A lab assistant is a person who supports scientists and researchers in conducting various tests and experiments. They may work in a medical lab, testing collected blood or tissue samples for diagnosing diseases or screening for illegal substances⁶. They may also work in a research lab, preparing lab equipment, reporting data and cleaning and maintaining lab instruments.

A lab assistant may have to memorize some standard operating procedures (SOPs) that describe how to perform certain tasks safely and accurately in the lab. SOPs are written instructions that detail the steps to be performed during a given experimental procedure and include information about potential hazards and how these hazards will be mitigated. SOPs may vary depending on the type, quantity and nature of the chemicals used, the location of use, the experimental procedures, the available safety equipment, the waste disposal requirements and the decontamination procedures.

The number of pages of SOPs that a lab assistant has to memorize may depend on the complexity and diversity of the experiments they are involved in. However, it is unlikely that a lab assistant has to memorize a thousand pages of SOPs, as that would be impractical and inefficient. A lab assistant may refer to the SOPs whenever they need to perform a task or check their work. They may also receive training on the relevant SOPs before they start working on a project.