Fifth Week

Not much to report from week five in Eugene, so I'll make this a short one. Work has been going fine. I've been slowly expanding the work that I've been able to do. Tonight (technically it's Tuesday, but I've only been off work for a couple hours, so it seems like Monday night still), I picked up my first delivered specimen. All that means is I went down to the lobby and grabbed a bag with a cup of urine in it.

During my last couple of shifts, I've started doing data entry. Almost all of the work I do could be considered a form of data entry, but in this case it specifically refers to receiving a requisition and specimen that's not already been entered into the system. The people who've been working in the lab much longer than I have seem to know a way to tell just by looking at a form whether or not it's a data entry. But for me it's still a bit tougher.

When I pick a bag out of my inbox and pull out the requisition form, the first thing I look for is one of our labels, which would let me scan in the code and be on my way. If it's not there, I look for an order number I can enter. If I don't find one, or it doesn't pull up an order in the system, I have to open "PINQ," or the patient inquiry menu, which allows me to look up patient names to see if there are any orders for them. If I don't see an order there, then I'll know it's a data entry.

When it comes to the data entering itself, it's like the other parts of the job so far. It seems complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's not so tough.

The rest of the week was mostly spent working out the little details of the job. For example, all of the sinks in the building are motion-activated, including the paper towel dispensers. On Friday I finally found the most responsive of the sinks, so now I know to always go there to wash my hands as I leave for breaks and at the end of the day. Otherwise I have to just stand there waving my hands around like an idiot.

As promised, a short one. I'll end with another picture. This one's a better view of the Delta Ponds park, which made its first appearance in this blog's inaugural post, that's right next to my apartment complex. It's a nice place to walk around in the afternoons before work.