I think that one of the most interesting things to me about being in the lab is how different it is being taught in classrooms. For example, there are many classes at the University of Massachusetts that teach about how to be in a lab and how to keep records. The problem with all of this is that I have never really seen anyone who actually follows the protocol to the word. In the lab, especially in a high-pressure lab where there are so much pressure to publish, proper record keeping and following all the safety regulation can go out of the window, mainly because no one has the time to do that. Scientist's time is stretched into overwork as it is. No one wants to stay until 12 keeping records when they are already leaving the office at ten. scientists have actual lives to live, family to raise and bills to pay. I think that in this sense, the portrayal of scientists in the media is very much harming scientists. In the media, a scientist's career is their identity. it is both what they do and what they are. Because of this, scientists, especially those in academia, is under pressure to overwork in order to achieve excellence. There is no time to achieve proper bookkeeping and safety precaution when putting out the results too late can mean the difference between funding and no funding. The fact that academics (postdocs) are not paid by the university means that they are under constant pressure to procure their own salary.
so while I do think that it is absolutely important to have safety regulations, I also think that it is absolutely understandable if those safety regulations are not met all of the time, because somethings just have to go in the name of efficiency and while the idea of trying to keep everyone safe is an honorable one, it is also absolutely impossible. resources are limited, and sometimes when the job needs to be done, something has to go, and it usually isn't the one where it pays everyone's bills.
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