lab ops rotation

how long should complete waste manifests be stored?

3 years

what rating is considered the most hazardous according to NFPA and HMIS hazards?

4

what do the red, blue, and yellow colors mean in regards to NFPA and HMIS hazards?

red= flammability

yellow= reactivity

blue= health hazard

is a higher or lower flashpoint more dangerous?

lower

what are the classes of fires and their corresponding extinguisher: A, B, C, D, and K?

A= ordinary combustible, extinguished with water

B= chemical fire, extinguished with dry chemicals or CO2

C= electrical fire, extinguished by shutting off power then using chemical or CO2

D= combustible metals, extinguished by dry chemicals

K= cooking fires, extinguished by dry or wet chemicals

where should the absorbant pad be placed first in a chemical spill?

around the edges of the spill to prevent it from spreading

what are the requirements of a chemical hood?

• minimum 75 linear feet/min air flow

• replace HEPA filters annually

• at least 2.5 ft of space for each user

• positioned away from traffic

what chemicals are the following incompatible with: bleach, oxygen, and cyanide

bleach and ammonia; oxygen and oil; cyanide and acid

describe the three types of bio safety levels

1= protects only the worker

2= protects the worker and environment

3= worker does not have direct access

differentiate between the four levels of BSL organisms

1= rarely pathogenic

2= transmitted by contact

3= more hazardous/transmissable than 2 and requires high level disinfectants

4= exotic/highly dangerous

what protection is used for alpha, beta, and gamma radiation?

• alpha= paper

• beta= plastic

• gamma= lead

what are the requirements for safety showers?

must be within 100 feet of all workers and deliver 30 gallons of water

what organizations have deemed status?

TJC, CAP, and COLA

when are t tests v. f tests used?

t test= used to differentiate between the means of 2 methods

f test= assesses variances or standard deviations between 2 or more groups

what type or error is assessed by coefficient of variation?

random error

how many standard deviations are used to assess random error?

6

when is specificity used?

to assess how well a method can exclude a disease

what type of westgard rule respons best to random error?

range rule

what type of QC controls can be used to assess a method that uses urine specimens?

urine or water because urine is mostly water

what is the minimum pass rate of proficiency testing for CLIA?

80%

differentiate between latent and active errors

latent= unavoidable in the process

active= genuine mistakes of not following the protocol

what is the highest quality of chemical?

analytical

what happens if the diluent is added after the solute?

false elevation in total volume

what is the effect of warm solutions v. cold solutions on glassware?

warm solutions cause it to expand, cold solutions cause it to constrict

what is water’s “resistance” in reference to when discussing purification?

resistance to electrical flow

how must alkaline solutions be stored?

in plastic containers

what type of pipette is considered the most accurate?

volumetric

how is a fixed angle centrifuge different from a swinging bucket centrifuge?

it’s faster than the swinging bucket centrifuge

what is the formula for RCF?

RCF= 1.12*radius(in mm)*(RPM/100)²

what do etched rings on a pipette indicate?

to blow out the last drop to distribute the full volume from the pipette

what type of pipettes can be completely drained?

TD (to deliver)

describe the following types of pipettes: serologic, Mohr, volumetric, and Ostwald

• serologic: graduated, must be blown out TD

• Mohr: graduated, TC

• volumetric: only one mark, very accurate, TD, glass bulge towards center of pipette

• Ostwald: for viscous fluids; glass bulge of pipette towards tip

what type of water should be used for the final rinse of pipettes?

type 1 water

differentiate between resolution and numerical aperture in relation to microscopes

• resolution: lowest distance between two objects that allows both objects to be seen individually

• numerical aperture: light-gathering ability of microscope

as numerical aperture increases, the resolution of the microscope ________.

increases

what does parfocal mean?

ability to stay in focus as objectives are changed

how does a microscope alter the image of the field being viewed?

flips it upside down and reverses it

what is the function of the monochromator/filter in a spectrophotometer?

it selects the bandwith/wavelength of the solution being analyzed

what is the purpose of the detector in a spectrophotometer?

it detects light transmitted through the sample

what is the formula for absorbance?

absorbance= 2-log(%T)

is an absorbance graph linear or logarithmic? what about a transmittance graph?

absorbance= linear; transmittance= logarithmic

differentiate between the following methods: turbidometry, nephelometry, and fluorometry

• turbidometry: detects light transmitted

• nephelometry: detects light scatter

• fluorometer: detects emitted light and has two filters

differentiate between the following phlebotomy precautions: standard, airborne, droplet, contact, and protective

• standard: prevent contact with blood and body fluids

• airborne: wear gloves, gown, and a mask to avoid contact with pathogens like TB

• droplet: wear at least gloves and a mask to avoid contact with respiratory droplets

• contact: wear gloves and a gown to avoid pathogens like C. diff

• protective: wear gloves, gown, and a mask to avoid exposing immunocompromised patients to additional germs

if a patient has an allergy to iodine, what can be used as an alternative?

chlorhexidine

what does post-prandial mean?

after a meal

when should phlebotomy tubes be labeled?

at the bedside after blood has been collected

what is the most desirable vein to draw from?

median antecubital

how long must you wait to reapply a tourniquet if an additional phlebotomy attempt must be made?

2 minutes minimum

what is the cleansing procedure associated with blood culture collection?

clean site with iodine then alcohol

how many times should blood collection tubes be inverted?

eight times

what is the order of draw for skin/capillary puncture?

• EDTA

• tubes with additives

• tubes without additives

what is the standard order of draw for phlebotomy and their associated anticoagulants?

• yellow= SPS

• light blue= citrate

• red/tiger top= no additive/gel barrier for serum

• light green= gel for plasma

• dark green= heparin

• lavendar= EDTA

• gray

differentiate between types 1, 2, and 3 of lab-grade water?

• type 1: used for prep of standards, buffers, controls, and quantitative procedures; cannot be stored

• type 2: used for qualitiative chem procedures and heme, immunology, and micro

• type 3: used for urinalysis and washing/rinsing of glassware; least pure,

differentiate between the water purification methods: distillation, deionized, charcoal, and reverse osmosis

• distillation: does not contains minerals or microorganisms; contains volatiles

• deionized: removes positively and negatively-charged ions in water; does not remove organic substances, particulates, or microorganisms

• charcoal: used in combination with DI water to remove organic impurities, particulates, and microorganisms to produce type 1 water

• reverse osmosis: removes dissolved solids, organic impurities, particulates, and microorganisms; does not remove dissolved gases or ionized particles

what is the percent recovery formula?

((volume in spiked sample-baseline)/concentration added)*100

what is the maximum percentage that a patient specimen can be diluted in a recovery experiment?

10%