Today I am so excited to introduce you all to Keith Blackshear. I was so honored that Mr.Blackshear was able to take time out of his busy schedule to be able to speak to me and tell me more about his wonderful career. I can’t wait to share it with you all!

• Job Title and Place of work: Clinical Lab Specialist/Lab Manager of Flow Cytometry at Sentara Healthcare located in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
• Education Backgound: Bachelors degree in biology, a 1-year internship in medical laboratory science and the rotations, completed the ASCP( American Society of Clinical Pathology) exam which allowed him to become the clinical lab specialist. Masters of Healthcare administration and data analysis. Is skilled in Hematology, Urinalysis, Laboratory Automation, and Computer Repair. Also plans to obtain ASCP certification that specializes in psychometry and he plans on obtaining this certification in the next year or two. He is also currently in the process of obtaining his Ph.D. in Biology.
• Inspiration to enter this field: Keith Blackshear wanted to work in a field where he was helping people and making a difference without having to work with patients one on one and he discovered that as a clinical laboratory specialist he would be able to accomplish both of those desires while also working with machinery that fascinates him. 
• Path to current job: Keith Blackshear was offered this position by some of the pathologists that he works with; they saw the position was available and recommended Mr. Blackshear to fill the position. The reason why he chose to take the management role of flow cytometry was because he wanted to step out of his comfort zone and try/learn something new since he didn’t learn about the profession while in school, so he decided to take the plunge! 
• Basic roles and responsibilities: Mr.Blackshear has so many roles as manager of the flow cytometry floor and as a clinical lab specialist. The lab techs and clinical specialists have to report to Mr. Blackshear, he is in charge of the function of the lab, and his lab receives samples from every Sentara hospital since they are the only flow cytometry lab in Hampton Roads. Flow cytometry is a laboratory method used to detect, identify, and count specific cells. This method can also identify particular components within cells and evaluate cells from blood, bone marrow, body fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or tumors. 
• Most rewarding aspect about their job: Keith loves the technical components, diagnosis of different forms of cancer, and that every case is different. This is the department that doctors send in samples and patient information to be analyzed and diagnosed.  
• Most surprising aspect of their career: Mr. Blackshear shared that the most surprising aspect of his job is how every diagnosis is different, no matter how much information you know about cells or even though you’ve dealt with so many patients with similar diagnoses. Behind the scenes, no patient contact. 
• Most challenging aspect of the career: Mr. Blackshear said that is extremely difficult trying to learn everything because every patient is different, so the minute you think you understand the information, it changes. No patient is the same, but this is what keeps the career interesting. 
• Advice he would give to someone getting into the health field:  Mr. Blackshear provided a lot of advice for this career. He explained how you have to want this career, it is not for everyone and it’s very hard. This is also a profession where you don’t get recognition for your work because everyone in this position is behind the scenes. This position is very demanding being that they are dealing with many patients’ diagnoses at once. You have to be ready for hard work, and even though you are behind the scenes you still have to think about the patient and their family members. Even though this career is done behind the scenes, your role is extremely important, nurses and doctors would not be able to perform their job without you. 
• Work schedule: 7:30 am-5 pm Monday- Friday sometimes does work at home. Eats lunch in the office so he can get work done. Even though Mr.Blackshear is clocked in 7-5 on weekdays, he still has to do work out of the office after hours and on weekends.

Now you have learned about Keith Blackshear and you understand why he is Sentara’s Superhero! Below I have attached two links, one of an interesting presentation Mr.Blackshear gave and one of Keith Blackshear’s website. Thank you so much to Keith Blackshear for being able to share his wonderful path to his amazing career with me and allowing me to be able to share with you all!