Medical Laboratory Technician Laboratory Operations and Safety Questions and Answers

Question 1

A medical laboratory technician accidentally drops and breaks a culture plate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the floor outside of a biological safety cabinet.
What is the FIRST and most critical action to take?

Accepted Answer

Evacuate the room and notify the supervisor.

Answer

Immediately cover the spill with paper towels.

Answer

Pour a 10% bleach solution directly onto the spill.

Answer

Begin cleaning the spill with a tuberculocidal disinfectant.

Question 2

When reviewing a Levey-Jennings chart for a quality control material, a technician notes that the last seven consecutive data points are all on the same side of the mean. This pattern is best described as a:

Accepted Answer

Shift

Answer

Trend

Answer

Random error

Answer

1_3s violation

Question 3

Which of the following is a key requirement of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard that employers must provide to at-risk laboratory employees?

Accepted Answer

The Hepatitis B vaccine at no cost to the employee.

Answer

Annual proficiency testing for all performed tests.

Answer

A detailed Chemical Hygiene Plan for the laboratory.

Answer

Classification of all laboratory tests into complexity categories.

Question 4

A phlebotomist needs to draw specimens for coagulation studies (light blue top), a complete blood count (lavender top), and a chemistry panel requiring serum (gold top SST). According to CLSI guidelines, what is the correct order of draw?

Accepted Answer

Light blue, Gold, Lavender

Answer

Gold, Lavender, Light blue

Answer

Lavender, Light blue, Gold

Answer

Light blue, Lavender, Gold

Question 5

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 704 diamond provides a rapid visual representation of a chemical's hazards. What type of hazard is indicated by the blue quadrant?

Accepted Answer

Health

Answer

Flammability

Answer

Instability/Reactivity

Answer

Special Hazard

Question 6

A technologist must prepare a 1:5 dilution of a patient's serum in saline to perform a test. If the final volume needed is 1.0 mL (1000 µL), how much patient serum should be used?

Accepted Answer

200 µL

Answer

100 µL

Answer

500 µL

Answer

800 µL

A medical laboratory technician accidentally drops and breaks a culture plate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the floor outside of a biological safety cabinet.What is the FIRST and most critical action to take?

A medical laboratory technician accidentally drops and breaks a culture plate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the floor outside of a biological safety cabinet.
What is the FIRST and most critical action to take?