About the CareerASSOCIATE
DEGREE IN MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY
CERTIFICATE IN PRE-MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY
About the CareerClinical laboratory testing plays a crucial role in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of disease. Medical laboratory personnel examine and analyze body fluids, tissues and cells. They look for bacteria, parasites and other microorganisms; analyze the chemical content of fluids; match blood for transfusions; and test for drug levels in the blood to show how a patient is responding to treatment. These technicians also prepare specimens for examination, count cells and look for abnormal cells. They use automated equipment and instruments capable of performing a number of tests simultaneously, as well as microscopes, cell counters and other sophisticated laboratory equipment. Then, they analyze the results and relay them to physicians. With increasing automation and the use of computer technology, the work of technologists and technicians has become less hands-on and more analytical.
About half of all medical laboratory technicians work in hospitals. Most of the remaining jobs are in medical laboratories or offices and clinics of physicians.
About the ProgramThe Medical Laboratory Technology program is a two-phase curriculum. Phase I, the Pre-Medical Laboratory Technology certificate, includes the general education and related courses (English, math, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, etc.) required in the curriculum. The Phase II portion of the associate degree includes the hands-on, technical courses; laboratory theory and procedures learned in the classroom are applied in laboratory and clinical facilities. Full-time clinical rotations complete the program.
The program is fully accredited by the National Accrediting
Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences and qualifies graduates to take the
American Society for Clinical Pathology board of registry examination to earn
the title of medical laboratory technician.
