phlebotomy technician

clinical laboratory scientist

cytotechnologist

medical laboratory technician

clinical assistant

Sonora Quest Laboratories

I worked for Sonora Quest throughout my career three different times in my life. Once in the outpatient lab setting. We would average 100 or more patients a day. We drew blood from one patient after the other in our draw rooms.We would each be assigned on a rotation to either draw blood, work the reception desk filling out forms and answering phones, or to process the specimens and send them packaged in the appropriate state. We were part of a new plan to get patients in and out more efficiently and rapidly. In this job I learned so many testing requirements for blood, whether it go room temp, spun and frozen, or stat on ice. I became so knowledgeable and able to use my resources up before asking for help with management. My phlebotomy skills were very good as I seldom needed someone to re-stick a patient for me. I had experience with pediatric patients starting as young as just a few days old up to geriatric patients. I also was a coordinator for a year over a team of six phlebotomy techs. I also enjoyed training and educating students. I also worked in the hospital as a phlebotomy tech. I worked every shift except for the afternoon to evening one as school was usually at that time. Co-workers were always eager to help and to learn new things. They always like coming to me with questions as I had so much in memory regarding special tubes that were needed or special instructions or just with help drawing blood from a patient who was very difficult to draw from. Management was available but not located in the facilities other than the hospital. They were always available by phone when needed. The hospital manager was very helpful and would sometimes come up and help do the night run when we were short on the weekends. She was very appreciative of my hard work. The hardest part of the job was doing a job that most patients do not like and making it a pleasant experience as possible. The most enjoyable part of my job was getting the most difficult blood draws on the very first attempt. It is a job I surely do miss.

Sonora Quest is a good starting point for new phlebotomist. At first I was excited and felt that I was helping people. But then I slowly started to see/feel that it wasn't the case anymore. Constantly short staffed and overworked which means we're underpaid as well. Management was always barking down peoples backs which caused a lot of stress but it was really rare if management ever gave recognition to the sites or employees for what we were accomplishing. The odds were stacked against us as we were short staffed and seeing a high volume of patients. I had a supervisor go to another site and tell them what was medically going on with me without asking for my permission and having co-workers getting in contact with me and asking, and was confirmed by them that my supervisor was telling them. Which I am sure is a HIPPA violation. I love my co-workers, I felt that they were there for me more than management. I don't know how people stay with that company for more than a couple years. People were quitting their job left and right as they felt that Sonora Quest doesn't care. When you call out because you are sick, they make you feel bad for being sick and you can't concentrate on getting better because of that conversation. I started to resent going to work rather than enjoying my work. The way patients treated us as well as management made me feel as if I was a fast food worker versus a medical professional. I felt a duty to my co-workers because we are all in the same situation with each other rather than feel a duty to the company. If it wasn't for my team lead I wouldn't of had the knowledge I do now. I felt that my TL set me up for success versus a supervisor. I felt a sense of dread going to work just because of all the stress that comes with it. 

Sonora Quest Laboratories specimen processing technicians are required to undergo a six month training program where they learn the ins and outs of the different kind of tests run at the lab, the different kind of biological samples you'll be working with, and the containers in which everything goes.  It is no simple task and requires a lot of memorization of different codes to become truly efficient at your job.  You are required to produce an output of 28 requisitions (written documents from different doctors offices typed and input to our systems) as well as allocate the different specimen to the appropriate containers and labeled accordingly.  You should come in, don your personal protective equipment and be at your computer ready to work 5 minutes before your scheduled shift and be prepared to also take calls from different offices who might have questions regarding tests they need run, whether it be trouble shooting or adding on additional tests.  I learned how to overcome mistakes your team might make and calming down a client by explaining to them how you're going to fix the error to assure they have nothing to worry about.  Although talking is frowned upon as they want your full focus on the task at hand, it doesn't make for an unagreeable environment.  The hardest part of the job isn't even in the job itself so much as it is the hour to hour and a half commute through traffic to get there.  I do enjoy having a competitive nature aspect to the job as our accomplishments are listed on the board every week and to see that I am usually in the top 5 producers makes me feel proud to be a helpful employee.

Core belief system and the Six Sigma Program. I believe this is a wonderful way to gain education, and have fun while doing so. By working in Arizona for the company, there might be some differences here in Colorado. This program allows for personal growth, gives a sense of pride about your career, as well as the company you work for.
To have a lab right there in the Doctors' office simplified the lab work for the Doctors and their patients. Being able to build  repoir with return patoients, while also to see new faces everyday. Education was easy to come by do to the fact haat the nurses were right there, and willling to help pass on information on patient's , and how different Doctors like testing performed in a certain way.

If my memory serves me correctly, I think I brought costs down by attempting to use different ordering styles.

The most enjoyable part of this job was I knew I was making a differnce in peoples' lives. Helping even just a few people, feel better by listening and giving them a smile, simply resolving a problem, or to hold the door and call them a cab. Those accomplishments felt better to me, than the big...Look What I Did type of accomp-lishment.Simply put, I love working with people no matter age, backgrounds, or how sick, mean or upset humans can be at times. I like to do what I think I was born to do. Help others.

My experience at Sonora, to say the least, was trying. I won't go into too much detail, I'll just give you the highlights of my time there. I started as a Phlebotomist at one of their patient service centers. This is a very busy place where anyone and everyone can show up for a blood draw. I was there for only 13 months and in that 13 months, three employees left (I don't blame them). The problem was we were severely short-staffed and people we waiting up to 2 hours just have their blood drawn. Needless to say, I moved on.

After that ordeal, I moved to the main laboratory in Tempe, thinking that I would like that more. Although it was interesting, the management was and still is egregious.  They treat their employees like children and create a culture of fear. Fear of losing your job at any moment. I can tell you from experience that instilling fear in your employees not only is bad management; you also lose trust with your employees. Just because someone is naturally bossy, does NOT mean that they are qualified to be in charge. 

So the three things that you need to take from this is poor management, fear-based culture, and low morale equal bad company. So please consider other options before you apply to Sonora. I wish you the best!

A typical day at work. would be. to come in clock in and login on the sytem. Take  a call with the department opening.I learned  a great deal with this company. I have learned integrity, compassion,motivation to help other.and to become a great team player. I have learned from any mistakes i may have made along the way.management was good. they would keep you informed of any changes being made.  My co workers were like another family to me. we would go through hard time, easy times and trying times to make this company and department successful. they were the ones to depend on when the job was hard or troling.   i believe the hardest part of the job was when children were sick with specific ilnesses.or even any patient as well .the hardestTo try an keep your frustration over a call or situation under control and to not let it show in your voice.   the most enjoyable part of the job was when you gave the good news to either a family memebr or a doctor that their treatment worked based on the lab results. just to work with patients in general  was a pleasure to even come to work in the first place.I love to work with people.

If you are ready to be over worked and I despair this is the job. If you want to have staff meeting but never be heard, this is the job. Sonora quest belittles you and slowly diminishes your happiness. They believe people are motivated only by money, rather than maybe seeking happiness. Right now with covid it has gotten worse. Mandatory OT and holiday working. They say they value work life balance but since working here there is not balance it is just work. Also the job sounds great on paper but once in, it is so much more and not worth the minimum wage pay. Training says it is only like 90 days but it should be longer for the amount of info is required to learn. I personally didn't feel confident until after a whole year, because I was still learning new things and pulled aside for constant errors. Errors are so ridiculous and most of the time feels like just a way to belittle their employees. Like to hand them out with a smile, and never provide encouragement or appreciation, especially upper management, such as supervisors. Besides errors the environment is also not nice. It feels like a school with cliques and filled with constant annoying petty drama. I just don't recommend this position if you are seeking a happy life.

Bickering among two specific employees daily, power struggles that poured over into my experience. Lead was out frequently due to personal reasons. Then two other suburb examples of employers who didn’t participate in office drama and treated me and patients with much kindness and respect. It’s a tragedy to know that because of one person, corporate doesn’t provide private feedback and improve. I had to listen to her looking on line stories for love, watch her sign for patients, after being forcefull and rude. Then told “this is what you have to do to work here”. 
My intro to Sonora Quest was one persons struggle with authority gone bad. Had hoped to be placed at another Sonora Quest, but looks like that is not an option due to one person. Company should also know she searches on line at work for another job. Talks about being involved in gangs, lives for attention. I can say I learned a lot, workplace culture is bad, typical day at work is super fast paced & the staff is knowledgeable, with some exception to recent changes in procedures. Most enjoyable was the two employees who made the learning experience a trusted, secure experience.

Sonora Quest Laboratories
Customer Service Representative II 9+ years experience in client interface experience in a fast-paced environment. Incoming/outgoing calls - average 100+ calls per day - Responsible for handling client account inquiries and accurately providing information to ensure resolution of client concerns to maintain client satisfaction. Excellent continued development h in listening and communication skills. Maintained a positive professional attitude to ensure staff and client experiences memorable, pleasant and consistent. Developed reputation as an efficient client service provider with high levels of accuracy. Consistently received positive feedback from clients and created repeat business by developing positive long-term customer relations with clients. Experienced in a team oriented environment, promptly responding to general h inquiries from staff and clients via phone, fax, email and/or mail. Quick hands on learner. Trained in HIPPA regulations.

I’m shocked that I last as long as I did. If you read other comments on this position, they are true! The team leads have their clicks. Training does get dragged out because they’re either too busy or not smart enough to have a true training schedule. They say that you can go to them for help but it might take them 10 minutes to give you a response. Call volume is ridiculously high and they don’t train you well enough to handle certain situations. Things change all the time and they don’t update you in time. There is so much Information to digest and if you don’t retain it you get yelled at. If you make one little mistake, you get yelled at, they are very good at identifying everything you do wrong and making sure that you know about it. The way the management handles things is very narcissistic and puts blame on everybody but themselves. Pay is decent for the job, but they definitely do pay more if you have call center experience, they would rather you have call-center experience than medical experience.

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