Greetings Gang 😈😜 Two sessions into 7 Days of Study Sessions, and I'm so proud of the people showing up. Here's what you're missing if you've been sitting on the sidelines: We're not just reading PowerPoints. We're working through ASCP-style questions LIVE, breaking down WHY the right answer is right and why the wrong ones are traps. You can ask questions in real time. That thing you've been confused about for weeks? Ask it. Someone else has been wondering the same thing. You're studying next to people who are in the exact same boat. Working full-time, raising kids, retaking the exam, scared to sit for it. Nobody in that room is judging you. There are still 6 sessions left, and today's starts at 5PM EST. 👉🏽 Join here and jump into today's session: https://www.skool.com/microscopeviews See you there! — Marilyn

I just submitted my application for the exam. Tell me why I feel extremely more nervous..

Greetings Gang 😈😜 Shoutout to @LeeAnne Williams On our one-on-one call today, she was flying through micro: catalase, coagulase, indole, TSI slants, all of it. Give her the biochemicals in a question, and she tells you the organism. No hesitation. Her secret? A $5 ring of flashcards. Here's how to copy her: 1. Grab a ring set of index cards (and color-code by subject if you can) 🔵 Bacteriology 🩷 Mycology 🟢 Parasitology 🟡 Mycobacteriology 2. Pick your setup (or do both!) Option A → Front: the biochemicals. Back: the organism. Option B → Front: the buzzwords. Back: the organism + its biochemicals. A few to get you started: Grape smell, blue-green pigment, oxidase + → Pseudomonas aeruginosa Barrel-shaped egg with polar plugs → Trichuris trichiura Spindle-shaped, rough, thick-walled macroconidia → Microsporum canis Niacin +, nitrate +, rough buff colonies → Mycobacterium tuberculosis 3. Now make it a game 🎲 Hand the ring to your husband, your little sister, your kid, or whoever's in the passenger seat on your next road trip. They read the front, you answer. They don't need to know ANY micro. They just need to read. Get it right → they flip to the next card. Get it wrong → that card goes on a second ring. That's your "study these" ring. Want stakes? Loser buys Starbucks on the next stop lol. The best part? You're saying the answers OUT LOUD, and that's what makes them stick on exam day. Want the guides to build your cards from? Inside my paid community, you'll get 100+ quick guides (bacti, mycology, parasitology and more), group sessions every Sunday and 7 days of live study sessions every month. Remember: 7 DAYS OF STUDY SESSIONS IS ON AND POPPIN'! Nov 1st to Nov 8th! TONIGHT AT 6PM EST, WE ARE GOING OVER BLOOD BANK IN DEPTH! 👉🏽 Join here: https://www.skool.com/microscopeviews See you there! — Marilyn

Hi Marilyn, I am driving in traffic from leaving the testing sit, but before I get home I wanted to let you know I passed! I felt like the questions were pretty tricky, and I feel as though I will get like, a 405 score, but I did study a lot and it is what it is. I wish I didn’t feel so confused while taking the exam, but thankfully it was enough to get me over the edge for a win! This is my second time taking the exam, I took it back in 2008 and let my certification lapse in 2024 🫣. Anyway, I’m recertified again and can now qualify to work on a speciality license like Hematology (not SBB) in the near future. One thing I would say is I felt confident with Blood bank questions surprisingly. Anyway, I will now go clean my house and do all my laundry, then put away all the books, printouts from the SKOOL community, the index cards, and pens/highlighters that are all over my house! Thanks for all the help!

Greetings Gang 😈😜 PT. aPTT. TT. Reptilase. dRVVT. Anti-Xa. Ecarin. Bethesda. If reading that list just raised your blood pressure, this post is for you. Coagulation feels like a hundred random tests, but it's really one decision tree that asks the same questions in the same order every time. Learn the order, and the tests stop feeling random. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 → 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 → 𝗠𝗶𝘅 → 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 → 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 1. Story: bleeding or clotting? Bleeding patient → go to the PT and aPTT. Clotting patient (DVT, PE, young stroke, recurrent miscarriage) → thrombophilia workup. That one question decides which half of the tree you're on. 2. Screen: which test is long? PT only → factor VII (think early warfarin or vitamin K deficiency) aPTT only → XII, XI, IX, VIII (hemophilias, von Willebrand, heparin, lupus anticoagulant) Both → common pathway: X, V, II, fibrinogen (warfarin, liver disease, DIC) Both normal but still bleeding → platelets, mild von Willebrand or factor XIII Memory hook: PT = "Play Tennis outside" (extrinsic). aPTT = "Play Table Tennis inside" (intrinsic). 3. Mix: deficiency or inhibitor? Corrects → something's missing (factor deficiency). Normal plasma filled the gap. Doesn't correct → something's blocking (inhibitor). Corrects at first, then prolongs after 1–2 hours at 37 °C → factor VIII inhibitor. 4. Fingerprint: name the inhibitor This is where people get lost, so don't memorize four separate flowcharts. Memorize ONE table and read it like a fingerprint. The key move is pairing the thrombin time with the reptilase time: TT long + reptilase NORMAL → heparin or a direct thrombin inhibitor TT long + reptilase LONG → the fibrinogen itself is the problem TT NORMAL → think Xa inhibitor or lupus anticoagulant Then the anti-Xa breaks the tie: heparin and Xa inhibitors light it up, while DTIs and lupus anticoagulant don't touch it. 5. Confirm: one test per suspect Heparin → anti-Xa assay DTI → ecarin clotting time Xa inhibitor → drug-calibrated anti-Xa Lupus anticoagulant → dRVVT that corrects with excess phospholipid