Internship experience : Cytogenetics and Molecular Diagnostics Lab

So what do you do when you get ill?

You go to the clinic, or the hospital, meet the doctors, maybe take a few samples. A few days later you get diagnosed with whatever it is you have, get treated, and tadaa, healthcare, so simple right? All you have to do is meet your doctor.

In truth, theres so much more to healthcare than doctors. Your sample goes through a whole series of test in pathology labs, to get that diagnosis. And sometimes, a simple test won't do. Sometimes, we need to access your genetic code to figure out what exactly is the best treatment for you.

Thats what the cytogenetics and molecular team at Pantai Premier Pathology does!

*say hiii to everyone*

I spent close to two weeks shadowing this group of scientist, and I've learned so much. I've learned about extraction of nucleic acids, that some samples require only RNA and others only DNA. I've learned that extraction takes practically ageeessss, we spent one whole day on the extraction of the DNA of a tumour from the gastrointestinal tract of a patient. Literally hours, it takes a lot of patience. I've learned so so much about polymerous chain reactions (PCR), what they're for, what reagents you need and the relevance of a 2 hour cycle of changing temperatures to basically multiply the amount of genetic information you have. I've also learned the different ways you can analyse genes, you can do FISH (florescent something something hehe forgot the actual name) where you get to see whether or not mutation has occurred by analysing florescent dots, or you can do karyotyping, or you can do sequencing, which is basically separating the DNA strands and figuring out the corresponding bases to see if any mutations have occurred. 

Basically a lot of science, don't have my notes now but I'd be happy to share if anyone is interested. Here's a few pictures of the science : 

A biochemical safety chamber. There are UV lights fitted into these to make sure its free of contamination

Kak Sue in the pre-PCR room preparing for solid tumours and Asyraf running the test for respiratory diseases (they get H1N1 samples too!)

DNA bases ! Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thymine in tubes 

I also got a chance to take my blood sample and run a karyotype to view my genes and all that. 

 1. My blood! 2. Making a culture so it multiplies and all that lol 3. After approx 48 hours of incubation in carbon dioxide, it looked a bit gel like.

After centrifuging, thats all my red blood cells at the bottom. And you get a glimpse of Nas in the background *hi Nasss*

My chromosomes under the microscope after staining on the left and on the right, they found my mascara while karyotyping haha!

Anddd thats me, and my karyotype, which is also me!

On top of learning a lot of science, I also learned that scientist have to be super OCD, bleaching and wiping things down with concentrated ethanol all the time. I've learned that I know so little, even with all the 'A-level stress' I complain about. I learned that karyotyping is extremely hard and boring (except for Razak, its so fun for you). I learned about behind the scenes hospital drama, the importance of good timing, communication and overall preserving of relationships, especially between labs and doctors. 

I also learned that choosing healthcare over law feels like the absolute right choice for me.

There's so much going on in providing healthcare, and every single department plays its important and significant part. Pathologist and the people working in the labs, reading your slides and analysing your samples, are some of the most remarkable unsung heroes in the healthcare industry. Like really, nobody ever gets to see what they do. But their part is just as important as the doctors and the nurses and everybody else. 

A shout out to the team;  Aziey, Nas, Kak Sue, Afif, Razak, Sayyidi, Asyraf and Fariq. Thank you for letting me follow you around, and layaning me when I ask way too many questions. For letting me basically kacau you and teaching me a lot of things, even sitting down and printing things out and giving me lectures. For helping me confirm that this is the field I want to venture into. InsyaAllah I'll still see you all from time to time, good luck with the lab and your personal quest, you have my best wishes.

Also, I've been happy lately. Alhamdullilah.

Go and pursue what you want to do, even if its something nobody expects you to do (I still get, wait what YOU'RE NOT DOING LAW OR ECONS, lol). And don't be afraid to try new things or to apply for learning opportunities. Just send that email, worse thing that will happen is they reject you :)

My second internship is starting this Monday, at a pharmacy department in a hospital this time. Fingers crossed that it'll be just as good as an experience.

Last few pics !

Love,

Mirr