Bacteriologist

A bacteriologist is a professional trained in bacteriology a subdivision of microbiology. The duties of a bacteriologist include prevention, diagnosis and prognosis of diseases, as well as health care, and they may carry out various functions such as epidemiological surveillance, quality auditing, biotechnology development, basic research, management and teaching related to the career, scientist management, laboratory coordination and blood banks.

Staphylococcus aureus (AB Test)

Official name

The name can vary depending on the official laws of each country and how they are established in the society and therefore they would have a different official name. Whether they have different official name among the countries, the background almost is similar.

Country	Diploma	Official name
Canada	Laboratory Technician & histopathologist	Laboratory Technician & histopathologist
China	Bacteriologist and/or Clinical Laboratory Technician	Bacteriologist
Other countries i.e. Chile, Mexico, Spain	Biomedicine	Biomedical Scientist
Rusia	Graduates in bioanalysis	Bioanalyst

Called Medical Laboratory Scientist or Bachelor of science in the United States depending on their training, bacteriologists to homologate their title in the United States are called Bachelor of Bacteriology.

Aims

The main aim of a bacteriologist is prognosticate, diagnose and the disease surveillance by a huge range of laboratory test, all of them in the context of health care. Hence, a bacteriologist plays a role in research, management of the health care, promoting health and disease prevention.

There are plenty of methods and procedures used by the bacteriologist in the clinical laboratory whose purpose is the diagnosis of various diseases, some of these techniques are:

Techniques in Clinical Chemistry: used for determination of various analytes in various biological fluids, different reagents are used to play colorimetric techniques and enzyme kinetics, among others. The result of these reactions were measured by spectrophotometry or other similar physical techniques to quantitatively determine the value of an analyte, so as measured quantitatively analytes such as creatinine, BUN, lipid profile, total protein, glucose, direct bilirubin and overall, among others.

Techniques in Immunology: many of the immunological techniques used in clinical laboratory are based on the ability of antibodies to bind to specific antigens either in vitro or vivo, is how this feature that is exploited by the professional laboratory diagnose various diseases and / or semi-quantitative or quantitative determination of various analytes, among the various techniques used in immunology section include: immunoassay Test as ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) for its acronym in English, with agglutination techniques latex particles coated with antibody or antigen, agglutination techniques, flocculation immunochromatography techniques, microorganisms serotyping techniques, immunofluorescence, among many others. Some of the tests performed in this section mentioned techniques are: rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies by agglutination with latex particles, c-reactive protein, immunochromatography for determination of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, HIV 1 and 2, hepatitis B virus, ELISA for determination of hormones and the presence of other microorganisms causing diseases among other tests.

Techniques in Microbiology: mainly used to determine infectious diseases the causative agent of the disease, regardless of whether it is caused by a bacteria, virus, fungi or parasites, bacteriologist through various colorations, microscopic observation, specific crops for growth of each organism, biochemical tests whether manual, semi-automated or automated used to determine the genus and species of the organism causing the disease. a bacteriologist should be able to identify and name any parasitic observe microscopic structure, recently antimicrobial susceptibility tests have become very important for the emergence of multi-resistant bacterial strains in clinical microbiology section of the laboratory tests performed bacteriologists antimicrobial susceptibility to determine which antibiotics should treat various infectious diseases.

Techniques in Hematology: Section of Hematology various examinations are performed as: Table Hemic, FSP (peripheral blood smear), reticulocyte count, observation and identification of hemoparasites, determining blood type and RH, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, among other . Bacteriologists in specialized clinical laboratory hematology specialists perform more specific tests for diagnosis of hematologic diseases such as leukemia, anemia, regardless of etiology or other genetic alterations by various techniques such wherein phenotypic cell markers studies performed by flow cytometry, molecular biology techniques molecular as electrophoresis, PCR and other tests such as: osmotic fragility, analysis of bone marrow aspirates, among others.

Techniques in Molecular Biology and Genetics: in specialized clinical laboratory services are included with molecular biology and genetics where the bacteriologist makes techniques such as chain reaction (PCR), electrophoresis, Southern blot, Western blot, and DNA sequencing techniques cytogenetic among others, which can be quite useful for diagnosis of various diseases.

Techniques in Blood Bank and Transfusion Unit: Section blood bank and / or transfusion unit performs professional laboratory testing donated blood units to ensure they are in good condition to be transfused to a patient, tests are done as presence or absence of infectious agents that produce diseases such as HIV, Chagas disease, Hepatitis, HTLV I, syphilis and others. Equally prepared and necessary processes are separated by centrifugation units of RBCs, cryoprecipitate, and platelet units leukoreduction procedures among others. Different unit processes in transfusion procedures are performed to measure the compatibility of the donor - recipient, the bacteriologist must verify the absence of antibodies that produce severe hemolytic reactions at the time of transfusion between these procedures include: crossmatch minor, major crossmatch, determining blood type and RH, direct Coombs, Coombs indirect detection of autoantibodies and alloantibodies.

All manual or automated procedures require the strictest quality control. Checks should be made internal and external quality, make the appropriate calibrations, maintenance of equipment when necessary and properly validate every bacteriologist should follow the protocols are conducted in the clinical laboratory for quality control concerns, besides being constantly updated theoretical and academic in this way make a correct clinical correlation and ensure the accuracy of the results reported to the doctor.

Biosecurity

One of the most important properties that should be a bacteriologist is his biosecurity. A bacteriologist should work with the right equipment depending on the level of the laboratory where the work and the danger of working with samples, this equipment includes: gown, masks, goggles biosecurity, latex gloves, biohazard cabinet, if it is a laboratory where highly dangerous microorganisms work bacteriologist must use special biosafety suits.

Some of the samples analyzed by bacteriologists are:

• Blood samples
• Samples of suppurative lesions
• Samples of cerebrospinal fluid
• Pleural fluid samples
• Samples of ascitic fluid
• Tissue infected
• Samples of synovial fluid
• Samples for urinalysis
• Samples for stool tests
• Samples of parasitic structures

Competencies

Many medical diagnoses are based on the various examinations conducted by the bacteriologist in the clinical laboratory

A bacteriologist has general knowledge in bacteriology, hematology, parasitology, mycology, virology, immunology, genetics, cytogenetics, molecular biology, quality control, biotechnology, among other disciplines. The bacteriologist can reinforce the knowledge acquired through specialization, diploma, masters and doctoral degrees recognized by official institutions.

A bacteriologist performs in different fields as either professional or coordinator of clinical laboratory and blood banks, scientific research groups, microbiological quality control, quality control in clinical laboratory equipment epidemiology and public health, clinical laboratory veterinarian forensic clinical laboratory teaching in the fields of competence, among others. Besides this is the duty of bacteriologist transmit their knowledge to practitioners and bacteriologists future clinical laboratory professionals.

Motivations

• Passion for the profession.
• Social Status
• Conduct research across the breadth of his knowledge.
• Perform various specializations (Hematology, Microbiology, Clinical Chemistry, Genetics, Cytogenetics, Immunology, etc. degree in various fields of life sciences and medical commitment to the medical staff.
• Providing accuracy, precision, reliability, etc. of the obtained results.
• Opportunities to expand their knowledge to any branch of biology.
• Compensation of the work.
• Size of workplace (clinical laboratory in different specialties, research, quality control, clinical epidemiology, public health, industry, forensics lab, among others.

Ethic

A bacteriologist have the obligation of have the following attitudes;

• Good reception and attention of the patients.
• Complete monitoring of the samples.
• To save the professional secrecy.
• To know and implement the profession ethic code established by the authorities.

Professional career

In Colombia is regulated by the Bacteriologist National School “Colegio Nacional de Bacteriólogo (CNB)” which determine whether the professional is ready or not to perform the professional career by the obtaining of a professional card. that qualify to the professional to perform the professional career, it is regulated by the law (Article 2 of Act 1193 of 2008 which amends Act 841 of 2003), which determines; "The National Association of Bacteriologists assumes the functions of issuing of the professional card referred in Article 5 of Act, the Professional Cards, meanwhile inscriptions or records Bacteriologists will be issued by the Ministries of Health of the different departments"

“While the National Association of Bacteriologists acts as the issue of the professional card referred to in Article 5 of this Law, the Professional Cards, inscriptions or records Bacteriologists will be issued by the Ministries of Health of the different departments”

In Bioethical see National Court and Ethics Bacteriology know will handle disciplinary proceedings on appeal - Bioethics - ethics - which identify professionals who practice in the profession of bacteriology in Colombia for petty offenses established in the existing laws matter. under Article 8 of Law 1193 of 2008.

Approval

Currently, to carry out the career in a different country of the initial studies, it is necessary to do a type approval or validation. As long as the professional be interested to work in the destiny country.

It is not necessary the approval or validate, when the professionals pretend to improve the knowledge in a Hague member country (Hague Convention), As long as the interested provided the correct documents legalization performed by the apostille convention, thus as ask for the postgraduates certificate access in accordance with paragraph c of Article 14 of Act 30 of 1992 (within Colombia), It is necessary determine whether the destiny country is on the haya member list.

Bacteriologist's day

In Colombia, is celebrated on 28 April in other countries can not exist or is not celebrated. There is not international day of bacteriologist.

Bacteriologist

• 
  Sir Alexander Fleming, FRSE, FRS, FRCS(Eng) (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish bacteriologist, biologist, pharmacologist and botanist. He discover the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the antibiotic substance penicillin from the mould Penicillium notatum in 1928.
• 
  Hans Christian Joachim Gram (September 13, 1853 - November 14, 1938) was a Danish bacteriologist. He was the son of Frederik Terkel Julius Gram, a professor of jurisprudence, and Louise Christiane Roulund. "see also Gram staining"
• 
  André-Alfred Lemierre (born July 30, 1875, in Paris; died 1956) was a French bacteriologist. He described Lemierre's syndrome in 1936 while working as a bacteriologist in the Claude Bernard Hospital in Paris.
• 
  Sir William Watson Cheyne, 1st Baronet KCMG CB FRCS FRS (14 December 1852 – 19 April 1932) was a British surgeon and bacteriologist, who pioneered the use of antiseptic surgical methods in the United Kingdom.

Laws and acts

This are some of the laws/acts that regulated to bacteriologist; (Spanish)

• Act 841 of 2003.
• Act 1164 of 2007.
• Act 1193 of 2008.
• Decree 4192 of 2010.
• Resolution 5549 of 2010.

Information

Further information is at the web site of “CNB”, Colombian universities or well you can check each of the Laws/Acts given above.

See also

• Bacteriology
• Bacteria