After only shadowing for the last couple of days, Om and I were itching for a hands-on experience. Today was that day. In the morning, we worked with Adam in his lab, where he processes patient samples from Dr. Taylor’s clinic. Adam guided us through prepping patient samples, and we carefully followed his instructions as we pipetted urine samples, control solutions, enzymes, and buffers in various order. We were nervous, and our shaky hands caused the occasional cross-contamination. Fortunately, we weren’t testing on real patient samples, which reassured us a little. Before injecting the enzyme and buffer mixture, we heated the samples in an incubator for 35 minutes. After adding all the constituent parts together, we spun the wells in a centrifuge at a mind-blowing 4000 rounds per minute for 15 minutes. Finally, we booted up the mass spectrometer and let that instrument have a go at analyzing the sample wells. We haven’t figured out how to navigate the complex software utilized to control the mass spectrometer, so we left that part up to the experts. We’ll find out the results of the mock drug screenings tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more excited.
We took a quick lunch break, and the Chick-Fil-A cookies and cream milkshake was a great way to cool down from the lab environment.
In the afternoon, another lab technician (who prefers to remain anonymous) led us into a different lab, which processes samples from clients, such as providers, hospitals, and clinics not under the wing of Dr. Taylor. Again, we performed the mass spectrometer drug screening test, but in contrast, we utilized proficiency testing samples this time. These are samples of urine donated from hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals and combined together to be averaged into a “normal” urine. Then, the state testing agency spikes the urine with certain drugs and drug metabolism products, such as oxycodone. The reference lab is only allowed to continue operations if it can correctly detect these drug presences within test samples. The process was much the same as it was also a mass spectrometer test, but we got to be mix (dangerous) chemicals such as methanol, which was exhilarating.
I can’t believe that tomorrow is going to be my last day at Integrated Laboratory Solutions. I certainly have had a great time so far, from conversing with the diverse community of employees even within a lab workplace, to the great lunches. Without a doubt, my last day tomorrow will be just as interesting.
