How are Lab Professionals Educated?
The education of medical laboratory professionals is similar to other health professionals and culminates in eligibility for national certifying examinations. Certification is important because employers prefer to hire certified individuals and in some states licensing requires national certification. So the goal of all the educational programs is eligibility for certification.
Also like other health professionals, the education of medical laboratory
professionals includes two components: an academic
component at
a college or university plus a clinical component, in
this case, in a medical laboratory that serves patients. The clinical component
must be provided by an accredited
institution in order for the student
to be eligible for the national certifying examinations.
The two educational components can be achieved by several different routes described below. Although all of the route descriptions that follow use CLS/MT as the example, other professions like cytotechnology or cytogenetic technology may have these varied routes as well. The associate degree programs like CLT/MLT or HT typically follow a Route 1 model.
Route 1
Integrated programs: Attend a college or university with a NAACLS accredited-program
that results in a CLS/MT Bachelor of Science degree and includes
a clinical experience in the degree requirements. These are typically referred
to as "integrated" or "2+2" programs with 2 years
of preprofessional (preparatory) coursework and the professional
courses in the last two years. The laboratory experience is provided by
laboratories affiliated with the academic institution. Graduates are eligible
to sit for certifying examinations.
Route 2
"3
+ 1" programs: In this route, attend a college or
university that results in a bachelor's degree in CLS/MT. The
first three years of preprofessional coursework are offered at the
academic institution. The fourth year (or less) is spent in the clinical
experience at an independent NAACLS-accredited
hospital-based
program – sometimes
referred to as an internship.
The hospital program must be affiliated with the college or university
so that the 4th year provides college credit. At the end of the 4
years the student graduates from college and is eligible for the national certifying
examinations.
Route 3
"4+1" programs with CLS/MT degree: Attend a college
or university and graduate with a CLS/MT Bachelor of Science degree. Then
enroll in an independent NAACLS-accredited hospital-based
program – sometimes
referred to as an internship. Because the student already possesses the
bachelor's degree before attending the internship, no college credit
is granted for the laboratory experience and the college and hospital need
not be affiliated. A certificate of completion is provided. Graduates
of the clinical program are eligible to sit for the
national certifying
examinations.
Route 4
"4+1" programs with a science degree: Attend a college or
university that results in a Bachelor of Science in a related scientific
field, such as Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology, or Molecular Biology.
Then enroll in an independent NAACLS-accredited hospital-based
program – sometimes
referred to as an internship. This is like Route 3, except that the bachelor
degree component is different. So no college credit is granted for
the clinical experience and the college does not need to be affiliated
with the hospital. Graduates of the certifying examinations.
Route 5
Categorical Training: This is a variation of Route 4. With a Bachelor
of Science in a scientific field – usually Microbiology or Clinical
Chemistry, enroll in an independent NAACLS-accredited hospital-based
program and concentrate in just ONE area of study for the entire clinical
period. You are then eligible for certification in just that one area.
Certification agencies vary in the length of time required for eligibility.