When I became a graduate student at the University of Texas in Houston, I had the opportunity to work in a laboratory at the M.D. Andersen Cancer Center. The man who ran the lab understood how the organization of a lab directly relates to the success of graduate students. He arranged for me to use some of the small desk space available in the lab. That desk space also included drawer space. Having my own organizational space in the lab allowed me to keep my supplies in order and helped me succeed in my work.
After I spending one year in the lab at the M.D. Andersen Cancer Center, I was admitted to a program with a more formal structure. As part of this new program, I was supposed to take a tutorial in three different labs. I then discovered the importance of lab organization skills.
While, I did get some “desk space” in the second laboratory, I had no drawer space. I was forced to keep most of my supplies on my desk which became disorganized. As my project grew in size, my desk grew cluttered and I wasn’t able to work as efficiently. Eventually, the woman who was responsible for the organization of that laboratory arranged for me to have some extra drawer space, which quickly allowed me to become organized. The differences in the organization of these two labs made me realize how important having your own space is to not only being organized but also being successful.
After receiving my Masters in biomedical research, I moved to New Mexico. There, working towards my PhD. in a different graduate program, I again witnessed the sad results of disregard for laboratory organizational space. There were very few places to store things besides on the desks and the lab was quite cluttered.
At one point, someone complained about the mess in that lab during a scheduled laboratory meeting. I pointed out that most of the misplaced equipments did not have a set storage place in the lab and that I had also never been assigned a place to keep my supplies and equipment. The other members of the lab then did their best to provide me with some needed space and assign miscellaneous equipment storage places improving the overall feel and efficiency of the lab.
by: Sue Chehrenegar.
Guest blogger Sue pursued a career in biomedical sciences for 30 years, before taking an early retirement in 2003. Sue is currently a freelance writter and has written for Boys’ Quest Magazine and Through the Eyes of Love.