How To Make Fewer Mistakes In The Lab
Use a checklist
I have always found that using checklists during experiments is a great way to focus the mind and stop me from forgetting to add something or doing things in the wrong order.
New protocols: write out your own version
When you are performing a new protocol, the worst thing you can do is just jump in and get started without gaining a knowledge of the whole procedure first. That is just asking for things to go wrong. So one rule you should
always keep is to write out your own version of the protocol in Word before you start, using a standard format. This gives two benefits. Firstly, it forces you to read through the whole protocol and secondly it gives you a standardised copy of the protocol that you can keep, annotate and make checklists from.
Annotate
If you make a mistake in a protocol, annotate your copy so that you won’t make the same mistake again.
Repetitive pipetting
Be consistant and use bookmarks. If you are doing a large experiment with a lot of repetition, just letting your mind wander for a few seconds can ruin your experiment if you don’t put in safeguards. One example is where you have a whole rack of tubes into which you are repetitively pipetting — it’s so easy to get lost and forget where you were. You can guard against this by being rigidly consistant with your pipetting order and by bookmarking your progress by closing the lid (or similar) after you have pipetted.
Don’t multitask too much
Multitasking is essential in the lab, but should be practiced with care as overdoing it can make you error-prone
Get enough sleep
Just like too many hours in the lab will dull you, so will lack of hours in bed. Get some sleep
Take responsibility
Because of the mistakes that can occur and cause an error in the result, the patient's life may be in danger, and therefore you must be responsible and do your job conscientiously, especially if you work in the medical field and have a patient's life in your hands.