How to Become a Lab Courier
A lab courier is not just a person who transports items from one place to another. Instead, a lab courier is in charge of transporting extremely sensitive, irreplaceable human blood, tissue and other specimens. If the specimen in which you are in charge does not arrive at its destination safely, it can cause an inaccurate result and more blood or tissue will need to be collected from the patient. It's important to take your position as a lab courier seriously as you will have a patient's medical future in your hands, if only for a brief time.
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Instructions
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Enjoy driving and have a valid driver's license. A lab courier spends most of their time in their vehicle, so enjoying being alone and traveling between the same places over and over is essential.
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Be over the age of 18 and a high school graduate. For insurance purposes, most lab couriers need to be at least 18-years old.
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Understand state and federal guidelines for dealing with hazardous or dangerous material. While it is likely you will undergo a training program if you become an employee for a lab or medical facility, it's important to understand how to deal with hazardous material should you have an accident, leak or spill.
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Familiarize yourself with the area in which you are driving. If you are transporting very sensitive samples or specimen with an urgent need, it is helpful to have alternative routes through your city or town, especially if you encounter traffic.
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Contact local courier companies and medical facilities or look on their websites and find out if they have any openings for a lab courier. You can also find positions in the newspaper classified ads or at hospital job fairs.
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Start your own courier service by obtaining a vehicle, familiarizing yourself with hazardous material procedures, getting insurance, outfitting your vehicle with coolers and other storage items for transporting specimens and then offering your services to area medical facilities. It is likely that most large facilities will already have a courier service of their own, but you may be able to handle the work of smaller offices.
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Follow the guidelines for specimen transport set by the facilities for which you are transporting. Each facility may have their own system or they may each follow a similar system. Either way, it's up to you as the courier to understand the guidelines and keep careful track of the specimens you transport.
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