From Microscope to Middleware: What My Journey Taught Me About Building Better Healthcare Technology
How curiosity and opportunity transformed a nursing student into a laboratory professional and healthcare IT innovator.
Curiosity Changed My Career
If you had asked me where my career was headed when I started college, I would have confidently told you I was going to be a nurse.
Life had other plans.
While taking a phlebotomy course, something happened during a clinical rotation that completely changed the direction of my career. One day, a container of kidney stones came flying down the clinic's pneumatic tube system. Most people probably would have looked away. I remember thinking, I want to go where that's going.
That week, I changed my major to Medical Laboratory Technology, and I never looked back.
Finding My Place in the Laboratory
I graduated in 2017 and began my career in the clinical laboratory. Like many laboratorians, I experienced both the highs and the challenges of working behind the scenes in healthcare. Although every department taught me something valuable, I found myself drawn to blood banking. There was something incredibly rewarding about knowing that every decision required precision, critical thinking, and teamwork—and that those decisions could directly impact a patient's outcome.
The laboratory quickly became more than just a job. It became part of who I was.
A New Way to Use the Knowledge I Had Built
In 2021, after the birth of my first son, my perspective shifted. Returning to work after maternity leave was more difficult than I had anticipated. My husband was pursuing his Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and we were balancing new parenthood while navigating demanding careers and school. I needed more flexibility for my family, but I wasn't ready to leave the laboratory behind.
I didn't want a completely new career. I wanted a new way to use the knowledge and experience I had worked so hard to build.
When the opportunity to move into Laboratory Information Systems as an IT Analyst presented itself, I took a chance.
Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
The Technology Supporting Our Laboratories
Working in healthcare IT has taught me that the technology supporting our laboratories is just as important as the instruments sitting on the bench. Before making the transition, the Laboratory Information System was simply a tool I used throughout my shift. If something didn't work, I called someone else to fix it.
Today, I'm one of the people on the other end of that phone call.
That perspective has completely changed how I approach my work.
Every interface, workflow, build decision, and system update ultimately affects the lab technologist trying to deliver accurate results to a physician waiting to make a clinical decision. What may seem like a minor configuration change can save valuable time, reduce unnecessary frustration, or even help prevent an error.
Because I've worked on the bench, I understand what those moments feel like. I know what it's like when multiple instruments are alarming, specimens are piling up, phones are ringing, and every minute matters. I know the pressure of working through a complex blood bank case while balancing everything else happening around me.
Those experiences shape every decision I make today.
When Two Perspectives Work Together
One of the greatest lessons my career has taught me is that the best healthcare technology isn't built by focusing only on software. It's built by listening to the people who use it every day.
Laboratory professionals understand workflow, patient safety, quality, and urgency. IT professionals understand systems, integrations, automation, and data. When those two perspectives work together, incredible things happen.
Technology should never create barriers between healthcare professionals and patient care. It should remove them.
Don't Underestimate the Value of Your Experience
If there's one thing I hope other laboratory professionals take away from my story, it's this: Don't underestimate the value of your experience.
The skills we develop in the laboratory extend far beyond running tests. We learn to think critically under pressure, solve complex problems, communicate effectively, adapt quickly, and remain calm when the stakes are high. Those skills are valuable in leadership, education, quality, informatics, healthcare technology, and countless other fields.
Changing careers didn't mean leaving science behind.
It meant finding another way to serve it.
Today, I may spend more time configuring systems than looking through a microscope, but my mission hasn't changed. I still support the laboratory. I still advocate for the people doing the work. I still believe every improvement—whether it's a streamlined workflow, a successful implementation, or a more intuitive system—ultimately supports better patient care.
Curiosity Led Me into the Laboratory
Sometimes I think back to that moment in my phlebotomy class when a container of kidney stones came down the pneumatic tube.
I had no idea that such a small moment would shape the course of my career.
Curiosity led me into the laboratory.
Opportunity led me into healthcare IT.
Both have given me the privilege of contributing to patient care in different but equally meaningful ways. And if there's one thing I've learned along the way, it's that some of the most impactful careers aren't defined by staying in one place—they're defined by having the courage to grow while never losing sight of the mission that inspired you in the first place.
