"HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS, YOU ARE FIRED?"
If you have read my previous post, you would have heard me say "I'm a microbiologist" and a microbiologist studies microorganism. The most amazing thing about a microbiologist is that they can work virtually everywhere, from a medical laboratory (medical microbiology), to industries (industrial microbiology), food agencies (food microbiology), environmental agencies (Environmental microbiology), and many more.
I want to tell you about a incident that occurred today during my visit to a private hospital to see a doctor friend but before then, let me ask you a question. "Have you ever gone for a medical test before?" if you have an answer to that, then you have gotten a glimpse of my story.
"HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS, YOU ARE FIRED?"
You wonder who could be saying this, well this was the response of senior medical microbiologist to a laboratory scientist after an event that nearly cost the life of a patient due to the carelessness of the laboratory scientist.
One major step that should never be forgotten when collecting samples is Labeling. Labeling helps the scientist to identify who, what and why the sample is sample is collected.
The laboratory scientist took the sample of a patient who wanted to know her HIV status, Her blood group and hemoglobin genotype. She needed it for counseling and approval by her partners family and the church, before joining them in holy matrimony. She had checked her blood group and hemoglobin genotype when she was a younger and the result showed she was hemoglobin genotype AA and Blood group O- (result A), but she to do it again since she had the opportunity to.
The lab scientist took her blood sample and asked her to come back for her result of which she did. When she got her result, she was almost shocked to death as her result showed she was HIV positive, hemoglobin genotype AA and blood group A- (result B)
She was troubled as she believed she had lost everything in the world. she told her fiance who asked her to bring her formal test result that include her blood group and hemoglobin phenotype. When he compared it, he told her to go do another test in a different laboratory.
So she went for another test in a different labouratory. After the test, she collected her result which showed HIV negative, hemoglobin genotype AA and blood group O- (result C)
She wanted to be sure, so she had to do another test in a different laboratory which gave the same result as result C. She had to come back to the hospital where she did her first test, but this time around she did not come alone. She came with her lawyer and they were going to press charges against the hospital.
When the laboratory scientist was asked to explain the mystery behind the result, it became clear that he mixed up the names while labeling the sample.
I never imagined a laboratory scientist making such a mistake but the deed has been done.
If you were the senior medical microbiologist, would you fire the lab scientist?
If you were the lab scientist, what will you do at that point?
If you were the one who did the test, would you press charges on the hospital?
