Welcome! This space is for folks preparing for the ASCP – MLS/MT/CLS exams.
Thank you to the foreign visitors to my page (108 international locations and counting). I took the ASCP exam but the ASCPi is the international equivalent of the same exam. The competencies tested are the same.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, they are always welcome and appreciated. Your email will not be displayed.
MORE UPDATES!____
Hemoglobin electrophoresis for the ASCP exam. The last 12 slides are 6 questions (to test your knowledge) and 6 answers (to cement your understanding) for the exam. Take a look and let me know what you think.
How to Solve an Antibody Panel now posted under Blood Bank
Gram Negative Diplococci chart updated
Obligate Anaerobes chart updated
Random Cartoon Questions
wordsology 
When is your exam jamaica
I’m so nervous to take the exam again I failed the exam awhile back and have procrastinated for so long. Trying to get back into studying and registering to take it again…thank you guys for all the support could use all the help I can get!!!
You will do great! Be sure to take a look through the “Exam Recalls” section for some of the latest questions that appeared on recent exams!
@wordsology, is AMT, America medical technologist a recognized certification body for MLS? Can a certified scientist under this body secure employment in the United States easily. I will like to have an answer to this. Thanks
Thanks for the support and for this website!
Thanks Sohail Ahmed for creating this website,your the best.Their should be more people like you.I took the test more than once…I thought it was the end of the world,but wasn’t.For the future Scientist,Just sacrifice who you’re now,to who you want be in the future.Dont give up,and give it all…is all about effort.
Congratulations Elguru. Thank you for the kind words.
Excellent post card
I have to say thank you as well!! I finally passed my MLS on the 3rd try! Don’t give up! I was so tired of studying, but thanks to God first and this website second, I PASSED. So grateful for wordsology and the time put into this website to help people. I cannot thank you enough.
Those words are way too kind. It’s your hard work and perseverance that really paid off. Congratulations!
I’m going to take exam this Friday…pray for me
You will surely pass,just relax and belive God,all the best.
Good Luck..
Do you have any recall from your exam. if you have please post us
Thank you
Good luck
I am taking my exam on Tuesday for the 2nd time. I’m so nervous I just want to pass. Any last minute tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
IM TRYING TO TAKE MINES IN AUGUST….I FAILED THE FIRST ONE BACK IN DEC. IM PRAYING FOR YOU. JUST FOCUS AND GET RST. YOU GOT THIS!!!!!
Agggggghhhhhh passsedddd the exam….this afternoon, tomorrow i post the recall of my exam
Congrats!!! thanks so much
congratz!!!!! can you post your recalls? i’m taking my exams in 2 days O_O….
check the menu for hundreds (thousands?) of recall questions/facts
Congrats…
Congratulations! May I know if your recalls are the same as the others? I’m taking my test in two days. Every help is much appreciated. Thanks.. T____T
Congratulations Freshnelalcoy !! I’m so happy for you GOD bless you and good luck
hi, I passed my exams last Friday. thanks a lot to this website. I took time to go through all the recalls and I must say it was worth it. saw a lot of the recall questions in my exams. I also used LabCe, BOC book, clinical lab science review book( yellow and purple book) and the one by Elsevier’s and Harr. here are my recall questions. good luck to all those going to sit for the exams. please study and prepare well.
BLOOD BANK
ABO compatibility with blood groups-very important
Blood product that has highest capability of transmitting hepatitis
Temperatures for storage of blood products, how long, ABO compatibility and condition or reason for transfusing product
Platelet temperature and PH- temperature of blood before processing( room temp).
OR schedule- how many units to prepare given blood group and antibody of patient
Kell frequency- 91% negative for antigen
Antigens of ABO system: Le with no Se( Lea+b-), Le with Se ( Lea-b+).
ABO discrepancy- subgroups of A, anti-A1 lectin
Cold antibodies and warm antibodies
Mixed field reactions- check transfusion history first
Controls for D-testing , Du test and AB+ control
Weak D- Missing epitopes, position effect.
IMMUNOLOGY
T-cell, B-cell lymphomas
IgG and IgM- which rises first
Hep A graph: antigen in stool-IgM-IgG
IgE- basophils and mast cells
Classic and alternate pathway complements
RA- IgM produced, autoantibodies to the Fc portion of IgG
FTA, RPR,VDRL, which is for testing reinfection, late stage and early stage
Treponemal antibody agglutination
Infectious mono- reactive lymphs and monocytes
Hepatitis- antigens and antibodies tested for each stage
HEMATOLOGY
Transferring- TIBC
Child swallowed naphthalene ball- Heinz bodies
Heinz bodies- DNA
RBC inclusions and corresponding diseases
Anemias and what to find in RBC- pictures
Sources of error like in ESR and Hb
Stomatocytes- liver disease
Oxidant drugs, anti-malarial drugs effect on RBC
Hemoglobin electrophoresis- cellulose acetate-C S F A and the Hb it migrates with
Hemoglobinopathies- sickle cell solubility test and sources of error
Thalassemia- alpha- Barts and HbH
Beta- cooley’s anemia
Myelodysplastic syndrome- essential thrombocytemia( increase in PLT, splenomegaly).
COAGULATION
Mixing studies
PT & Aptt Factors
Protein C- how aspirin affects test( prolonged, increased or unaffected)
Platelet aggregation_ graph for ADP, epinephrine and collagen
Both PT and Aptt prolonged and then corrected
URINALYSIS
Bilirubin crystals- liver disease
Eosinphils in urine- interstitial nephritis
Monosodium urate- highly birefringent
HCG- pregnancy
Creatnine clearance- (UV/P)*(1.73/A)
Rhabdomyolysis- myoglobin
CHEMISTRY
Glucose levels-nomal and abnormal
ADH- increase water absorption
Iron test
Liver enzymes; hepatobiliary- ALP, GGT, 5NT
Hepatocellular- ALT AST
CK, troponin- MI
Amylase and lipase- pancreatitis, source of error
Solution/buffer for most ISE methods
Blood gases
Bilirubin – conjugated and unconjugated, urobilinogen
Hemolytic, hepatic, biliary obstruction
Immunosuppressant- tacrolimus- use whole blood
Azotemia- increase in BUN
TSH
Pheochromocytoma- VMA
K ISE- valinomycin
MICROBIOLOGY
Anaerobes- chopped meat agar( iron and glycerol)
Micrococcus- resistant to furazilidone
Aeromonas- A/A, oxidase+
Acinetobacter- wounds
Erysipelothrix- H2S+, catalase+
Veillonella(g- cocci) and peptostreptoccus( gram+ cocci) – anaerobes causing jaw abscess
Picture of agar with chromoblastomycosis
Picture of blastomyces dermatitis
Geotrichum- arthroconidia
K. Pneumoniae and K. Oxytoca( indole+)
How to transport viruses after 96 hrs
Malasezzia furfur- oil
Zygomycota- sporangium
Thanks very much Diana. This is an excellent review and great advice for people taking the exam. Congratulations on passing!
Thanks a lot
I feel extremely discouraged today and have this feeling that I may never pass this exam. I failed it the 3rd time today, I got a 385 score the last time and thought that I definitely had it this time. I have been using lab ce and have scored 52 on level 5.12 difficulty, that’s been my highest. I have used Polanski cards religiously, I don’t know what to do! Sohail, thank you for this website! I have been using it too, I don’t really know what to do next.
I am sorry to hear this. It’s naturally to feel discouraged – but don’t BE discouraged! You most certainly can pass the exam by tweaking your strategy a bit. It’s extremely important to address the areas of weakness and the feedback from the ASCP exam provides that. You want to aim for higher scores on labce and study in such a way as to guarantee passing next time. It’s definitely possible to do so. What is your weakest area? Address this weakness by going through the “Harr” question book. This book is really a programmed approach to learning. You will be asked questions – topic by topic (and subtopic) – such that you will address every single possibility that you may see on the exam! This book is a TEST KILLER! You’ll absolutely pass the exam if you work with the right strategy. But first, take some time off from studying to relax. I know that’s very difficult to do but it’s important to decompress a bit.
Thank you..
Good Luck…
thanks, congrat, you are so kind
Thanks
I would like to thanks for all the support and guidance that are posted on this website, I passed the test today, I failed twice and was very frustrated to take it again and again and was desperate to get over it. Finally, I did it. I am really happy, all the recalls and High yield notes are really helpful, I would definitely say to use this webpage wisely as a educational guideline for test takers.
congratulations to you!
Congratulation…
Do you have any recall from your exam. if you have can you please post us..
Thank you
congrat, you do good.
Acid-fast bacilli, potassium permanganate is used as:
a. Quenching agent
b. Mordant
c. Dye
d. Decolorizing agent
I need to know answer please call me.. Thank you
Answer is A: quenching agent
Thank you Diana
mordant
1)8 yr old px has osmolality of 297, metabolic acidosis, increase glucose
a. lead poisoning
b. ethyl glyco
c. salicylate
2) Positive blood rgt strip and negative RBCs in microscopic exam
a. outdated SG strip
b. Ascorbic acid
c. diluted alkaline urine
d. preoteinemia
3)severe normochromic normocytic anemia, normal WBC and platelet hast 0.1% retic count
a. red cell aplasia
b. fanconis anemia
c. aplastic anemia
Please Help me.. I need to know those question answer.
what is the answer to those queations..tnx
wats answerss
hi san or anyone here,can you please share the answer to those questions.thank you
Answers please. ..thank you
RED CELL APLASIA
The answer to this question can be pure red cell aplasia, or diamond black fan. check out the age, because of the patient is a neonate then it should be diamond black fan (congenital pure red cell aplasia). it cant be aplastic because of the normal WBC and platelet count.
Am Happy ……….. 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀 thanks God Pass ……..
Congratulation
Do you have any recall from your exam. if you have can you please post us..
Thank you
Congratulations,please recalls.
thank you guys for all your comments
taking the exam next week for the second time 😦 what should i do this last week? i have read everything and done some questions from Harr and lab ce. not sure if i should just do questions or review the polansky cards ???
Hi. Where can i find the micro charts??
any new recalls.thank you
I pass the exam.
Thanks Sohail Ahmed create a wonderful web.
God bless you
Thank you again..
congrats to all those who passed plz share recalls . guys for lab operations part of exam it 10% how can I study for that ?
Your knowledge is amazingly helpful
thank you for your charts and notes……took the test for the second time and pass :). the FIRST time i took the test i used Harr, success, boc and labce, my test practice scored was about 50% with level 4-5. i tried memorizing everything and took about 4 months to study i mainly focus on the 4 main subjects. i think my biggest mistake was not taking the time to re-read everything after 4 months i had forgotten some stuff i had study at the beginning. for my SECOND time I decided to stop trying to memorized everything as i was reading. i used the success book and read every chapter not trying to memorized everything but just reading and. once i was done with the book i read it a second time the major chapter like hem, chem, bacteria and bb. the second reading i tried to pay more attention to little details since i felt like i knew the bigger picture. for the last 2 weeks before the test i took one week to study the Polanski cards they really do help. i took about a day for each subject and took 100 question exam after reading the cards. READ READ AND READ these cards. for the last week i did only questions on lance, i did test and subject questions( every subject). i took a test every day and went over the questions that i had guess and the ones i got wrong. my scored for the test started at 53% level 5 by the end of the week i was at 59 with level 6.2 and on subject i had over 75 on most of them except for bacteria which is my hardest subject.
my best advice if you don’t have much time is to read the polanski cards and practice some questions. the charts and notes from this website are amazing definitely study them they will help you answer many questions. review lab operations i had few questions on general stuff.
once again thank you for this website is amazing these notes really help.
I just took my exam and passed, I used this site a lot to prepare and it is possibly the best thing you could do for yourself before taking your exam. I had multiple questions on my exam that were posted here; salicylate poisoning, GNR differentiation, the potassium permanganate thing (I put it quenches the background fluorescence). I was almost sad to not get the moth balls question. More that I can remember: Lead poisoning if it needs whole blood, A/A, Ox POS (Aeromonas I think), what to check for in Procainamide toxicity (NAPA), McLeod syndrome mutation (got this one wrong on test b/c I knew it was the Kel system but didn’t know the gene but it’s XK gene). Sorry I can’t remember more but it was a hard exam, I definitely 100% felt like I was going to fail especially with my last question, the McLeod question…who would even know that, that’s in maybe none of the resources I used but whatever I passed.
More generally speaking, KNOW ABO/BLOOD BANK DISCREPANCIES and what to do when controls for things are invalid or how to know if they are invalid. I had one question about PT/aPTT times and the only answerers were about fixing something even though at first nothing looked wrong to me…well then I noticed the aPTT controls had poor precision which is not good so that lead me toward fixing that side of the instrument. A lot of questions about Cord blood, and when to give mom Rhogm or not, if this patient needs to be eluted (Had complement on DAT so no, there’s no point) and the only panel I got asked me for the properties of the antibody; not what it was but what about it which is interesting. So it is good to not just know the information one way ie regurgitate it but really understand why that’s the correct answer because the ASCP will ask you the same question 5 different ways (They actually asked me the same question twice about agglutination with completely different answer sets but same image) and you might only get one correct if that’s the only way you understand the material.
Thanks so much for this site, it really saved my life here and I hope it continues to do so for future scientists everywhere!
hi Elizabeth, congratulations! just want to ask what is the salicylate poisoining questions and the GNR differentiation? I’m going to take my exams soon.please help me with some recalls.thanks and god bless..erica
I took the exam today…and passed!!!!! I just wanted to thank you for taking the time and putting this information together. It helped to ease my fears. I apologize, but I cannot remember specifics on questions. I took your advice and guessed B when I had no clue on an answer, unless I could rule out B. The questions either seemed extremely hard or ridiculously easy. I had none in between.
I passed the ASCPi exam last week. thank you for all the recalls and advice’s! Most of the questions in my exam are Microbiology, I had 5-8 blood bank questions. 1 panel.
I used polansky and my notes from my university. Thank you so much! email me if you want some notes yoomirae.cls@gmail.com
thank you once again!
Hello mic, only a few questions but I believe I may be over doing it with all the books.
I have failed the exam twice I’m getting discouraged, any helpful tips?
I have the success book, the Harr book the polasky cards, the bottom line approach book plus LABCE am I over doing it? Any study tips, would be greatly appreciated.
Does the questions in your exam the same of those in the recalls here?
whats ur email add?
Any study tips recommended? Failed twice don’t want to fail a third time
just study and pray, for me prayers was the key to my success.
I just wanted to thank wordsology and all of you guys. This blog had been very helpful. I found out about this website 3 weeks before my exam and I just finished it yesterday and thankfully I passed. I’ll try to compile questions that I can remember as much as I can then I’ll post it here asap (maybe later or tomorrow). Thank you again! God bless
any answers about salicylate questions and GNR differentiation?
Gram Negative Rod diff aka the enterics and the salicylate question was about what sort of state would you see in the body after poisoning; metabolic acidosis/alkalosis or whatnot. Should be in your resources somewhere, I believe it was in the bottom line approach.
Thank you so much
Thank you so much.much . metabolic acidosis, salicylate poisoning.
Late salicylate poisoning -metabolic acidosis. .early salicylate poisoning -respiratory alkalosi
Hi everyone! (ASCPi exam 6-30-16). I am really grateful for this site and I would love to help with the recalls, here are some of my exam. Some are not really detailed/exact but I hope it can still help. (most of it were really situational especially blood bank questions)
**SURE POINTS: Heinz bodies (there were two questions with the exact picture in my exam, I answered G6PD deficiency and anti-malarial drug (now this might be a bit confusing bec the one I had have hypersegmentation, ovalocytes and tear drop cell; focus on the HEINZ BODIES!)
Klebsiella oxytoca (indole + as compared to K. pneumonia which is -) I also recommend Sohail’s notes on Enterobacteriaceae (GNB; all of the high yield notes really, they were all very helpful! memorize them if you can)
Alnernaria microscopic picture
Alkaline ph (9.4) I chose Paget’s disease bec of ALP.
Virus transported for 92 hours or something = Lyophilized (I’ve read this recall here, thank you so much!)
Olive oil = Malassezia furfur
CK (normal), cT (elevated) = Acute myocardial infarction (don’t be confused, since troponins increase faster than CK, this findings can be possible). Order of increase/peak: MTCAL (myoglobin, troponin, CK-MB, AST, LDH)
Bilirubin, Urobilinogen values (what disease association do they inc or dec)
ALP = obstruction
Chronic hepatitis = anti-smooth muscle antibody
Releases heparin/histamine = Basophils/mast cells
If Se and Le genes are both inherited, what phenotype? = Le(a-b+)
Pheochromocytoma = test for METANEPHRINE
Urinalysis results increase RBC (also strongly positive in strip) BUT neg in almost all of it = glomerulonephritis
Another one is almost all were positive in rgt strip and in microscopy, but the highlight was the presence of waxy cast so I chose= Nephrotic syndrome/dse
End stage of degeneration (renal failure) = waxy cast
HgbA1c decrease in = hemolysis (hemolytic anemia)
Lipoprotein that transport the majority of cholesterol=LDL
VLDL (endogenous triglycerides); Chylomicrons (exogenous TAG)
Gram neg cocci present after jaw surgery= Veillonella
Micrococcus = Resistance to Furazolidone
Tap water bacillus=Mycobacterium gordonae
Examination of semen sample, can proceed to sperm count = once the liquefaction is complete
Alpha thalassemia = Hgb Bart/Major (other choices were hgb D, sickle cell, etc)
Aeromonas hydrophila =GNB A/A G(+) on TSI, oxidase +
Procainamide = NAPA
Main metabolite of cocaine = benzoylecgonine
Type 1 hypersensitivity stimulated by = IgE
**Calculations: RhIg, Creatinine Clearance,
**NOT QUITE SURE: Graph of ECA (Epinephrine, Collagen and ADP), two of them changed from 0 (either inc or dec), the other one is just 0. They will ask you which ones are normal/abnormal
They wavelength of the spectro was set to 540 but for some reason the staff keeps getting erroneous (higher than the normal) transmittance, what seemed to be the problem? I chose halogen quartz as being the problem
I’ve read this from some of the recalls posted, about the calculation of potassium? Upon administration of insulin, the glucose decreased, find the value of potassium (given values of insulin and glucose, I don’t know the sol’n, please look for it if you can, I ignored this and then it appeared on my exam, haha tragic)
**other pointers to study/focus : Ab panel/ID, RhIg computation, ABO discrepancies; Bilirubin, Urobilinogen (Pre-hepatic, Hepatic, Post-hepatic), Acid Base Balance (metabolic/resp-acidosis/alkalosis); Sensitivity(TP)/Specificity(TN); ANA patterns. They were generous with the normal values, so you just have to take note of the abnormal results. Don’t be scared with the long questions or results. Just focused on the abnormal ones and also with pt history.
**Labce was really helpful, you’ll get used to the type of questions. And you can gauge your knowledge with their adaptive testing. If you don’t have labce, you can always use Harr, and Ciulla! I used these two but more on the Success by Ciulla. If you’re having trouble with blood banking, visit http://www.bbguy.org/ his videos were really simple and easy to understand! And of course wordsology especially the HIGH YIELD NOTES, and also the recall questions posted by everyone (thank you again! Love you guys!) God bless! You can do it too! Study and prayers! \m/
*from my exam
Thank you. Hi ms.paraluman.I’ll take my exams soon. Just want to ask about the insulin and potassium, is it computation?
Hey Paralumann,
Thank you for the excellent excellent feedback and recalls. This is going to help a lot of people. You are a testament to the good graces of humanity.
🙂 thank you. pleasure is all mine.
Erica, yes it was computation but I have no idea with regards to the formula (i’m sorry). just try to look for it bec it might appear on your exam. best to be sure and ready 🙂 God bless and Good luck on your exam! You can do it! \m/
correction on the nephrotic syndrome, focus on FATTY CAST. (but waxy cast and broad may also be present)
Hi ms.paralumann. .can I have your email add..need some help. Please. .
pheochromocytoma – test for metanephrines or VMA?
Metanephrine
Is there a limit for you to take California Licensure – ASCP MLS or you can take it as many times as you want until you pass?
I just failed the exam 😦 I did everything everyone had suggested except for the Harr book which I already bought for my next try. I didn’t go to school for this and my license is temporary so it’s hard for me to figure out how to study for this (MLS) would anyone know of any one on one tutors available?
The only questions that were repeats were the mothball question and teardrops, it was as though nothing I studied was asked. I’m bummed but will study harder
Hi, I failed my ascpi exam yesterday. I used BOC, Labce, and I attended a local review center. I thought I was prepared for it but unfrotantely I didn’t study that much on blood banking. I got around 50% blood bank questions. Seeing “fail” on the screen really hurt. What reading material should I focus on?i would be grateful for advice. Thank you
I’m sorry to hear the news. I would focus on blood banking but be sure to get feedback from ASCP so you can know what subjects to focus on for the next time around.
Hello everyone! I took my exam yesterday and passed! This website was super helpful, especially the high yield notes for micro and chemistry. I only studied for two weeks after finishing my program and I used the Harr book, Polansky notecards, and LabCE.
BLOOD BANK
1.What antigens are found in the saliva of group A, Le(a+b-) individuals? – Le a (other options included A, H, Le b in different combos)
2. Given a mini panel of antibody reactions. The serum is tested against Group 0 RBCs and cord cells. Reacts with all adult cells, no reaction with cord cells. What antibody? – Anti-I
3. Given panel of antibody reactions, have to determine which ones are causing the reaction and choose the choice that corresponds to them. – In mine, the antibodies were anti-Le a and Le b, but the answer to the question was ‘Is absorbed from the serum onto red cells.’
4. I had 2 questions with the same picture, a cold agglutinin picture. The first question asked what disease/infection it was associated with (Mycoplasma pneumoniae) and the second asked what would cause this blood picture (cold reacting antibodies).
5. Blood comes up positive for HTLV-I/II, what do you do next? – I put repeat the test that was just run. (It said which test in the question, I believe it was EIA, so ‘repeat EIA,’ but I’m not 100% sure. Other options were western blot, etc.)
6. O neg, Rh pos patient now has a positive DAT. What will their typing results look like now? Includes Rh control. – I chose the answer where everything was negative except the Rh control was positive.
7. Which antibody degrades upon standing, making it hard to detect? – I didn’t know the answer. I think I chose Lewis. CW was an option and I don’t remember the rest.
8. Lots of discrepancies, either due to ABO or reagents/technique, but all situational. I don’t know how else to prepare yourself for them other than knowing the basics well and being able to apply them to reason your way through.
9. Given mother blood type (AB-) and baby type (O+), what do you do next? – Since O blood type is impossible from AB mom, get a new heelstick from baby. Other options were get a sample from father, administer RhIg.
10. Mixed field reaction observed. What caused it? – I chose transfusion with O cells.
11. Donor deferral question
IMMUNO
1. ANA pattern, asked what antibody would make that pattern.
2. Patient comes in with mild flu-like symptoms. Given table with IgG and IgM titer values for EBV, CMV and toxoplasma. Have to determine if primary infection with just one or coinfection of EBV, CMV.
3. Biggest problem with PCR? – I chose contamination with nucleotides.
4. What HBV disease marker is found in individuals with a past infection? – HbcAb
MICRO/MYCOLOGY
1. Aeromonas, based on description of reactions.
2. Patient comes in with lesions on arm, given description of what is seen in culture. – I guessed, but I’m pretty sure it was Sporothrix schenkii
3. Blastoconidia – definition. Options included definition of arthroconidia.
4. Enterobacter, given description of reactions – can’t remember if the species was cloacae or aerogenes, both were options. Other options were K. pneumo and oxytoca.
5. Following a throat infection, patient is having kidney problems. What bacteria causing it? – S. pyogenes, other strep species as other options.
6. Patient has walking pneumoniae and is prescribed penicillin. 2 weeks later, still sick. What happened? – Bacteria produces a beta lactamase.
7. Make a gram stain of CSF at night, how do you store until culture the next day?
8. Potassium permanganate in auramine-rhodamine stain for Myco. – Quenching agent
9. Specimen of choice for rotavirus? – Stool
10. Took a swab sample from a wound and incubated on three different medias (including anaerobic media). Nothing grew. What happened? – Swab material inhibited the sample.
11. Latex agglutination for S. aureus – Protein A and clumping factor
12. Given TSI results, what do you report? – The results pointed to Salmonella, so I chose ‘do Salmonella typing’ but another choice was to call the Dr. and immediately report Salmonella type organism. Others were, report normal fecal flora and do Shigella typing.
HEMATOLOGY
1. Burr cells blood picture – Uremia
2. Stomatocytes blood picture – Liver disease
3. Badly discolored blood picture with very spiky cells. What caused this? – Slide not dry
4. Retic count 18.3% along with really messed up blood picture. What do you do next? – Heinz body stain (Supravital stain was also an option)
5. Iatrogenic anemia – due to excessive blood draws.
6. WBC and platelet count normal. Normocytic, normochromic anemia. RBC count very low and retic % is 0.1. – Pure red cell aplasia. Pretty sure I had never heard of this before the exam, but I figured it out. Other options included aplastic anemia.
7. HgbA1C values would be decreased in – hemolysis/hemolytic anemia
8. What is the second, irreversible step in platelet aggregation studies? Or something like that. – I had no idea, guessed change in platelet shape. Upon googling, it seems ‘release of nucleotides’ or something related would be correct.
9. Know about the reagents used for PT and PTT in the automated coag studies. I had 2 questions where the controls were off (and therefore patient results were off) but you needed to know which reagent to replace.
10. What cell type is increased in mononucleosis? – Lymphs
11. What will cause a decreased ESR?
12. Lupus anticoagulant causes what? – Increased risk of thrombosis
13. Sample taken from indwelling catheter. Patient isn’t on any anticoagulants yet PTT and TT are way elevated. – Heparin contamination (from catheter)
CHEMISTRY/UA & BF
1. In which case is Mg monitored? – Eclampsia. Other options were vomiting and diarrhea.
2. I had two UA questions where I was given a list of results and had to choose the disease that correlated with them. – Acute tubular necrosis and renal calculi.
3. 2 or 3 questions on dipstick false positive/negatives. Make sure you know these pretty well. I studied them because other people mentioned it and still had trouble. – Blood and glucose were the two I know for sure were asked about.
4. Hemolytic anemia/prehepatic issue, choose correct results for unconjugated & conjugated bili, urobilinogen, and urine bilirubin.
5. Patient taking primidone showing toxicity, but blood levels normal. What do you do next? – Test phenobarbital level.
6. Sperm count can be done on semen sample when… – Liquefaction is complete
7. Tumor marker seen in pancreatic cancer – CA 19-9
8. Cortisol and ACTH levels in adrenal Cushing’s.
9. Given values for fasting glucose and random glucose. What do you do next to diagnose diabetes? – Both are over diagnostic values, so nothing else needed for diagnosis.
10. Fasting glucose 120. What’s the diagnosis? – Impaired fasting glucose.
11. Pheochromocytoma – Metanephrines
Nicole – this review belongs in the hall of fame of comments ever written on any site. I am incredibly grateful to you for helping out your fellow test takers. Congratulations on the quick pass, as well! Thank you again!
Hey guys,
this is what I remember so far…my brain is toast, and yours will be too, but it’ll be worth it..
1. Burr cell – uremia
2. pyr – know POS and NEG orgs
3. BE and NaCl – know orgs POS/neg for them (entero, Grp D, Viridans)
4. KNOW TSI slants blindfolded – if its A/A and gas productio0n wht is it.. entero, serratia, s bovis, grp D strep (my question, I think those were the choices, or close to it)
5. CAMP test POS and NEG ctrls (agalac and pyog)
6. 1 ANA – it had things with like 4 colors green yelloow orange and red all over it looked like a f-ing picasso painting so I totally guessed
7. know the thyroidism chart for inc and dec in TSH, t4 and T3
8. know PTH effects on Ca+
9. Know about aldosterone inc and dec and when it happens, (Conns) and effect on Na and K
10. Cushings is hyperglycemia
11. PTH and Ca+ relationship
12. something about perfringens i think
13. a tough hemoglobin C question
14. rouleaux is undetectable at what phase
15. CMV best to do viral culture (i think, but i guesses)
16. ESRD (1.010 sg and waxy casts predominate)
17. a couple of thrombin/ antithrombin questions
18. no VWF
19. know about heparin contamination and mixing studies and TT/fibrinogen times
20. HBA1C
21. rotavirus – stool
22. HTLV confirmation testing
23. weak D epitope something
24. whats wrong with this stain – acidic so change pH
25. sezary – t cell or congenital t cell (difference)
26. Amylase – mumps
27. something about rubella I forgot
28. enzyme effect on certain Abs (destroy, enhance)
29. about 4 questions about diabetes ( insipidus, mellitus, the ref ranges for cutoffs for diagnjosing)
30. Conn’s sydrome Aldo increases
31. jeikiem quesition about somehing idk
32. know different between glom nephritis. Pyelonephritis, nephrotic disesase, (conj, unconj, urobili)
33. had 1 metabolic acidosis question
34. had the PCR question – denature, anneal, extend
35. had a hypo hashimoto question about tsh inc
36. troponin stays in the system longest
37. 1 syphilis question… just know whats POS and NEG for each of he 3 phases ( the rpr and VDRL)
38. an aeromonas question where it gives you the rx it was something like oxi POS, and some other rxns
39. know the TSI slants ( I have a story for common imvic orgs that helps so if you want it let me know)
40. a really crappy grainy picuture of what looks like rbc agglutination/flocculation/some other crap … that sais what should you do next – I chose heinz body stain (actually got this exact pic twice)
41. intrinsic resistances to common drugs (kleb amp R, Micrococcus R furosamide, stenotrophomonas Bactrim Res , etc)
42. a lot of aldosterone related questions (like 5) and diseases associated with them
43. a couple of coag cascade questions like when to do an F8 assay
44. when to do PT (warfarin therapy)
45. TB testing PPD is T-cell mediated type 4 hypersensitivity rxn
46. know common markers for B and T lymphs (CD 19, 20/ CD 2,3,5,7, 4/8 mature)
47. if pt and ptt are inc what do you do next (exactly waht do you do next)
48. a s-load of bilirubin (like 7) know what happens in prehep, hep, post hepatic and nephrotic syndrome, when you would expect to see jaundice associated with what Bilirubin, etc
49. absolutely no parasitology
50. no myocology
51. almost no hematology
52. no AB/Ag frequencies
53. know (sensitivity = TP/TP +FN) and those others (SPECificity = TN/TN+TP) (PRECISION = TP/TP+FP)
54. a bunch of lab ops questions (3 or 4)
55. no HDL.LDL.VLDL
56. a couple of tiny screen panels like if you have nothing thru iat in screen cells 1 and 2 except patient sample shows up +/- on iat what do you perform next bla bla bla
……..a lot of “what do you perform next questions” related to BB so brush up on panels, DAT, IAT and discrepancies
I can’t remember everyting else now, maybe tomorrow
Ryan – that sounds like the entire test. Excellent recalls! Thank you for sharing and congratulations on the toasted brain!
hello anyone have bottom like approach pdf i would really really thankful and any recalls plzz thank u
there are hundreds of recalls posted already!
Hi everyone! i took ASCPi exam last week and thank God I PASSED!! and also thank you for this site, this one is very helpful, promise! especially the recalls from the comments, the EXAM RECALLS and High Yield Notes from this site, for those who are planning to take the exam, please study the charts posted here (High Yield Notes). My other sources for studying are Polansky and Harr, and of course the very most important source is HIM, pray hardest!. If I have time, i’ll post what I can recall from my exam. Thank you again Sohail for this site. God bless us all! 🙂
Congratulations and thank you for the kind words
I graduated two months ago from an MLT program and just passed my ASCP MLT exam (2 hours ago!). Many thanks to you. I am so grateful to you for the time and care you invested in this website. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you for the very nice comment. I do appreciate it. Congratulations to you!
I PASSED THE EXAM TODAY. Praise God😇. Thanks also for this site, its really a big help. I’ll be posting the recalls later.
Hi Sohail! I was referred to your site by a classmate and I have to say your notes, as well as the comments section, have really been helpful in giving me more confidence and has made me feel like I’m not alone! I’ll be taking the MLT exam on Aug 15th! I’m actually really passionate about lab science (I want to get into BB), and I’d like to share the little bit knowledge and resources that I have to help others like me. Rather than starting from scratch, I was wondering if there is anyway I can contribute to your site or help to make it better? Anything you were thinking of doing that I can help with?
THANKS GOD just passed the exam.yesterday 7/25/2016 at 1030H ! It was like magic and miracle for I started studying just like for a week. Of course with the BIG help of the high yield notes, recalls and polansky!!! Rock and roll to this website.
Rock N Roll!!!
PRAISE GOD! I Just passed the exam yesterday 7/25/2016 10:30H. Thanks for this website. I’ll be posting my recalls.
It took me a week to study but just found this website last wednesday, I immediately resched my exam supposedly last july 22. High yield notes in this site was very helpful. Also youtube explanation about leukemias and coagulation (https://youtu.be/UiPP_ccFX3E)(https://youtu.be/XVWOlKdpF_I?list=PLbKSbFnKYVY2vnT84bXC4J96hLYqwQqsc). Just understand and memorize surely you will pass the exam. And read polansky and scan all the exam recalls definitely it will appear. And if you think that your brain is not absorbing everything you’ve read stop and rest first otherwise all will be useless. For the difficult questions i don’t know i answered B. And above all, PRAY HARD and ask for guidance. GOOD LUCK ANG GOD BLESS US.
RECALLS:
I remember my first question was what to do in quality assurance planning.
Controls for ATCC
BE, 6.5 NaCl, Bacitracin, CAMP
ANA picture-speckled
E. rhusopathiae
Clinitest-blue to orange and back to blue, what should be the reporting
Heinz bodies- naphthalene
enzymes muscle disorder
salicylate- effect on acid base
anion gap effect on acid base
osmolality-which is affected from the given chart
CBC data with low Hb on the fourth wk whats the reason-choices: IDA, lipemia etc.
Protein electrophoresis
lyme disease
PCR its like 3 questions- denature, anneal, extend
6 antibody panel
A lot of BB questions specially on ABO discrepancies-35 questions i think
leukemias-6 questions
Thalassemias- H Cooleys, Barts etc
Coagulation studies- mixing studies
strongyloides stercoralis
tertiary syphilis- neg RPR pos FTA what to do next?
alternaria pic and bloat dermititidis
coccaine-benzoylecgonine
bromide effect-choices: Na, K, cl
egg base agar
Ornithine and citrate positive bacteria
rosette on maternal fetal test
HBA1c decreased in HA
picture of waxy cast
virulence factor of N. meningitides
Pheochromocytoma = test for METANEPHRINE
Olive oil = Malassezia fur fur
CK (normal), cT (elevated) = Acute myocardial infarction
Rhogam administration
Corrected WBC computation
test the immunity for Rubella- choices: test for IgG,test for IgM, collect after 2 wks for IgG
CBC-Which blood indices were affected for lipemic samples
about zygomycetes
tsi picture
S progenies
DIC, more of aplastic anemia,
chronic anaemia- Fe, Ferritin and TIBC results
computation on blood frequencies-1 question
RBC picture-what anaemia
K. oxytoca indole positive
teardrop cell
2 cryoprecipitate question-stability
biochem reactions- identify which is the cause of error
stomatocytes
measurement of LDL and HDL
effect of caffeine in diazo reaction
Antibodies reactions on IS,AHG phases
Hashimoto’s diseases
Proteus vulgaris
Rapid test for legionella of brucella – i don’t remember the exact organism
missing epitopes
Acinetobacter
Pre hepatic post hepatic
cofactors of 300 enzymes
Acantamoeba-contact lens
Kanamycin and vancomycin growth for bacteria
sperm count-after liquefaction
normal values for sperm analysis- they would ask like decreased or increased etc,
antibody associated with PCH/PNH
Fibrinogen/vwf/bernard soldier syndrome
CLL-what type of cell; B or T lymphocyte?
thank you for the review and congratulations!
I just passed my ASCP. This is my 4th time taking the test. I want to thank God 1st,the creator of this site and everyone who submitted recall question more than 50% of my question were questions others mentioned on this site, indeed and BOC book. I took the time and wrote all the recall question down and put then into each category. Study study study. Know the small details. I used labce, Harr review book, bottom line approach, BOC, the Polansky flash card. For microbiology all you need is the height yield note found on this website.
Thank god I only had 2 panels. I was really worried about blood banking. I would say my exam covered all areas. This is what I remember so far… Good luck everyone.
1.What bacteria will show positive and negative for the following. Bile esculin, 6.5na, Camp, bacitracin. I choose s.pyogenes, S. Agalactia, enterococcus . Other option has s. Virdian, S. Aureus…
2. I will bacteria when exposed to light change color m kansasii
3. Contained tap water m.gonada
4. Anti body panel that had anti k. How would the panel show specific or sensitivity can’t remember. I choose run enzyme panel not sure is that correct.
5. Had to calculate LDL
6. A questions who’s had odd results for glucose, sodium, BUN. What would be affected osmolslity 2na + glucose/20+!bun/3
7. Double zone bacteria how to confirmation positive reverse CAMP test.
8. Gram negative anaerobes jaw surgery veillonella
9. A panel that ha anti d and p1
10. Waxy cast or fatty cast I think dye suban o oil.
11. Aeromonas gran negative, bets hemolytic, oxidase positive
12. N meningitis OPNG negative
13. Picture of histoplasma, and one about fluid being drained from the lungs.
14. Picture of aspergillus
15. Zygomycota sporengium
16. Malasezzis furfural- oil or olive oil
17. Auto infection strangyloides
18. Chromogenic agar I think. It was a picture of a agar one side clear organism had different color sheep blood agar all agate looks the same
19. K ISE- valinomycin
20. Person overdose on salicylate decrease ph- I chose metabolic acidosis
21. ALP ph 9.6- pagers
22. Cocaine metabolite- benzoylecgonine
23. Group A pod mother had and miss carriage d neg, weak d beg… Is the patient a candidate for rhig
24. I have to calculate diagnose for rhig twice. Whole blood divide by 30. Rbc by 15
25. Hba1s affected by hemolytic anemia
26. Caffein for diazo rxn why?
27. Bilirubin- 450nm
28. Pituitary gland – increased TSH and T4
29. Increase bilirubin and urobilinogen
30. Release heparin/ histamine – basophils and mast cells
31. Cryo store at RT from 2pm pt scheduled to be transfused at 3pm what would you do?
32. Irradiated blood for pt receiving blood from mother
33. Positive RPR negative FTA for syphilis -false positive
34. Pictur of a waxy cast
35. Alpha thalassemia-hgb Bart and Hgb h
36. Eosinophils in Urine/ intestinal nephritis
37. know the difference CML and AML
38. Questions about multiple myeloma
39. Increase platelet and wbc
40. Issoagglutinin of Type O- anti A, anti B, anti AB
41. Beta and gamma bridge
does anyne have notes plz would be grateful if email monakaur1989@yahoo.com
I just passed my ASCP. This is my 4th time taking the test. I want to thank God 1st,the creator of this site and everyone who submitted recall question more than 50% of my question were questions others mentioned on this site, indeed and BOC book. I took the time and wrote all the recall question down and put then into each category. Study study study. Know the small details. I used labce, Harr review book, bottom line approach, BOC, the Polansky flash card. For microbiology all you need is the height yield note found on this website.
Thank god I only had 2 panels. I was really worried about blood banking. I would say my exam covered all areas. This is what I remember so far… Good luck everyone.
1.What bacteria will show positive and negative for the following. Bile esculin, 6.5na, Camp, bacitracin. I choose s.pyogenes, S. Agalactia, enterococcus . Other option has s. Virdian, S. Aureus…
2. I will bacteria when exposed to light change color m kansasii
3. Contained tap water m.gonada
4. Anti body panel that had anti k. How would the panel show specific or sensitivity can’t remember. I choose run enzyme panel not sure is that correct.
5. Had to calculate LDL
6. A questions which had odd results for glucose, sodium, BUN. What would be affected osmolslity 2na + glucose/20+bun/3
7. Double zone bacteria how to confirmation positive reverse CAMP test.
8. Gram negative anaerobes jaw surgery veillonella
9. A panel that ha anti d and p1
10. Waxy cast or fatty cast I think dye suban o oil.
11. Aeromonas gran negative, beta hemolytic, oxidase positive
12. N meningitis OPNG negative
13. Picture of histoplasma, and one about fluid being drained from the lungs.
14. Picture of aspergillus
15. Zygomycota sporengium
16. Malasezzis furfural- oil or olive oil
17. Auto infection strangyloides
18. Chromogenic agar I think. It was a picture of a agar one side clear organism had different color sheep blood agar all agate looks the same
19. K ISE- valinomycin
20. Person overdose on salicylate decrease ph- I choose metabolic acidosis
21. ALP ph 9.6- pagets
22. Cocaine metabolite- benzoylecgonine
23. Group A pod mother had and miss carriage d neg, weak d beg… Is the patient a candidate for rhig
24. I have to calculate diagnose for rhig twice. Whole blood divide by 30. Rbc by 15
25. Hba1c affected by hemolytic anemia
26. Caffein for diazo rxn why?
27. Bilirubin- 450nm
28. Pituitary gland – increased TSH and T4
29. Increase bilirubin and urobilinogen
30. Release heparin/ histamine – basophils and mast cells
31. Cryo store at RT from 2pm pt scheduled to be transfused at 3pm what would you do?
32. Irradiated blood for pt receiving blood from mother
33. Positive RPR negative FTA for syphilis -false positive
34. Pictur of a waxy cast
35. Alpha thalassemia-hgb Bart and Hgb h
36. Eosinophils in Urine/ intestinal nephritis
37. know the difference CML and AML
38. Questions about multiple myeloma
39. Increase platelet and wbc
40. Issoagglutinin of Type O- anti A, anti B, anti AB
41. Beta and gamma bridge
42. HTLV- confirmatory test- western blot
Thank you for this really phenomenal review. I’m so grateful and I’m certain that those who have not taken the exam are as well. Congratulations on the pass!
Hi everyone,
Will it be worth attending an exam review seminar?
Hi i did my study out of usa .any one tell me abt exam , i m gonna give ascp or ascp i? What should i do ?
Just passed my Ascp exam last july 25..i just want to say thank you very much.. Keep up the good work… My advise is try to relax for a day or two before your exam..having a clear mind and relax body is very important… Keep the faith.. Thanks😬✌️
I failed for my first try…. i want to take it again how? Can i passed? There’s a lot of questions on ISBB and HEMA Plss help
what is ISBB? Relax. Take a few days to just recuperate. You will pass the next time around. Did you use LABCE?
Your page is so helpful. I have had a very disordered preparation for the ASCP M Specialists exam because…organization is always a challenge for me…but I read your suggestions on HOW to approach test prep and it changed my game completely. I am overshooting by even sitting for it, because there is so much I don’t know but I’m enjoying learning more. I really appreciate your page. A student rotating through our lab (in Oregon) told me about your website!
ANyway, can’t thank you enough!
Thank you for the kind comment. It’s always fascinating to hear of how people get to this site and from where. It’s good to hear that you’re taking the exam even if you don’t feel entirely ready. It’s always worth it because you can learn from your mistakes.
Which of the following will 1st to increase after MI?
LD
CK-MB
Myoglobin
Trop I
Which of the following parasite cause autoinfection in immunocompromised px?
S.stercoralis
N.americanus
A.lumbricoides
A.duodenale
Which of the following causes antibody against TSH?
SLE
Hashimoto’s Dse
RF
Grave’s Dse
What RBC inclusion can be seen on blood smear of a child who accidentally ingested moth balls?
Heinz bodies
Pappenheimers
Which of the following causes decrease HbA1c?
IDA
Hemolytic Anemia
Sickle cell
Which of the following cells releases histamine/heparin?
Neutrophil, Eosinophil
Eosinophil, Basophil
Basophil, Mastcell
Mastcell, Eosinophil
Which of the following Mycobacteria we can acquire from tap water?
M. leprae
M. gordonae
M. bovis
M. tuberculosis
Which of the following analytes is cofactor for most of 300 enzymes?
Zinc
Magnesium
Calcium
Potassium
Which of the following condition is the most common cause of increase anion gap?
Metabolic alkalosis
Respiratory alkalosis
Metabolic acidosis
Respiratory acidosis
Thank you very much “asdfgaill”…!
Hi… i know its a bit late.. but I just passed the exam last july 14… thanks so much to this site.. it helped a lot.. in studying bad sadly majority of anything here ddnt come out in my exam… not that it ddnt help… in a way it did and for that i thank you so much!! most of my exam questions was about serology… turbidometry… fluorometry.. how they work and the diefferences.. which made me lose hope! but still i moved on.. and alas.. in the end i passed!!.. thanks so much!! if we ever meet… meal is on me!!
Excellent news! Congratulations! I’ll hold you to that promise then, haha