ACE-WIL is pleased to recognize Sheldon Langlois who has won an award for his co-op story about doing COVID testing during nights at Kelowna General Hospital. Sheldon worked closely with his supervisor, medical laboratory technologist and tech lead of the PCR department at Kelowna General Hospital. The story Sheldon submitted was:
I started my position at Interior Health Authority mid-pandemic when the amount of COVID in the province was at a peak. I was hired to help decrease the work load of the Medical Laboratory Technicians, by performing PCR (polymerase chain reaction) on COVID, flu, and GI (gastrointestinal) parasite specimens during nights, which allowed for testing to be done 24/7. By having me work nights, the output of COVID results shot up, meaning people no longer had to wait multiple weeks to receive their diagnosis. After a couple weeks, I became specialized on 3 different PCR machines and was in steady communication with the medical doctors in hospital for specimen expedition. This was the first time a Co-op student held this position and the hospital very much appreciated my ability to uphold a high workload, thereupon granted me another work term.
Meet Sheldon & Chandra
“I got offered the position during the pandemic in the PCR lab performing polymerase chain reaction which amplifies the DNA of COVID to detect COVID in patients in the interior.” says Sheldon.
Sheldon added a lot of much needed capacity to the lab since they “were knee-deep in COVID samples and we have a shortage of medical technologists that can perform the testing” says Chandra.
But Sheldon didn’t just bring capacity to the team, Chandra notes that “he actually taught us a lot” and his performance opened up new doors in the field since the hospital is now open to hiring bachelor of science students to perform testing instead of just medical technologists.
Sheldon, a microbiology student at UBC-O, never imagined being a medical technologist as a career but, “I now see laboratory professionals and careers in the laboratory as a whole new possibility” says Sheldon.
Congratulations Sheldon Langlois & Chandra Hauer!
Read & watch the other IMPACT 2020 Stories
If you’re an ACE-WIL Member, you can also view all 70 story submissions on the project page: