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A typical shift

Early start: the morning blood draw rush begins around 6 or 7am. In a hospital you go ward to ward with a cart, checking wristbands and filling tubes. In a collection clinic, patients line up before the doors open. Back in the lab you sort and spin samples, log them into the computer and load them on analyzers for the technologists. Afternoons are quieter: restocking, cleaning, urine and swab processing, the occasional ECG (heart tracing).