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Edison Medical
Lab Technician Program Joins National Event
Edison Community College...
Edison Community College will be participating in National Medical
Laboratory Professionals Week, also known as Lab Week, the week of
April 22nd-26th. Lab Week is an occasion to recognize the more than
300,000 clinical laboratory professionals who specialize in the
performance of laboratory testing.
Lab professionals play an increasingly vital role in the diagnosis,
prevention and treatment of disease, and the efforts of these
professionals often go unnoticed because so much of their work goes on
behind the scenes, performing testing every day that is vital to saving
lives and providing quality care.
Laboratory professionals include Phlebotomists, Medical Laboratory
Technicians (MLT), Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS), Pathologists,
Histotechnologists, Cytotechnologists and Technologists in Molecular
Biology. Each of these professions are achieved through study and
training at accredited institutions.
Edison Community College offers a two-year associate of applied science
degree program for MLT that is accredited nationally by NAACLS, the
premier accrediting agency of laboratory professionals. In addition,
Edison has a certificate program in Phlebotomy, the art of drawing
blood, also accredited by NAACLS. The Phlebotomy program began in 2005
and the Edison MLT program began in 2007.
Graduates of each program must sit for a national certification
examination following graduation to become certified by the American
Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) to display the credentials PLB
(ASCP) or MLT (ASCP) after their names. Certification validates that
the level of knowledge necessary for entry level technician has been
achieved. In 2011, 11 students graduated from Edison with an AAS degree
in MLT, and all 11 graduates were successful in passing the ASCP
certification examination on their first attempt.
MLTs work behind the scenes, performing diverse, complex diagnostic
testing of blood and body fluids in the clinical laboratory in local
hospitals and large reference laboratories. MLTs analyze specimens for
such things as glucose, enzymes, hormones, ABO and Rh blood type,
determine which units of blood are compatible for transfusion, perform
complete blood counts of the white blood cells and red blood cells,
identify organisms causing infections and the determinate which
antibiotic will destroy the bacteria identified.
The MLT profession is well suited to students who are strong in
chemistry, biology and math, who want to help people, but may prefer
not to have direct patient contact. A job in the Medical Laboratory
Technician profession requires a two-year associate of applied science
degree that includes classroom study plus 17 weeks of clinical rotation
in a local hospital.
“MLT is so much fun, I love it!,” said Rachel Bolton, one of Edison’s
MLT students graduating this spring.” I can’t decide which department
is my favorite-Chemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, or Blood Bank—I
love them all!”
The MLT program at Edison is a competitive one, with more students
applying for acceptance to the program than there are seats in the
classroom. Students must have a 2.75 GPA and have completed the first 2
semesters of study in the program before applying for acceptance. After
graduation, students may choose to further their careers at a later
date to become Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS) by completing a 4
year bachelor’s degree.
Phlebotomists collect blood specimens from patients by performing a
venipuncture or “blood draw,” and then ensure appropriate transport of
the specimen to the laboratory and processing of the specimens for
testing. Phlebotomy is a terrific entry level profession that requires
a certificate attainable in 1-2 semesters of classroom work plus an
internship at a local health care facility. Phlebotomy requires
significant patient contact and excellent interpersonal and
communication skills. A number of phlebotomy students at Edison have
continued on to become MLTs.
The demand for trained personnel in MLT and PLB is high. Many lab
workers practicing today are baby-boomers who will soon be retiring.
The number of students being trained today to take their place in the
job market is not sufficient to meet the demand. Hospital laboratories
nationwide report an average of approximately 10% vacancy rate for MLTs
and approximately 7% vacancy rate for trained phlebotomists. The
average salary for entry level MLTs nationally is approximately $41,000
and entry-level salary for phlebotomists is approximately $28,000.
Edison has several events planned to celebrate Lab Week this year. The
graduating MLT students will present a poster display in the cafeteria
on Wednesday, April 25th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to educate fellow
students on the MLT profession. The graduating class has also written
and performed in a video entitled “Explosive Teamwork” to demonstrate
in humorous situations just a few of the many tests performed in a
laboratory. The video was written by MLT student Annette Worden, and
performed by the entire class.
More information about Edison’s MLT and Phlebotomy programs can be
found at Edison’s website, www.edisonohio.edu
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