Medical Laboratory Technology

This course provides students with understanding and knowledge of the health care delivery systems, medical terminology, infection control, safety, quality control, blood collection, central processing, and work skills in communication, mathematics, professionalism, and using a computer. Basic knowledge and laboratory skills in the major disciplines of clinical laboratory sciences - urinalysis, hematology, chemistry, microbiology, and immunology - will also be covered. Students will be trained to perform blood collections and simple or waived tests (CLIA Regulations). In addition, the student receives an orientation to the clinical laboratory through 10 hours of observation at the hospital.

This course and all MEDT courses are designed to prepare the student for MEDT 2316 and MEDT 2326. This course is an in-depth study of biochemistry and analysis involved in the production of urine and body fluids as they relate to health and disease. Students will be introduced to basic genetics and the nature of the immune system, with emphasis on the constituents that comprise serum-mediated immunity. Basic laboratory principles and procedures are studied.

This course is designed to prepare the student for Clinical Practicum I and II. Included are introductions to the following topics: lab safety, lab instrumentation, and laboratory mathematics. Theoretical and practical laboratory applications of principles and techniques in phlebotomy, normal to abnormal hematology, and coagulation are covered in depth.

This course provides an introduction to basic genetics and the nature of the immune system as it relates to immunohematology. It looks at blood-related antigens and antibodies encountered in the clinical lab, along with their relationship to safe transfusion of blood and its components. Laboratory exercises include all the commonly performed immunohematology procedures.

This is a course in human physiology and an introduction to medical terminology. Emphasis is on the physiology of the circulatory, excretory, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and nervous systems of the human. The course will use the regulatory systems approach, emphasizing the major homeostatic mechanisms of the body and their integration, Laboratory exercises will be used to illustrate the anatomy and physiology of the systems under study.

This course is an in-depth presentation of clinical bacteriology. Topics to be covered include specimen collection and transport, normal human flora and the sites associated with it, media used for culturing and identification of bacteria from human sources, pathogen susceptibility testing, and pathology and treatment of human bacterial infections. Also included is a study of human pathological mycology, the epidemiology and pathology of fungal infection, the culturing and identification of pathogenic and normal flora fungi and the treatment of fungal diseases. In addition, human parasitology including the epidemiology, pathology, identification from human sources, and treatment of parasitic infestations will be covered. The student performs laboratory exercises that simulate hospital procedures in clinical bacteriology, mycology, and parasitology.

The course encompasses an in-depth study and understanding of the physiologic and biochemical processes operant in both health and illness. The student will perform analyses on various body fluids, grouped according to function of organ system and will be able to apply and explain the chemical principles, physiologic and chemical changes, and the clinical interpretation of their results. Understanding the theory and application of laboratory instruments (including computers or laboratory information systems), laboratory math, quality control, and laboratory safety is emphasized.

This course consists of supervised clinical training and is taken simultaneously with MEDT 2326. Students must have a criminal background check without any disqualifying convictions and a negative drug screen prior to enrollment.

This course consists of supervised clinical training and is taken simultaneously with MEDT 2316. A minimum grade of 70 percent for each departmental evaluation, and 75 percent for each departmental exam must be attained to successfully pass the practicum and graduate from the program.

This course is the culmination of the Medical Laboratory Technology program. It provides the student the means to do a comprehensive review in preparation to take the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification exam or other certifying agency exam. The course also helps prepare students to be workforce ready by giving them the opportunity to perform and teach others important skills used by medical personnel. Lastly, students will compile a working resume and interview skills that can be used when applying for positions in the medical laboratory.