendously.The best part is you do NOT have to be located in Manitoba to help me, it is good across Canada and will take 5 seconds of your time to sign up for before you head to donate.

1. Go to blood.ca/joinpartnersforlife


2. Under Partner ID enter: KRIS013179 


3. Check "yes" saying you are a "part of" this organization. It makes it easier.


4. You don't have to share your information with me at all and I won't be contacting you (unless you'd like!)

Perhaps I can somehow scrounge up 9 willing and health donors that can aid me in my bursary quest. I have until September 3rd for people to donate.

Thanks for reading. Any questions please email me or tweet me @kurchenko.

-K

New Weapon in War on Superbugs

New Weapon in War on Superbugs
Excerpt from Article:

Researchers from Université de Saint-Boniface have declared a South African commercial cleaning product they've tested exhaustively can be a highly effective weapon in fighting superbug infections in hospitals.
Infections such as clostridium difficile, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and E. coli can be fatal when they get loose among the sick and weak.
"This one actually eliminates the spores, in a weak concentration, in 90 seconds," USB spokeswoman Monique Lacoste said Friday. "It's a commercial product we were asked to examine. It's to scrub down the rooms."

This is an important finding in cleaner game for hospitals. Most "super" bacteria can be resistant to many types of disinfectants and having this as a weapon would be an asset. Great works being done at St.B Hospital!

Lab Notes: Sickle Cell Anemia

One of the most serious hereditary diseases is Sickle Cell Anemia/Sickle Cell Disease. It is an autosomal recessive mutation of a hemoglobin gene which causes "Sickling" of the red blood cells. The decrease in hemoglobin causes outward effects such as fatigue and fainting while internally, the cells can cause blockages in blood vessels, blocking flow.

The gene mutation creates rigid red blood cells, forgoing their typical "donut" shape and becoming a characteristic Sickle Cell  "eyebrow" shape.

It is important to be on the look out for any sickle cells that may be present in a patient's blood smear. Any number is significant and must be reported as either Occasional, Some, Many on the CBC report. It must also be noted that reporting Sickle Cell Anemia is very serious and should be confirmed if you are ever unsure.

The easiest way to look for sickle cells is to look for the distinct "curved eyebrow" shape. It will have sharp-pointed ends with a curved arch in the centre that will stand out from the other RBCs. Some of the cells can appear twisted like they are 'flipping' which is how they appear before they fully sickle.

One of the major issues with diagnosing Sickle Cell Anemia is the confusion with "pencil" RBCs. They are typically seen with IDA (Iron Deficiency Anemia) and can appear to have pointed ends which may be mistaken as Sickle Cell.

Try to familiarize yourself with the difference in appearance between pencil RBCs and Sickle Cells so you can make your diagnosis quickly and correctly.

-K

CSMLS Student Memberships

As a Medical Laboratory Science/Technology or Laboratory Assistant student, you are able to apply to be a member of the College while in school at a discounted rate.

Memberships are available for 2 years at $78 or 4 years at $102.

On top of being a member of the college you will get access to educational materials, newsletters, networking opportunities and also discounted rates for your CSMLS exam.

Yes, discounted rates. You will save up to $100 when you pay to write your exam which is a lot since the exam costs around $500 without the discount.

I highly recommend checking out the information here on the CSMLS website. While you're there, look around a little! There is a lot to see about the profession.

-K

How to Achieve Isolated Colonies

Plating for isolated colonies or streak plating on agar media is a common practice in a microbiology lab. It is a basic skill that you will need to fine tune and find your own method that works for you.

To explain streaking, it is a method used to isolate a pure strain of a microorganism, typically bacteria, from a sample or experiment. It is done using a sterile plating tool such as a metal loop, plastic loop or a cotton swab on a sterile agar plate. The goal is to achieve isolated colonies in the 4th quadrant of your plate in a healthy quantity. This will give you many microorganisms to work with for future testing.

To achieve isolated colonies, you must first divide your agar plate into 4 quadrants.  This is how I like to divide up my plate and how I was taught throughout University and College. The 4th quadrant should be your largest as it is where you will achieve your isolated growth.

                                               
                                     My amazing Paint skills on display[/caption]

You will first need to sterilize your loop if it is metal. If using a pre-packed plastic swab or loop, you can start as soon as it is removed from the package but I will explain as if you were using a metal loop as it is the most common practice.

To sterilize your loop, place it in a Bacti-Cinerator or flame. This will insure there is no carry-over from past samples that might contaminate your isolation.
                                          
                                                            Method for Colony Isolation

Steps:

1. Flame the loop and wire and streak very tight lines in quadrant A (like plate 1 of diagram.


2. Reflame the loop and let cool.


3. Streak into quadrant B by passing loop through quadrant A twice before zigzagging in quadrant B (like plate 2).


4. Reflame the loop and let cool.


5. Streak into quadrant C by passing loop through quadrant B twice before zigzagging in quadrant C (like plate 3).


6. ** Here you can flame or not flame depending on your technique. I tend to have "light hands" so I do NOT flame as I would not achieve isolation otherwise. If you have "heavy hands" you might want to flame here.**


7. Streak into quadrant D covering as much area as possible to achieve isolation.


8. Label the plate and incubate it inverted.

Practice is the only way you can get better at streak plating and I recommend doing as many plates as possible so you can become great at isolation. You do not want the microorganism to start isolating in the 2nd or 3rd quadrants because it means you were too "light handed" or did not carry over enough of the colonies.

First quadrant is too large and is isolated too early!

Good luck fellow Microbiologists!

-K

They Took My Blood - Now What?

Going for a blood test after seeing a physician is a very common practice. They can do a plethora of tests on a small blood sample that can help determine the course of treatment, monitor treatment and determine if there is an infection or disease present.  These important tests can change a diagnosis But for most people, the testing process is a mystery once the blood leaves their arm.

Once a sample is taken, it will be labelled with a patient's information (Name, Birthdate, Hospital/Patient ID as well as the phlebotomist's initials to verify the sample) before being sent off to the lab for testing. Depending on where your sample was taken, it may be tested in the sample building or sent to a larger lab.

When the sample is received at the lab, it will first be assigned a barcode which will be easier to use for tracking. The barcode is placed on the tube of blood as well as on the results sheet to insure the sample is properly labelled.


A sample of Barcodes used by the LIS

The sample will then either be inverted multiple times before being placed on the machine or being put on the centrifuge. With technology changing continuously, it is great that a standard has been established using Vacutainers to collect samples. In many cases, the Technologist is able to put the sample directly on the machine for testing rather than having to pipette and aliquot different amounts.

The sample is programmed into the machine to designate what competent of the blood will be tested. Depending on the machine and component being looked at, testing can be as quick as 10 minutes or a long as a days. The results will be printed out and then entered into the LIS (Laboratory Information System) to be sent back to the Physician. If the results fall into an "Urgent" range, the lab will contact the physician immediately by a phone call so treatment can begin quickly.

You are probably wondering how you can be guaranteed your results are accurate when the components being tested are so miniscule. Quality control testing is run every day, multiple times a day to insure they are within testing limits. The limits are very strict and any type of results from the QC that fall outside the ranges are taken seriously and can mean results will be marked "Pending" to be investigated further.

The next time you get your blood tested, you can know the amount of time and work put in to testing and feel confident about the level of accuracy from the lab!

-K

The Science of Inspiration

When I was in my second year of University, I had to take Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry with labs organized by Teaching Assistants due to the size of the class. Of course, for some of these labs you can be left with some less than stellar TAs which can create long labs and difficulty understanding the material.

The Biochemistry labs were long and arduous and having a great TA who knew what was going on was a blessing. I was placed in a lab with Misty, a 26-year-old Biochemistry Ph.D student, who double majored in Biochemistry and Microbiology for her undergrad. She had been a TA for a few years now and knew all the short cuts for the experiments and was clear with what she expected on the lab reports. I was thrilled to have her as my TA, not only for making my lab a bit easier during a stressful year, but as an inspiration and role model for my career and life.

Misty was young, smart, successful, ambitious woman who also played soccer and baked cupcakes in her spare time. I specifically remember her making cupcakes with amino acid structures on them for our last lab and how amazingly cool I thought they were. Meeting Misty helped me to find my passion in science and really be unabashedly proud of my career choice. To me, she was the quintessential cool girl scientist I wanted to be.

As a female in science, it's tough to find a public role model to look up to. Sure, there are tons of women in the science community but you don't hear about the ones making waves or being featured in articles.  I always look for someone who has the science "Rock Star" life: Great research/work, cool lab, passion for what they do, and semi-normal life outside of their career. These women are out there, they just aren't being talked about enough.

So with that being said, now I turn to my readers - Do you have someone who was inspiring in your life and helped guide you to your career? Leave a comment or Email me krista(at)medlabmaven.com and share!

-K

What happens if I fail the CSMLS exam?

I've had a couple searches come to my blog looking for an answer to this. The answer is:

If you fail the CSMLS exam you can re-write up to 3 times within your initial 12 month period.

The exam costs $499 if you are a CSMLS member, $725 for a non-member and $1350 for a non-resident.

Information booklet from CSMLS is here [link]

-K

Blood Sucking Tubes - Vacutainers

*This is a part of my series on blood testing*

Everyone has gone for a blood test at least once in their lives. There might have been times when you've gotten 3 tubes taken at one time and you wonder why. Maybe,  the phlebotomist/nurse had to come back to re-draw your blood and you don't understand the reason. There are many factors involved in blood collection that you may not realize.

Vacutainers:

These evacuated tubes are either glass or plastic with a plastic cap that can only be utilized once the rubber stopper is punctured. They are typically used to collect venous blood samples but can also be used to collect urine in some occasions. The tubes can contain additives to help stabilized blood and help prepare it for testing on an analyzer or manual testing.

When performing a blood draw, the collector will first insert the bore of the needle into the patient's vein, then click on the Vacutainer. This will prevent the vein from collapsing and also prevent discomfort for the patient. The blood then will fill the container quite quickly;  a matter of seconds. The collector will then remove the tube carefully before snapping on another tube or removing the needle. The tube is removed first to, again, prevent venous collapse once the needle is removed.

The tube must be filled within +/- 10% of the fill line to ensure accurate testing due to blood/additive ratios. If the ratio is off, a new blood draw needs to be ordered. The lab is not being lazy or demanding a new draw to create more work, rather they are needing to be extremely accurate because an under/overfill can skew tests results greatly. Ensuring a quality specimen is one of the most important jobs of the collector.

Selecting the correct tube is also essential when collecting a blood specimen. Plastic tubes are the most commonly used with glass tubes only being used when detecting trace elements such as Lithium or Zinc.

Additives:

A few of these tubes have chemical additives while some other have "serum separators" to allow for quick testing. The additives are present to prepare the blood for quick testing and to prevent the deterioration of sample quality.

The serum separator in the gold tubes or tiger top tubes will allow the serum and plasma to be separated during collection which cuts down the turn around time on results. There is no need to centrifuge and the tube can be placed directly on the machine for sampling.

Citrate is used when testing for coagulation times (PT/PTT) on a patient who may be bleeding or be on heparin therapy. This freezes the coagulation cascade or prevents coagulation in the tube and allows for Ca2+ to be added during testing to allow for coagulation to occur. [link]

Heparin is used as an anti-coagulant for chemistry testing due to its minimal chelating properties, meaning it will not interfere with the testing of various ions. There are 3 common "salts" used in Heparin tubes, Ammonium, Lithium, and Sodium. If testing for any of those specific ions, a different salt must be used. (Ex: if testing for lithium, either sodium heparin or ammonium heparin can be used.) Lithium heparin is the most commonly used heparin tube. [link]

EDTA or Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acidis an anti-coagulant used for collecting whole blood specimens for blood counts or cellular morphology. It is different from heparin as metal ions will remain in the blood following mixture which is why it is not used for chemistry testing as it could falsely elevate or decrease test results.

Fluoride/Potassium oxide is used for glucose, drug or blood alcohol testing. These tests are time sensitive as the molecules can break down very quickly and the fluoride present (anti-glycolytic agent) is able to stabilize the glucose for up to 4 hours to allow for accurate testing.

Order of Draw:

The order that the tubes are placed on the needle is extremely important when doing multiple draws. The prevention of carry over of additives is key to ensure accurate and reliable testing.

Vacutainer Order of Draw for Multiple Draws

BD Vacutainer also has a more in-depth chart on the tubes and uses available on their website here.

Again, the fill volume of these tubes is extremely important. If under-filled or over-filled the ratio of additives can cause increases and decreases of testing components in the sample. This can cause incorrect test results and incorrect diagnosis. The range for some ions is extremely small and being 0.01 out due to an overdraw can be the difference between someone showing heart issues or not.

I hope this post was helpful in showing the hows and whys of blood testing and you can feel more knowledgeable when getting your next test!

-K

Blood Sucking Tubes - Vacutainers

*This is a part of my series on blood testing*

Everyone has gone for a blood test at least once in their lives. There might have been times when you've gotten 3 tubes taken at one time and you wonder why. Maybe,  the phlebotomist/nurse had to come back to re-draw your blood and you don't understand the reason. There are many factors involved in blood collection that you may not realize.

Vacutainers:

A few of the available Vacutainers for blood collection

These evacuated tubes are either glass or plastic with a plastic cap that can only be utilized once the rubber stopper is punctured. They are typically used to collect venous blood samples but can also be used to collect urine in some occasions. The tubes can contain additives to help stabilized blood and help prepare it for testing on an analyzer or manual testing.

When performing a blood draw, the collector will first insert the bore of the needle into the patient's vein, then click on the Vacutainer. This will prevent the vein from collapsing and also prevent discomfort for the patient. The blood then will fill the container quite quickly;  a matter of seconds. The collector will then remove the tube carefully before snapping on another tube or removing the needle. The tube is removed first to, again, prevent venous collapse once the needle is removed.

The tube must be filled within +/- 10% of the fill line to ensure accurate testing due to blood/additive ratios. If the ratio is off, a new blood draw needs to be ordered. The lab is not being lazy or demanding a new draw to create more work, rather they are needing to be extremely accurate because an under/overfill can skew tests results greatly. Ensuring a quality specimen is one of the most important jobs of the collector.

Selecting the correct tube is also essential when collecting a blood specimen. Plastic tubes are the most commonly used with glass tubes only being used when detecting trace elements such as Lithium or Zinc.

Additives:

A few of these tubes have chemical additives while some other have "serum separators" to allow for quick testing. The additives are present to prepare the blood for quick testing and to prevent the deterioration of sample quality.

The serum separator in the gold tubes or tiger top tubes will allow the serum and plasma to be separated during collection which cuts down the turn around time on results. There is no need to centrifuge and the tube can be placed directly on the machine for sampling.

Citrate is used when testing for coagulation times (PT/PTT) on a patient who may be bleeding or be on heparin therapy. This freezes the coagulation cascade or prevents coagulation in the tube and allows for Ca2+ to be added during testing to allow for coagulation to occur. [link]

Heparin is used as an anti-coagulant for chemistry testing due to its minimal chelating properties, meaning it will not interfere with the testing of various ions. There are 3 common "salts" used in Heparin tubes, Ammonium, Lithium, and Sodium. If testing for any of those specific ions, a different salt must be used. (Ex: if testing for lithium, either sodium heparin or ammonium heparin can be used.) Lithium heparin is the most commonly used heparin tube. [link]

EDTA or Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acidis an anti-coagulant used for collecting whole blood specimens for blood counts or cellular morphology. It is different from heparin as metal ions will remain in the blood following mixture which is why it is not used for chemistry testing as it could falsely elevate or decrease test results.

Fluoride/Potassium oxide is used for glucose, drug or blood alcohol testing. These tests are time sensitive as the molecules can break down very quickly and the fluoride present (anti-glycolytic agent) is able to stabilize the glucose for up to 4 hours to allow for accurate testing.

Order of Draw:

The order that the tubes are placed on the needle is extremely important when doing multiple draws. The prevention of carry over of additives is key to ensure accurate and reliable testing.

BD Vacutainer also has a more in-depth chart on the tubes and uses available on their website here.

Again, the fill volume of these tubes is extremely important. If under-filled or over-filled the ratio of additives can cause increases and decreases of testing components in the sample. This can cause incorrect test results and incorrect diagnosis. The range for some ions is extremely small and being 0.01 out due to an overdraw can be the difference between someone showing heart issues or not.

I hope this post was helpful in showing the hows and whys of blood testing and you can feel more knowledgeable when getting your next test!

-K

Less than 2 months away!

I feel like I have forgotten everything from my first year of Med Lab.  What's a PT/PTT? Could I use a Vitros right now? Probably not. I'm sure it will all come flooding back (hopefully sooner than later) once I get back into the swing of things.

Either way, I am excited to get back to Toronto and Michener. For those of you who haven't figured it out, I am back in Winnipeg for the summer to earn some money before heading back to Toronto for school. Tuition is second year is definitely pricey so I couldn't afford to stay in there for the few months in between first and second year.

It's been a nice break from the insanity that is Toronto, but I'm also looking forward to seeing some of my clothing I left in at my apartment. (Miss you moccasin shoes!)

As for my blog, we should be back to regular scheduled programming after my blood drive frenzy over the last few weeks. Looking forward to getting everyone caught up on the latest Med Lab happenings!

Are you excited to get back to school in the fall? Any first years excited for the program?

-K

Winnipeg Blood Drive Wrap Up

@CanadianSeacret, Myself and @RonCantiveros!

The #WpgBloodDrive Tweet Up is over! Big thank you to everyone that came and supported this event. I'm glad I decided to go ahead with organizing this blood drive. It shows how great the Twitter community is here in Winnipeg!

While I didn't reach my goal of 20 donors, I did have around 13 people take the plunge to come down and donate. This is still a success because that is 13 people who decided they wanted to help save a life, even if they weren't able to donate in the end. I applaud you for making that decision and supporting me!



For those that did attend, the winners of the prizes were:

• Golf Passes  - @JayceeManzano


• Pedicure - @CanadianSeacret

Please go and congratulate them! @CanadianSeacret was actually our first "official" donor to the Tweet Up though my friend @mennice went earlier in the day to kick things off. @JayceeManzano came to donate on behalf of his brother and was a first time donor! He champed it out and filled his donation bag in under 5 minutes. Impressive!

I would also like to thank @oh_eff out in Red Deer for all her handy tips and also sending me the amazing Tweetup name stickers!

If you didn't get a chance to come out to the Blood Drive and would like to contribute to my 20 donor goal, please @ me on twitter (@kurchenko) or email me krista(at)medlabmaven.com and I would be happy to book an appointment for you. If you need someone to come with you, I can even do that if I have the time :)

Also, would there be interest in an August Blood Drive Tweet Up? I had such a blast meeting some familiar twitter avatar faces in the flesh that I would love to do it again. Let me know!

-K

If you missed me on TV this morning...

Here is a snapshot taken by @Dawingster :

[caption id="attachment_229" align="aligncenter" width="300"] CTV Morning Live Winnipeg[/caption]

I am so excited that I had the opportunity to go on CTV Morning Live and talk about the Blood Drive!

I spent all day yesterday making goodie bags for those who come and donate and I can only HOPE I run out!

Just a reminder if you haven't heard yet:

• Date: Monday, July 9th, 2012 (TODAY!!!)


• Time: 4-7pm


• Where: 777 William Ave (Canadian Blood Services Clinic)

Prize Draws available for those who donate blood at the Tweet Up:

• @CarChen who is the owner for @ChicNailsSpa was kind enough to donate a Spa Pedicure for Chic Nails Spa on Marion!


• 2 Rounds of Golf at Kildonan Park Golf Course or Windsor Park Golf course

I'm hoping for a huge turnout and I hope you all can make it!  Use #WpgBloodDrive or tweet @Kurchenko :)

-Krista

#WpgBloodDrive: Prizes, TV Interview and more!

We are TWO days away from the first ever Winnipeg Blood Drive Tweet up!

If you need a refresher, here are some details:

• Date: Monday, July 9th, 2012


• Time: 4-7pm


• Where: 777 William Ave (Canadian Blood Services Clinic)

Prize Draws available for those who donate blood at the Tweet Up:

• @CarChen who is the owner for @ChicNailsSpa was kind enough to donate a Spa Pedicure for Chic Nails Spa on Marion!


• 2 Rounds of Golf at Kildonan Park Golf Course or Windsor Park Golf course

If you donate blood you will receive one ballot to enter. I will draw after the tweet up and contact you!

Lastly, I will be appearing of CTV Morning Winnipeg on Monday morning at 8:15am to talk about the Blood Drive. I am extremely nervous as I've never been on TV before so please tune in and watch a distaster in the making (lol).

Again, if you want to reserve a time for the blood drive, tweet me @kurchenko and use #WpgBloodDrive or email krista(at)medlabmaven.com

Only 20 times are held and they are booking up. I can only expect more after the TV appearance.

Thanks for your support!

-K

Blood Donation Facts - Why You Should Give

If  you need a reason to come out to the Winnipeg Blood Drive Tweet-Up on Monday, July 9th from 4-7pm @ 777 William Ave, here are some facts on why blood donation is so important.

Every minute of every day someone in Canada needs blood. That’s why Canadian Blood Services is rallying communities to come together and help their fellow citizens who need blood. We need you to rally your friends and family to give blood together. Every donation helps save up to three lives so when you bring more people, more patients benefit.

• 52 percent of Canadians saying they or a family member have needed blood for surgery or medical treatment, your donation will be greatly appreciated by many who have been directly impacted by the need for blood.


• While there is a continuous need for all blood types, there is always a greater need for blood donors with O-negative blood.


• As the universal donor, O-negative blood is always in need. If a hospital patient requires a blood transfusion in an emergency situation, and if there is no time to determine the patient’s blood type, O-negative blood can be used.


• By 2015, Canadian Blood Services will need to grow the overall donor base to 500,000 as the demand for blood and blood products will continue to grow. So to meet Canada’s future blood needs we must encourage more Canadians to become regular blood donors now.

How Much Blood Does it Take?
One blood donation equals one unit of blood. For instance, it can take:

• 50 units of blood to help someone in a motor vehicle collision


• 2 units to help someone who needs brain surgery


• 5 units to help someone in cancer treatment


• 8 units a week to help someone with leukemia


• 5 units to save someone who needs cardiovascular surgery

• One ‘Unit’ of blood is 500 mL, which is what each donor gives at every donation

If you have any questions or would like to sign up for the 20 spots we have at the tweet-up, please @ me on twitter (@kurchenko) or email at medlabmaven (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks!

-K

Winnipeg Blood Drive Tweet Up Update!

So as you know, I am doing a Winnipeg Blood Drive Tweet Up on July 9th from 4-7pm at 777 William Avenue in Winnipeg. Follow #WpgBloodDrive on Twitter!

You can also read my original post on the subject if this is your first time hearing about it here!

Along with doing this tweet-up to increase blood donation in summer, I have the opportunity to get a bursary from Canadian Blood Services if I recruit over 20 donors.

The best part is even if you are NOT in Winnipeg and want to help out towards my total, you can. Anyone, anywhere across Canada! It would mean so much to me if you donate, even if you don't sign up as a part of my team. My #1 goal is to get blood donations, the bursary is second but if you would like to participate, here's how:

1.  Go to blood.ca/joinpartnersforlife


2. 
   

   Fill out the form and use my partner ID: KRIS013179

   
   


3. It asks "Are you an Employee or Member of this Organization" you can say Yes or No. If you say no, just enter your name in the box on "who you are donating on behalf of".


4. You're done!

You can do this before or after your donation but if you plan on coming to the tweet up and have a spare moment, please sign up ahead of time!

Once again, I appreciate everyone's support and I hope this blood drive is a huge success. We can beat Red Deer's 20 donors!

Any questions or if you want to let me know you signed up email me at medlabmaven at gmail dot com

Winnipeg Blood Drive Tweet-Up!

In an effort to give back to the community and after being inspired by a similar blood drive in Red Deer, AB, I have decided to hold a blood drive here in Winnipeg!

Summer is a tough time period for blood donations as people are on vacation or going out to their cabins. Unfortunately, the need for blood is still there and it is typically greater in Summer due to people being active.

I would like to encourage everyone to come out to donate to this fantastic cause. You will get to meet a bunch of local Twitter users, Tumblr users and perhaps some dedicated Facebook fiends as well! Even you aren't on these networks and heard about this blood drive come down and maybe we can influence you ;) I mean, my klout is 44.

Details:

Winnipeg Blood Clinic at 777 William Ave

Monday, July 9th from 4pm-7pm

There are 20 spots reserved for the Tweet up and if you want to ensure a spot, let me know of your intention to come! I can possibly arrange for more spots if enough people sign up.

The Red Deer, AB tweet-up had 20 donors! 20 for Red Deer! I know Winnipeg can do better. We are a giving city. They don't call us "Friendly Manitoba" for nothing! This is a challenge to all Winnipeggers to step up and donate to a great cause. All it takes is about 20 minutes of your day.

I am having to do it on a monday as it is the only night the clinic is open at night. It's also a good day because you won't have to miss any football/soccer/hockey or club night outings. You can donate, socialize and be on your way.

If you are tweeting about it use hashtag #WpgBloodDrive

If you'd like to sign up or have any questions, please email me at medlabmaven (at) gmail (dot) com and I'd be happy to add you to the list.

Thanks in advance, I hope to see you there!

-K

A hotel room's dirtiest item? Bacteria samples reveal the ugly truth | MNN - Mother Nature Network

A hotel room's dirtiest item? Bacteria samples reveal the ugly truth | MNN - Mother Nature Network.

Want to stay away from germs during your next hotel stay? Then don’t turn on the TV or lights — new research shows that TV remotes and light switches are among the most contaminated items in hotel rooms.

US woman with flesh-eating disease improves | Metro

US woman with flesh-eating disease improves | Metro.

National Blood Donor Week!

It's National Blood Donor Week in Canada put on by Canadian Blood Services to raise awareness for the need of blood in Canada.

The theme for this year is "The Power of Many" and they are promoting it via www.bloodphotobomb.com (perhaps a few years late on the photo bombing trend but a good effort nonetheless.)

You are encouraged to printed of a picture of the large iconic red blood drop and "photo bomb" friends and family to promote blood donations and submit them to this website.

If you are able to go out an donate, please do it! A blood donation can save so many lives and there is no time like now to go and make a donation. It's as easy as calling 1-888-2DONATE or visit blood.ca

-K

Histology Resources - Blue Histology

If you are taking a histology or microanatomy course, I highly recommend utilizing Blue Histology.



Compiled by the University of Western Australia, it is a large library of microscope images to help you familiarize yourself with what you might see under a microscope. It's nice to be able to look at different images to keep everything fresh.

They have organized lecture material as well as created useful quizzes to help you with your studies!

-K

A Year in Review: First Year, Second Semester

A continuation of my post from yesterday in regards to first year classes in the Medical Laboratory Sciences program at Michener.

Second Semester

• BAIP – Interprofessional Collaboration


• HEML – Hematology and Hemostasis


• HIML - Histotechnology


• INML - Clinical Instrumentation


• MIML – Applied Microbiology
  


• VPML - Specimen Procurement
  

BAIP - This is a course you will take all through out your time at Michener so just accept it and embrace it. Same as last semester, you will be in a class with people from all programs at Michener. The purpose is to interact with these professions and understand how you can work as an effective healthcare team. This portion of the course focuses on the Canadian Healthcare system and the rules and regulations in place for the professions. There is a huge group project on a "vulnerable" population. You will have to do a wiki page and huge presentation worth 70% but some of the courses are online which is nice!

HEML – Again this course was taught by Elizabeth who is awesome. This course is substantially harder as you have to memorize the coagulation pathway and understand a plethora of diseases. Responsible for knowing how to do PT/PTT testing with correction studies which can be a bit of pain. You also start working on machines in the lab which makes for a longer lab period (3hrs).

HIML - This course mostly revolves around the lab. The lecture covers everything you will be doing in the lab rather than two separate entities. You will learn to embed tissues in wax then cut 4 micron slices on a microtome to create slides. Very technical and hands on but a neat course as you get to see a lot of organs such as intestines, heart, femur etc. You learn the mechanisms of staining (some organic chem) but it's very basic. The prof Michelle is hilarious and engaging!

MIML – This is the tough micro course. Tons and tons of memorization. You need to memorize a LOT of different bacteria, information about them, identifying tests, symptoms, environments etc. You will also memorize identifying chemical tests (which can be 13+ tubes) and have to know what enterobacteriacae it is from those. (Non-motile, VP+ A/A is Klebsiella!) And the flow of testing to identify unknowns. Labs are very intensive and will take up all 3 hours each day (Thursday and Friday).

VPML– The dreaded phlebotomy course! You will learn to do blood draws using vacutainers and yes, you will perform it on human arms. Yes it will be on people in your lab group! You start with learning to put trays together and the different types of tubes and anti-coagulants. Then you get bumped up to practicing on fake arms and also doing micro-collection (finger pricks) on classmates. In the end you will do 3 human arm single draws and a multi-draw. I was afraid of needles starting the course but I ended up passing with flying colours.

So that is the end of my year in review! If you have any other information you want to know, feel free to email me at the address on the sidebar. Also, don't forget to subscribe so you can be alerted when I make new posts!

-K

A Year in Review: First Year, First Semester

Many of you know I just completed my first year in the Medical Laboratory Science program at Michener. I had a request from a reader to do a year in review of the courses. I've decided to break it up into two posts; one for each semester.

First Semester

• AMML - Human Anatomy and Microantaomy


• BAIP - Interprofessional Collaboration


• CCML - Clinical Chemistry


• HEML - Introduction to Hematology


• MIML - Introduction to Microbiology


• PPML - Human and Patho - Physiology

AMML - This course focuses mostly on the different cell types and how they will present themselves in tissues. You will do a dry lab in the computer lab where you will look at electronic slides of different tissues types and look at cells and structures. Requires a lot of memorization and one of the "tougher" courses for myself. I believe there were 3 exams and 4 lab exams.  The exams are tougher and require more detail than some of the other courses.

BAIP - This is a course you will take all through out your time at Michener so just accept it and embrace it. You will be in a class with people from all programs at Michener. The purpose is to interact with these professions and understand how you can work as an effective healthcare team. There will be online quizzes, "how to give feedback" assignments and group projects on topics such as emotions, feelings, feedback, communication etc. The profs are from all different programs and all grade differently so hopefully you get a good one.

CCML - Sil taught this course last year and she was awesome. She makes a seemingly "dry" course interesting and exciting. You cover fundamental pieces on proteins, carbs, lipids and electrolytes. Small quiz every week covering the week prior. There is a math portion that covers the lab and the lecture with an assignment. The lab has a few assignments you need to hand in and you need to pre-read the lab before you head in. A "tougher" course as well in terms of quantity of information.

HEML - Great course taught by Elizabeth who has an awesome southern accent. She is very fair and is thorough.  Teaches you the fundamentals and how to do RBC and WBC counts. Lab is fairly easy this semester as it is almost all microscope work. You will do silent slides towards the end of the semester where you count WBC and RBC morphology.

MIML - Introductory Micro. This is gearing you up for the big leagues in Winter semester. Hardest part is memorizing all the contents of the biochemical test tubes, different types of cleaning solutions and other various immunological tests. Not sure who will teach it this year but Lisa is one of the best professors. So kind and wants you to succeed ( all the profs are like this though!) Lab is very time-consuming you have a 3 hour lab on Thursdays and a 2 hour lab on friday. There are also colonial morphology tests on Fridays.

PPML - This is kind of a "floater" course as a lot of people teach it from year to year. It's more of a human phys "light" course compared to what you might have seen in university. A lot of cross over from AMML which is nice and the exams are often close together so you can study for both at the same time. No Lab for this course.

Hopefully this helps as a quick synopsis of what you can expect in your first semester at Michener.

-K

WordWideWeb Wednesdays #2

Do you have a scientist in your life? Looking for the perfect gift? Check out GiantMicrobes!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="247"] ALL THE MICROBES[/caption]

What's better than being able to say "I have gonorrhea, syphilis, rabies and MRSA" to someone? It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. (All of the above mentioned microbe plushes I currently own.)

I also have the Cold Virus liquid soap dispenser which is perched on the side of my sink ready to fight off dirt and disease.

Along with ordering straight off the website, many science museums and university bookstores carry Giant Microbes!

-K

WorldWideWeb Wednesdays

Introducing one of my favourite science websites: MicrobeWorld.

                    
Brain child of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), this website is designed to connect microbiologists and science enthusiasts alike.

Driven by user submitted content, it allows anyone with an interest in microbiology to share interesting news stories, facts and even their own research with the science community. Even you can submit content to be posted on the website.

One of my favourite features is BacterioFiles with Jesse Nohr.

                          

Jesse discusses the importance of bacteria to try to dispel the negative connotations often associated with bacteria and virus.

They are typically shorter podcasts averaging around 3-5 minutes but there have been a few 30+ minute ones on occasion! It's something great to toss on your iPod before heading to class to put you in a science mind-set and also give you some interesting facts you can use whenever someone speaks negatively about bacteria!

Follow MicrobeWorld on Twitter @MicrobeWorld.

(My twitter feed is frequently over taken by Re-Tweeted MicrobeWorld articles)

-K

FDA panel recommends approving home HIV test

New upcoming OTC HIV test. May help get people who think they might have HIV exposure to get tested and remove of the stigma.

Student infected with rare bacteria making progress - CNN.com

Student infected with rare bacteria making progress - CNN.com.

The master's student in psychology at the school was with friends on May 1 near the Little Tallapoosa River, about 50 miles west of Atlanta, when she grabbed onto a zip line. It snapped and she fell.

The accident left a gash in her left calf that took 22 staples to close.

Three days later, still in pain, she went to an emergency room, where doctors determined she had contracted the flesh-devouring bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila. She was taken to Augusta for surgery.

Rates of Gonorrhea in the USA

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Rates of Gonorrhea in the USA.[/caption]

An interesting map from Mens Health Magazine about the rates of Gonorrhea in the US. Mississippi wins (but do they really win?) with 209.9 people infected per 100,000. Yikes.

The Michener Institute - Overview

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq90XMgRIGc]

A nice 10 minute video put together by Michener you can share with your family and friends so they can see the campus and know what a great school you will/could be attending!

Also, you might recognize the person who did the voiceover as the MMI voice prompts!

Share link is here

Iron Deficiency Anemia

Anemia is defined as "the inability of the blood to supply the tissue with adequate oxygen", which can be a common problem in females, malnourished individuals, chronic blood loss and anyone with absorption or retention problems (parasites).

Physically, symptoms can appear as pallor, dyspnea, light- headedness ,vertigo, muscle weakness, Headache and general lethargy.

As an MLT, Iron Deficiency or IDA, is a commonly seen illness you will need be able to identify. It is a total depletion of the body iron stores which leads to issues in RBC production. Recommended daily iron intake is 15 mg for females and 10 mg for males per day.

IDA is a hypochromic, macrocytic anemia. This will present as a low MCHC as well as a low MCV on a CBC. MCHC is Mean Cell Hemoglobin Concentration and will cause the cells to appear pale and have a larger central pallor. MCV is the Mean Cell Volume and is related to the overall size of cells. A normal RBC is between 80-100fl. If there is an Iron Deficiency anemia present, it will typically be around 80fl or lower.

[caption id="attachment_134" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Textbook presentation of IDA. Small microcytic RBC with marked hypochromasia (large central pallor)[/caption]

2011 CSMLS Exam Pass Rates

2011 CSMLS National Report Card

If you are curious to see how the schools in Canada stack up against each other, check out their pass/fail rate on the certification exam you will write following your clinical rotations.

Michener had a 100% pass rate last year and the year prior.

-K

Our Focus is You | National Medical Laboratory Week

Our Focus is You | National Medical Laboratory Week.

I forgot to push this post to my blog last week but April 24-28th was National Med Lab week put on by CSMLS.

Have a look at their website and the video that was filmed at Michener! Share with friends and family so you can show how important MLT's are.

-K

Your Favourite Charities:

As a Medical Laboratory Science student, we do not really have a specific charity associated with our profession. While Respiratory Therapists have Cystic Fibrosis or Asthma related charities, we are an all encompassing profession that will encounter many diseases.

I think work with vaccine research/awarness, meningitis, or malaria would be worth while causes to contribute to.

What charity would you like to work with as a Medical Laboratory Scientist?

Send me your ideas by leaving a comment or emailing me!

-K

Medical Laboratory Science Programs in Canada

Here is a comprehensive list of the accredited Medical Laboratory Science Programs in Canada. I know it's tough to figure out what is the right program and where to find information but I have linked to each program page and info in the name of the school.

View entire CSMLS list here

British Columbia:

British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)

City: Burnaby

Program Length: 2.5 years

Admissions: 

• High school graduation


• English 12


• Biology 12 (C+)


• Chemistry 12 (C+)


• Physics 11 (C+)


• Mathematics


• Letter of Intent (approximately 500 words) detailing the applicant's career goals, knowledge of the profession, related experience and reasons for seeking admission to the Medical Laboratory Science program.


• Resume documenting work experience and/or volunteer experience together with satisfactory letter(s) of reference. The volunteer experience must be a minimum 30 hours and should be in a patient related health care environment.

College of New Caledonia

City: Prince George

Program Length: 2.5 Years

Admissions: Grade 12 Diploma. Medical Laboratory Career report which is used to rank for an interview. Based on an 18 point ranking system.

Alberta:

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)

City: Edmonton

Program Length:  2 Years

Admissions: MMI Interview

60% or better in each of: English 30-1, Pure Math 30, Chemistry 30 and Biology 30

(Supposedly) Competitive Entrance: 75% to 85% overall average

Five or more credits of post-secondary Human Anatomy and Physiology / one credit of post-secondary Medical Terminology or completion of a challenge exam with a 60% pass. (Completed within last 5 years)

• Academics- 40% (Score based on academic average of the 30 level courses)


• Interview - 40%


• Career/Program Assessment - 20%

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)

City: Calgary

Program Length: 2 years

Admissions:  MMI Interview

Alberta High School Diploma or equivalent, with the following admission requirements or equivalents:

• At least 60% in Pure Math 30 or Math 31 or Math 30-1, or at least 70% in Math 30-2, AND,


• At least 60% in English Language Arts 30-1, AND,


• At least 60% in Chemistry 30, and at least 60% in Biology 30.

Applicants will be ranked monthly according to the following criteria:

• Overall average in the admission requirements


• Interview

Those with higher academic averages will be offered an interview first. Following the interview, applicants with a composite score of 40/50 or more will be offered a seat in the program based on the selection decision date until the program is full

Medical Laboratory Selection Reference Package

Saskatchewan:

Saskatchewan Institute for Applied Science and Technology

City: Saskatoon

Program Length: 2 years (40 weeks a year)

Admissions: Grade 12 with a minimum grade of 70% in English Language Arts A30, English Language Arts B30, Math B30*, Physics 20, Chemistry 30 and Biology 30

Phase I - Average will be calculated on high school subjects required for admission (see Admission Requirements above) .

Phase II - Additional selection criteria will be applied to
those with the highest averages in Phase I :

Admission Average = 30%

Career Investigation = 30%

Interview = 40%

Manitoba:

Red River College

City: Winnipeg

Program Length: 22 consecutive months

Admissions: Wait-list. Admission based on when you apply, not GPA.

Have 24 credits of post secondary education* from a recognized college or university including:

- General Chemistry (3 credits)
- Intro to Physical Chemistry (3 credits) or Intro to Organic Chemistry (3 credits)
- Anatomy and Physiology (6 credits)
- Biology (6 credits)
- Basic Statistical Analysis (3 credits)
- Communications (3 credits)

Ontario:

Cambrian College

City: Sudbury

Program Length:  7 Semesters (I think 2.5 years)

Admissions:  50 seats available. Preference to Ontario residents.

- any grade 12 English (C), (U) or (M)
- any grade 11 or 12 chemistry (C), (U) or (M)
- any grade 11 or 12 biology (C), (U) or (M)
- any grade 12 mathematics (C), (U) or (M)
Recommended: computer competency in relevant software
A minimum of 70% is required in all prerequisite courses.

St.Clair College

City: Windsor

Program Length: 3 Years

Admissions: Preference to Ontario residents.

• Grade 12 English - ENG4U, ENG4C, EAE4C or EAE4U


• Grade 12 Math (C) or (U)


• Senior Level Chemistry (C) or (U)


• Senior Level Physics (C) or (U)


• Senior Level Biology (C) or (U)

St.Lawrence College

City: Kingston

Program Length: 3 Years

Admissions: 

Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent with the following prerequisites:

• Grade 12 Math at the C or U level


• Grade 12 English at the C or U level


• Grade 12 Chemistry at the C or U level


• Grade 11 or 12 Biology at the C or U level

The Michener Institute

City: Toronto

Program Length: 2.5 Years

Admissions: 

1. Ontario Secondary School Diploma


2. Four grade 12 University (U) level courses:
   
   
   
   • Grade 12 English (U)
   
   
   • Grade 12 Mathematics (U)
   
   
   • Grade 12 Chemistry (U)
   
   
   • Grade 12 Biology (U) OR Physics (U)
     (Biology is strongly recommended)


3. Two University (U) or University/Mixed (U/M) level courses.


4. Overall average of 75% in all the six courses used to meet the admission requirements.


5. No grade lower than 70% in the six courses.

MMI interview. Ranked 50% GPA/50% Interview

University of Ontario Institute (UOIT)

City: Oshawa

Program Length: 4 Year B.Sc

Admissions:

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with a minimum of six 4U, 4M, credits or equivalent or mature applicant status.

4U/4M credits must include English (ENG4U with a minimum 60 per cent), Advanced Functions (MHF4U), and two of Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U), Biology (SBI4U), Chemistry (SCH4U), or Physics (SPH4U).

Cut-off was 78% last year.
Quebec:

*note* I am only covering the English college in Quebec as I don't speak French so I cannot translate it. Please click link at top of post for more listing of French speaking colleges.

Dawson College

City: Montreal

Program Length: 3 Years

Admissions:

Diploma of Secondary Studies (DES), including:

• Secondary V Language of Instruction


• Secondary V Second Language


• Secondary IV Science


• Secondary IV Mathematics


• Secondary IV History

Additional:

• Mathematics 564-406 or 565-406*


• Chemistry 551-504*


• An interview is required to assess the candidate’s readiness to pursue Biomedical Laboratory Technology studies.**


• Candidates who place below the preparatory level in both English and French will not be admitted into the Program.

Newfoundland:

College of the North Atlantic

City: St.John's

Program Length: 3 years + 1 year

Admissions: Must complete "Medical Sciences 1" program first before applying to enter Medical Laboratory Sciences. Ranked based on GPA of this program.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick Community College

City: Saint John

Program Length: 2.5 Years

Admissions: 

• High School Diploma or Adult High School Diploma or GED Diploma of High School Equivalency


• Geometry and Applications in Mathematics 112 and Functions and Relations 112


• Two (2) additional sciences from the following:


• 
  
  
  
  • Biology 112 or 122 (Recommended)
  
  
  • Chemistry 112 or 122 (Recommended)
  
  
  • Physics 112 or 122

Nova Scotia:

Nova Scotia Community College

City: Darthmouth

Program Length: 2 Years

Admissions:  Waterfront Campus • Dartmouth • Full – Accepting 2014/2015 applications

High School Graduation Diploma or equivalent, including:

• A minimum mark of 70% in Grade 12 Academic English, Mathematics and Biology


• A minimum mark of 80% in Grade 12 Academic Chemistry