Lab Week 2024 – Lisa Szeto-Tay
Quest colleagues from coast-to-coast marked Lab Week 2024 with a week full of activities to celebrate our medical laboratory professionals and pathologists. As part of the celebration, we also featured highlights of the professional journeys of Quest colleagues from across the country.
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From Phlebotomist to Group Lead, Medical Laboratory Scientist
10 years at Quest
North Region - Cambridge, Massachusetts
Q: What did you initially want out of your career?
Lisa: When I first started working with Quest in phlebotomy, I wanted it to be the steppingstone into the healthcare world. I know with phlebotomy experience; I can eventually choose to become certified in a particular area like a phlebotomy Specialist or Donor Phlebotomy Technician.
Q: How has what you wanted changed over the years?
Lisa: It changed when there was an opportunity to get into diagnostic testing at an RRL (Rapid Response Laboratory). I went back to school, while still working full-time in phlebotomy. I was being trained as a Medical Laboratory Technician for a couple of years, then became a Medical Technician II. Shortly after that, I was promoted to a Medical Technologist QC (Quality Control) for point-of-care testing, as a supervisor. Eventually, I moved my way to becoming a Group Lead, Medical Laboratory Scientist at Quest’s RRL located in Cambridge, MA.
Q: Did you ever take any risks with taking on a new role and were you encouraged to move into different roles or, did you move on your own?
Lisa: Everyone takes a risk when they move into a new role because it is new and unfamiliar, and certainly questioning yourself if you have what it takes to fulfill this role. I tell myself to just do it, you never know where one role can take you. I had some encouragement to make a move. My wonderful coworkers, supervisors, and managers are always so supportive! Always congratulating me, saying how proud they are. Because of their support, it gives more motivation, and the willingness to go further, to go for it, and keep moving.
Q: What tools or offerings from Quest did you utilize to help you in your career progression? (tuition reimbursement, EMPower trainings, etc)
Lisa: Tuition reimbursement is definitely one of them. It is so great that Quest Diagnostics offers to invest in someone's education. At the end, the company is helping me so now I am helping them in return. EMPower and Smartsolve training are very helpful to have. It is easy to forget things in the healthcare world. I see these trainings as reminders of what we need to be paying attention to on a daily basis. Being safe, while providing excellent care for patients.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who desires more from their current career?
Lisa: It starts off with the basics, getting to work on time. Not calling out every week. Show that you are dependable. Being able to work in a team and collaborate with one another. If you are a responsible and dependable worker, opportunities will come, whether it is a job promotion or going back to school for a different field. If there is something you desire, find out what you need to do to get there, and just do it.
Q: Which of our 5Cs do you connect with most, and why? (Customer First, Care, Collaboration, Continuous Improvement, Curiosity)
Lisa: I connect with Continuous Improvement a lot because we do not live in a perfect world. In a laboratory, there is a lot of room for error, and we try to minimize that as much as we can. I am always trying to continuously find ways to see what else I can do to make things better.
