TAG:
Medical technologist
A medical laboratory scientist (MLS) (also referred to as a medical technologist, a clinical scientist, or clinical laboratory technologist) is a healthcare professional who performs chemical, hematological, immunologic, microscopic, and bacteriological diagnostic analyses on body fluids such as blood, urine, sputum, stool, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and synovial fluid, as well as other specimens. Medical laboratory scientists work in clinical laboratories as well as hospitals, physician’s offices, reference labs, biotechnology labs and non-clinical industrial labs.
In the United States, a medical laboratory scientist (MLS), medical technologist (MT) or clinical laboratory scientist (CLS, California only) typically earns a bachelor’s degree in clinical laboratory science, biomedical science, medical technology or in a life / biological science (biology, biochemistry, microbiology, etc.), in which case certification from an accredited training program is also required. Medical technologists who are certified and in good standing by a number of certification bodies, including the National Medical Laboratory Science Council or the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) are entitled to use the credential “MLS” after their names.
Subspecialties also requiring a four-year degree include cytotechnologists, who study cells and cellular anomalies, and histotechnologists, who work on the detection of tissue abnormalities and the treatment for the diseases causing the abnormalities.
In addition, there are also medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) who earn two-year degrees plus certification.
In the United States, the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA ’88) define the level of qualification required to perform tests of various complexity. Clinical laboratory scientists, medical technologists and medical laboratory scientists are the highest level of qualification, and are generally qualified to perform the most complex clinical testing including HLA testing (also known as tissue typing) and blood type reference testing.
Most medical technologists are generalists, skilled in all areas of the clinical laboratory. However some are specialists, qualified by unique undergraduate education or additional training to perform more complex analyses than usual within a specific field. Specialties include clinical biochemistry, hematology, coagulation, microbiology, bacteriology, toxicology, virology, parasitology, mycology, immunology, immunohematology (blood bank), histopathology, histocompatibility, cytopathology, genetics, cytogenetics, electron microscopy, and IVF labs.
Medical technologists with such a specialty may use additional credentials, such as “SBB” (Specialist in Blood Banking) from the American Association of Blood Banks, or “SH” (Specialist in Hematology) from the ASCP.
In the United States, Medical Laboratory Scientists can be certified and employed in infection control. These professionals monitor and report infectious disease findings to help limit iatrogenic and nosocomial infections. They may also educate other healthcare workers about such problems and ways to minimize them.
DeVry University, Retail Walk-In Clinics, NeoGenomics, Clarient, Clinical Lab Partners, Patient ID Theft
MED TECH SHORTAGE CAUSES DEVRY UNIVERSITY TO OFFER MT DEGREE IN RESPONSE TO THE GROWING SHORTAGE of skilled lab scientists and medical technologists, DeVry University of Phoenix, Arizona, is offering a new bachelor’s degree program in Clinical Laboratory Science (…
September 08, 2008 “Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Here’s an update on the issue of why pathologists working in independent laboratories will not be paid under the Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). (See TDR, August 18, 2008.) Last week, Donald McLeod, a spokesman at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medic…
MT/MLT Distance Learning Goal of Collaboration
CEO SUMMARY: To encourage more students to pursue medical technology (MT) and medical laboratory technician (MLT) degrees, ARUP Laboratories and Weber State University (WSU) are collaborating to promote the distance learning programs offered at WSU. Online students can work any shift and …
Lab Automation Viewed As Essential Solution
CEO SUMMARY: A merger of three hospitals in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, forced PinnacleHealth’s lab director to find new ways to increase efficiency. A lab automation project helped improve turnaround time and staff productivity and cut costs. The cost savings is about 50 cents per test, …
Call to Action Is Needed For Lab Test Profession
CEO SUMMARY: Is a laboratory test simply a commodity, like wheat or coal? Or is it a complex scientific service of unique value that delivers personalized results and clinical knowledge on behalf of millions of patients every day in the United States? The fundamental assumption of competi…
Community Hospital Builds Thriving Lab Outreach Program
CEO SUMMARY: When 330-bed Botsford Hospital of Farmington Hills, Michigan, got interested in laboratory outreach 10 years ago, it brought in a new laboratory leader, invested in new analyzers and informatics, and then let the quality of the operation attract new business from the communit…
LIS As Productivity Tool Throughout the Laboratory
CEO SUMMARY: Is the classic laboratory information system (LIS) morphing into a different information technology product? That’s the observation of one laboratory IT expert, who says that “best of breed” LIS products are becoming productivity tools that support improved clinical per…
Key Trends Drive Change for Clinical Laboratories
CEO SUMMARY: Technology plays an ever-growing role in reshaping the organization and operation of clinical laboratories. New technologies figure prominently in THE DARK REPORT’S 2007 list of key trends in the clinical laboratory industry. Technological advances in instr…
Acute Histotech Shortage Grows Across the USA
CEO SUMMARY: Pathology laboratories are enjoying steady increases in specimen volume and revenue as new molecular assays gain acceptance by clinicians. However, the supply of histotechnologists is failing to keep pace with growth in the volume of tissue-based testing. One executive who pl…
Lab Trends In Canada Run Ahead of U.S.A.
CEO SUMMARY: In specific ways, laboratories in Canada are already confronting the future that awaits laboratories in the United States. Many of the challenges are identical, including shrinking reimbursement and funding, as well as a shortage of skilled lab staff. One unfolding developmen…
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Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
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