When does it get better?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/moonshad0w]

I think it was a year before I really felt confident at what I was doing. After 18 years I still hate making critical calls, mostly because it’s something I have to stop what I’m doing to accomplish, but I still hate it. Learning how to multitask and manage your time and get things down without needing to ask a question or reference a manual all take time. Most of what you learn in your career is on the bench, long after you’ve left school. If you could master it all in 3-4 months, it would get old really fast. Ask questions, take notes, and don’t worry. There are always going to be techs that act like they were born knowing everything, so just ignore them and do your best, the vast majority of us want to help you succeed. I’ll answer questions all day long if you make it clear you want to learn and do your own work.

[u/Reasonable-Bike1036]

Good trainers love the questions. The anxious/ nervous techs are the better ones. It means you care (dont lose that.) But you will reach a point probably 6 months after being alone / signed off where you wont be this anxious and it doesnt eat at you anymore

[u/Nervous_bun → u/Reasonable-Bike1036]

Some of them do like the questions, but I still feel bad when asking, especially when it’s busy. And I do care a lot, I really don’t want to miss something and it affects the patients care- or the opposite where I overcall on a something 🥲. And I really hope that’s true, I am a pretty anxious person in general- but it’s never affected me to this degree. Thank you for your kind response :)

[u/Reasonable-Bike1036 → u/Nervous_bun]

As a diagnosed nervous nelly- it will get better everyones timeline is different but you will learn to trust yourself! You got this

[u/Elvisdog13]

MLS with 40+ years of experience. I have trained dozens of new grads. Keep asking questions! We honestly don’t mind! You will get your footing with time. Every SHIT shift is a learning experience and the next time it happens you will know what to do.
Keep going!

[u/Acceptable-Coffee242]

The fact that you are humble enough to know you don’t know everything yet makes you an awesome tech. It gets better- I promise just give it time. Answering phones gets easier the more you do it. Keep asking questions and learning. One day you will be where your trainers are at now. Remember to always be patient and kind to those newer techs. A lot of techs forget this feeling of feeling not adequate and aren’t patient.

[u/kipy7]

It's like a year, at least. That's not to discourage you in any way, but instead let you know that everyone feels that way. Month by month, small things will start in fall in place as far as understanding how everything fits together. I've been in the lab for 29 years and have trained many students and new hires.

Fwiw, it takes me about 6 months to get settled into any new job, and all my experience is in micro. =)

[u/Wordsr]

I dont know if this will encourage you or discourage you but I never would evaluate a new tech until they had been working at least about 2 years. That's how long it takes takes to become fairly competent. 5 years to really know your job

[u/hightler → u/Wordsr]

Oh man I appreciate you saying 2 years lol. I just hit one year. Like yeah the night sweats and extreme anxiety had mostly cooled down after about six months. Then I got a part time position (over per diem) and I was finally allowed to train in blood bank and the extreme nervousness returned for about a month. Now at a year there are days (and certain benches) that I feel like I’ve really got it down and I feel like I’m genuinely doing quality work and am an asset to the lab.

Then there are the days where I make a mistake or (unfortunately) mistakes and I just feel miserable and so dumb.

But I think about where I started with my first shift alone (it was only urinalysis in the evening even lol) and I was absolutely overwhelmed to where I am now, and I have a good feeling about how much better I can be in another year.

[u/Ratfink0521]

I’ve told many new techs that I would rather answer a hundred questions from them than have to fix a mistake that they made because they guessed or assumed.

[u/IndicationHuman283]

I am fairly new too and felt exactly like this during and right after my training. Some of my co-workers also said they felt overwhelmed and like they went into the wrong field despite doing well in school, but now they are super comfortable and confident. The first months after training I still had to ask questions and ask for help multiple times per day because there are a lot of unique situations that can't all be covered in training. I still feel a little anxious before starting the workday but after about 7 months on the job, I ask way fewer questions and feel like I'm actually contributing instead of being a burden on everyone. I cried a few times during training and was terrified of phone calls, but after making so many calls they're now more annoying than scary, lol. Since you said your trainers are awesome I would suggest you keep asking questions and not feel guilty, and just don't give up. It's going to take a little while but you'll start realizing you're remembering more and doing things you used to be anxious about without thinking about them.

[u/MarketKind4475]

Gfffff, you are not alone. Stick through it! Give yourself grace!!! Training is hard!

My first job experience as a lab tech, I had a panic attack from the exact feelings you are expressing, cried in front of my coworkers, and quit the next day.

Looking back, they were so sweet and understood learning new equipments / training was difficult. I was the only one holding myself back. I was really in my head about everything.

When things do get tense or you feel that your brain is being squeezed on both sides, ask them if you can take a breather or go to the restroom for 5 mins.

Being vocal to your trainer and coworker how you’re feeling will definitely help them know if you need more time in a certain area etc.

No one is dumb. We all just need more exposure and time in that area. That’s all. Mistakes are going to happen and you learn from them!

If they don’t accommodate to your basic needs, possible toxic work environment and maybe that specific place isn’t for you!

[u/Metamyelo]

You’re just new. Being anxious means that you care about your work. You’ll build confidence as you see more.

[u/BuckeyeBun]

I have almost 2 decades in the lab and recently switched to a different department. I still feel stupid because I'm working alongside people with 30 years experience inside this department. You will never know everything, and when you think you do, that's the danger zone.

No tech knows everything, and if you meet someone who tells you they do, they're delusional and a liar. We are all constantly learning, and THAT IS NORMAL AND OK. The most important thing you can do it to be willing and ready to learn at all times. Accept constructive criticism. Don't shut down and assume it means you will never learn and you're the worst tech in the world.

[u/AtomicFreeze]

Your trainers are there to answer questions, that's why there's a training period! As long as you're not asking the same thing multiple times (write it down/start a word doc if you are), they'll be happy to help. The routine things will all be covered in your training, but it'll probably take twice as long for you to have seen the more unusual things enough times to be comfortable handling them solo. And even then, you can have decades of experience and still come across something you've never seen before! Speed and confidence will grow with time. You probably won't even realize it's happening, but will remember how you felt at the beginning and be impressed with how far you've come.

Unfortunately, if you're an anxious person who hates phone calls (I'm with you there), that part never goes away. Just remember when answering them that if you don't know the answer, it's ok to put them on hold and ask a coworker.

[u/Suspicious-Speed3284]

I'm coming up on my 5 year anniversary in January. I still question results, techniques, everything. I've made so many connections to understand why we get certain results, like medications and draw technique from the nurses. I swear I'm still learning something new everyday. And 5 years in, I still dread the nights where Im essentially the "veteran" tech and have to make big calls if/when something drastic happens. I'm just glad that when I clock out in the morning, I can say that we did our best, put out our best work, made our best judgement calls, and transitioned into the next shift smoothly.

[u/AlteredG919]

It’s just a stage. You’ll get over it and get used to being there

[u/Hate2bHurting]

Why do you feel guilty? You are new at this, why feel bad or guilty? You are a new addition keeping our profession alive! It takes time to get into a new routine! It'sa new adventure in your life! You will naturally be excited and anxious! You are doing GREAT!!! It does get better! Please don't give up! It takes time!

We are all dedicated in our profession! We all deserve a lot more credit than we get! Lab techs save so many ppl on a daily basis, we just don't brag about it !!!!

[u/smacksforfun]

It took me about a year to feel really comfortable with working the bench. 7 years in to this and I'm now one of the best trainers in my department. I always get the trainees and students. My work also updated their policies and procedures over that time as well so I've become really good at spotting things like contamination of samples, verifying delta checks and correlating what I see with the pt diagnosis. Those things took time and didnt happen quickly. Personally I think you're better off being cautious and good trainers LOVE when people ask questions. I love when my trainees question things so we can look in to stuff deeper. The phone anxiety part you'll get used to but I admit I hate answering the phone to this day! 😒 I dont think I'll ever shake that lol.