My name is Andrew Griffin, Andy for short. I am a medical technologist (MT) with general laboratory skills looking for employment in a hospital laboratory. The geographical area I want to reside is the east Tennessee or north Georgia area. I love the mountains. I also love the beach. I have spent over thirty years less than an hour away from Jekyll Island. Nahunta, GA is between Waycross and Brunswick. I would enjoy spending the rest of my career at a higher elevation, both physically and professionally. I have always been interested in analyzing things. I can arrange my environment because I am a scientist.

I question, “Why is it like that?”

“Would it work another way?”

“What would make it easier?”

Sometimes I get the answer that the way something exists is because that’s the best way for it to exist. More often than not, however, I get more answers. The puzzle soon begins to take shape. I find both problems and their solutions a challenge. I assess the tools and equipment, the patient sample, the time it takes, and the results. Do the results match the tests performed? Or, most importantly, do the results match the condition for the patient whose sample I am processing? Will the doctor draw the necessary conclusions from my results? Will I make it easier for the doctor to treat the customer, or will the doctor be frustrated with me? Although there will be times when a doctor could be frustrated with the lab, I still strive to master the process. That is what I do. I am a laboratorian.

On the other hand, the outcome of the tests we perform depends on an entire team of people. We must communicate to be effective in the medical profession. There must be an understanding that each sample analyzed represents someone’s mother, sister, or maybe even a father. In other words, real people are affected by what is done in the lab. If something is left undone, we will never know the outcome or impact had we done whatever it is we needed to do. Then again, there are also times when any involvement would make it impossible to see what would have happened anyway. I enjoy working in hospitals, but more than that, before I even know about anything else, I want to see the lab. The lab is where I am part of the healthcare team. I wish to connect my love of the mountains with my love of caring for people. I enjoy meeting people on a one-at-a-time basis. Sure, I can be introduced to a group, but I will never know the individuals without meeting them one-on-one. I would like to meet you. I want to see if we would make a great team. We could arrange a meeting. I could tour the lab and your facility, and you meet me.

In short, I received my ASCP technician certification August of 1993. I passed the ISCLT (now AAB) test in January of 1996. I have 16 years of clinical lab experience. The study of microbiology and disease brought me to this field. However, I have worked as a generalist for 98% of my career. I am proficient in chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, microscopy, microbiology, serology, and phlebotomy. I have been met with many challenges. Each challenge is an opportunity. Each failed challenge is an opportunity to do better. I love to watch conditions improve, people smile, and go home. I live to satisfy, but I also love to take my turn smiling and to take time to smile with others.

I have an Associate of Science degree in medical laboratory technology. I took a test 3 years into my work experience that allowed me to be promoted from a medical lab technician to a medical technologist. Although I went to school and got a degree, I continue to read and study about laboratory methods. Someday I may return to school and need the knowledge I am building upon. I love to laugh. I say insert laughter where appropriate. I am serious when it is time to be serious, but I enjoy making puns that people figure out once they have taken a couple of steps from me. It is innocent humor that will not hurt anyone's feelings or cause uproar. I am very self-driven. Nobody has to tell me I am doing a good job. I appreciate positive affirmation, but that is not what motivates me. Being able to walk away from a day's work without regrets is my greatest motivator. If I do have regrets, I learn from them. No mistake is so huge it is unable to be broken down and fixed. All problems have smaller parts.

I only know how to be me, but I can take orders and conform to standards as well. I am a Christian, but I would rather demonstrate it than tell you I am. Christian principles never fail, but people do. The real top-notch people learn how to forgive. I try to see things from others' points of view and not hold grudges. I give willingly and never look back. In short, the best way to get to know me is by my smile and by my generosity.