Blood Work Encounter

I am happy to be part of the immunology class this fall because of the relevance I find in this subject pertaining to my future goals in the medical field. Just the name of the class sparks an interest in me because I know it deals to how our body fights pathogens that can be harmful and cause diseases. I found myself engaged from day one and continue to do so in class especially when we break into real life scenarios where we talk about the immune system in a very real and vivid way. On one occasion we broke out to talk about blood work labs and what the values represent which is where I made the connection to my encounter. At my job I handle patient blood work labs and scan them into our electronic system. When linking them into their electronic chart I have the option to pick an appropriate title for the document, unknowingly I would choose the title CBC W/ Auto Differential. After the discussion in class I learned that the auto differential is specifically talking about the different white blood cells and their relative percentages in the blood. Sure enough after learning this I noticed that majority of the blood work labs from places like Labcorp and Quest diagnostics precisely had all the percentages for all the different white blood cells. I was picking the correct title all along, but it felt great to know for a fact that I was correct in picking so because I had learned what auto differential meant. Now when I handle the labs I can’t help but to analyze them and look at the different white blood cells, thinking in my head of all their functions and what high or low percentages of them reveal. I feel so smart looking at these labs and understanding beyond the numbers. I feel like I’m getting a glimpse of the patient’s immunological state even if I am merely scanning the reports into the system. It has lightened up my once dull scanning routine and has added some immunological flavor to it. This experience excites me for the future and reminds me that one day I will be the one in the room with the patient consulting and explaining their labs to them.