Diagnostic Detectives: Medical Laboratory Professionals

1
Diagnostic Detectives Medical Laboratory
Professionals

• A Closer Look at
• Careers in
• Clinical Laboratory Science
• (Medical Technology)

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When your doctor orders lab tests
do you know..

• Who collects and processes your blood sample?
• Phlebotomists / Lab Assistants
• Who analyzes blood and body fluid samples in a
  variety of laboratories?
• Clinical Laboratory Technicians (Medical
  Laboratory Technicians) Clinical Laboratory
  Scientists (Medical Technologists)

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Medical Laboratory Facts

• A behind-the-scenes, highly skilled team of
  pathologists, specialists, technologists, and
  technicians work together to provide valuable
  data needed to
• determine the presence or absence of disease
• evaluate the effectiveness of treatment
• maintain health
• Also called Clinical Pathology and Anatomic
  Pathology.

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Medical Laboratory Facts

• Clinical laboratory professionals generate data
  to assist physicians in the detection of cancer,
  heart disease, diabetes, infectious mono,
  bacterial and viral infections, and drugs of
  abuse.
• 80 of all physician decisions are based on
  laboratory test results produced by the
  laboratory team.

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Clinical Pathology

• This laboratory performs testing on blood and
  body fluids.
• Laboratory professionals use sophisticated
  biomedical instrumentation and technology,
  computers, as well as methods requiring manual
  dexterity, to
• perform the thousands
• of laboratory tests
• currently available.

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Careers in the Clinical Pathology Laboratory

• Phlebotomist
• Laboratory Assistant
• Clinical Laboratory Scientist / Medical
  Technologist
• Clinical Laboratory Technician / Medical
  Laboratory Technician
• Supervisor/Manager/Educator
• Technical Specialist (PhD)
• Pathologist (MD or DO)

NOTE Educational requirements for professions
in blue will be discussed later.
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Other Job Opportunities

• Hospital laboratories
• Reference laboratories
• Physician office laboratories
• State Department of Health
• Fertility clinics
• Pharmaceutical / Biotech industry
• Veterinary laboratories
• Forensic laboratories

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Daily Routine

• Phlebotomist
• Specimen Collection
• Laboratory Assistant
• Specimen Processing and Pre-Analytic Functions
• Clinical Laboratory Technician and Clinical
  Laboratory Scientist
• Also known as Medical Laboratory Technician and
  Medical Technologist
• May be a Generalist (working in all lab sections)
  or a Specialist (work in one lab)
• Specimen Analysis (automated or manual)
• Instrument Maintenance
• Quality Control Procedures
• Result Review

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Typical Clinical Pathology Laboratory Sections

• Hematology
• Coagulation
• Chemistry
• Toxicology
• Immunology
• Transfusion Medicine (Blood Bank)
• Histocompatibility Testing
• Medical Microbiology
• Molecular Pathology
• Flow Cytometry

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Photo Tour of a Clinical Pathology Laboratory
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Phlebotomy

• The phlebotomist collects blood samples from
  patients - young and old.

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Specimen Processing

• Laboratory assistants receive and prepare blood
  and body fluid specimens for testing.

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Hematology Laboratory

• Clinical Laboratory Technician (Medical
  Laboratory Technician) performing blood cell
  counts on computerized automation.

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Hematology Laboratory

• Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Medical
  Technologist) reviewing blood cell morphology
  under the microscope to detect the presence of
  certain anemias, leukemias, or lymphomas.

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Hematology Laboratory
Normal Lymphocyte
Leukemic Blasts Lymphocyte
Atypical Lymphocyte
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Coagulation Laboratory

• Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Medical
  Technologist) performing tests that determine
  the presence of a bleeding or clotting disorder.

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Chemistry Laboratory

• Technicians and technologists analyze blood
  serum for hundreds of biochemical elements that
  reflect cardiac, liver, renal, endocrine and
  acid/base function.

Example tests include glucose, cholesterol,
triglycerides, heart and liver enzymes.
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Chemistry Laboratory

• Clinical Laboratory Scientists (Medical
  Technologists) monitor instrument quality
  control data and review patient results before
  releasing the information to the physician.

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Toxicology Laboratory

• Clinical Laboratory Scientists
  (Medical Technologists) utilize thin layer
  chromatography to analyze urine specimens for
  therapeutic drugs as well as drugs of abuse.

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Urinalysis Laboratory

• Medical Laboratory Technicians and Medical
  Technologists analyze urine for elements such as
  glucose, protein, ketones, bilirubin, pH,
  abnormal cells and chemical crystals.

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Immunology Laboratory

• Clinical Laboratory Scientists and Clinical
  Laboratory Technicians perform tests on serum to
  detect antibody production in response to various
  infections and disease such as rheumatoid
  arthritis, lupus, hepatitis, herpes, and
  allergies.

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Transfusion Medicine Laboratory (Blood Bank)

• Clinical Laboratory Scientists perform ABO and Rh
  typing, antibody screening, and crossmatching to
  determine safe donor blood for a transfusion of
  a patient.

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Transfusion Medicine Laboratory (Blood Bank)

• Medical Technologists check the paperwork for
  correct information before releasing the unit of
  blood to be transfused.

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HistocompatibilityLaboratory

• Medical Technologists perform serological typing
  of white blood cells for HLA antigens to
  determine
• if a donor organ or bone marrow is a good match
  for transplantation into a recipient.
• certain disease associations

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Microbiology Laboratory

• Clinical Laboratory Scientists use various
  culture techniques to determine which bacteria,
  virus or fungus might be causing illness.

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Microbiology Laboratory

• Medical Technologists perform antimicrobial
  susceptibility testing on bacterial isolates to
  determine what antibiotics will be effective in
  treating the infection.

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Molecular Pathology Lab

• Clinical Laboratory Scientists extract and
  amplify the DNA from various samples.

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Molecular Pathology Lab

• The DNA or RNA nucleic
• acid sequences are
• then studied for
• unique sequences of various bacterial, fungal or
  viral organisms
• defective genes found in inherited disease such
  as cystic fibrosis
• mutations in certain cancer cells

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Flow Cytometry Lab

• Medical Technologists use a flow cytometer to
  detect
• abnormal cell surface markers found in leukemia
  and lymphoma
• lymphocyte subsets in HIV infection.

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More Information

• Education Training
• Certification
• Career Advancement
• Wages and Job Outlook

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Education, Training, and Certification
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Phlebotomy Technician

• High School diploma or GED
• Good communication skills
• Formal course in Phlebotomy preferred
• Phlebotomy programs are available through
  community colleges, proprietary health occupation
  schools, or other academic institutions.
• Clinical training required
• Certification recommended (after one year work
  experience or formal clinical training in
  accredited program) Plb or PBT
• Work in hospitals, physician offices, home health
  care, clinics, insurance companies

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Lab Assistant

• High School
• Didactic courses in Lab Skills and Computer
  Applications also preferred
• These can be taken in a high school
  technical/occupational health program or in a
  community college medical assisting curriculum.
• On the job clinical training
• Work in hospitals, commercial reference
  laboratories, research labs

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Clinical Laboratory Technician / Medical
Laboratory Technician

• Associate degree
• 8 semester hours of both biology and chemistry
  (with labs)
• Math and Computer Applications
• Courses in Clinical Hematology/Hemostasis,
  Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Chemistry, and
  Immunohematology
• Completion of a NAACLS accredited MLT/CLT program
  
• National certification CLT or MLT

35
Clinical Laboratory Scientist /Medical
Technologist

• Bachelors degree
• 16 semester hours of both chemistry and biology
  (with labs)
• Math (algebra) and computer applications
• Courses in biochemistry, statistics, physics,
  genetics, general microbiology recommended
• Courses in Clinical Hematology, Immunohematology,
  Immunology, Medical Microbiology, Clinical
  Chemistry
• Completion of a NAACLS accredited MT/CLS program
• National certification CLS or MT

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Career Advancement
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Supervisor/Manager

• Senior technologists with an interest in
  management play an important role in coordinating
  laboratory operations, staffing, and finances.

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Educator

• Senior technologists with an interest in
  education train new employees and share their
  knowledge with the next generation of
  professionals.

Clinical Laboratory Educator and Students
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Technical Specialist

• Technical Specialists (PhDs) function as
• laboratory section technical directors
• researchers
• consultants to a patients physician.

PhD Technical Specialist and a Supervisor
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Pathologist

• Pathologists (MDs or DOs) function as
  laboratory directors and consultants to patient
  physicians.

Pathologist and a Medical Technologist
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Wages Job Outlook
Source ASCP Preliminary 2003 Wage Vacancy
Survey of Medical Laboratories, July, 2004,
www.ascp.org
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Accredited Educational Programs

• The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical
  Laboratory Science (NAACLS) has a comprehensive
  listing of accredited educational programs in
  clinical laboratory science.
• National Accrediting Agency for Clinical
  Laboratory Sciences
• 8410 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 670
• Chicago, IL 60631-3415
• 773-714-8880
• www.naacls.org

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Certifying Agencies

• American Society for Clinical Pathology -
• Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR)
• Box 12277
• Chicago, IL 60612-0277
• www.ascp.org/bor
• National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory
  Personnel, Inc. (NCA)
• P.O. Box 15945-289
• Lenexa, KS 66285-9173
• www.nca-info.org

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Certifying Agencies

• American Board of Histocompatibility and
  Immunogenetics (ABHI)
• P.O. Box 19173
• Lenexa, KS 66285-9173
• www.ashi-hla.org

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Summary

• If you...
• are fascinated by science
• like to solve puzzles and problems
• enjoy mysteries
• like challenge and responsibility
• are accurate and reliable
• work well under pressure
• communicate well and
• set high standards for yourself .

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Summary

• then
• consider a career in
• Clinical Laboratory Science !!

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For More Information

• http//www.ferris.edu/htmls/colleges/alliedhe/CLLS
  /
• Barbara Ross, MS, MT(ASCP)
• x2317 rossb_at_ferris.edu
• VFS303
• Daniel deRegnier, MS, MT(ASCP)
• x2327 deregnid_at_ferris.edu
• VFS418