Clinical Laboratory Careers

1
Clinical Laboratory Careers
Developed by

• Janice M. Conway-Klaassen
• M.S., MT(ASCP)SM, CLS(NCA)
• Clinical Laboratory Sciences Program Director
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas

2
Clinical Laboratories

• 7.25 billion tests
• are performed
• annually by
• 350,000
• laboratory
• professionals.
• Bureau of Labor
• Statistics reports
• the demand for
• laboratory will result in a 17 increase in
  testing
• from 1998-2008.

3
Scope/Size of Profession

• Third largest group of health professionals
  estimates are that there are approximately
  288,000 working in clinical laboratories alone
  (does not include those working in industry)
• Only two health care professions with larger
  numbers of practitioners are physicians and nurses

US Department of Labor Statistics
lthttp//stats.bls.gov/?uniq8242gt
4
Organization of Pathology/Laboratory Medicine

• Anatomic pathology
• Clinical pathology (aka "laboratory medicine")

5
Medical Laboratory Organization

• Anatomic Pathology
• Pathologist MD
• Pathology Assistant
• Cytotechnologist
• Histotechnologist
• Histotechnician

6
Medical Laboratory Organization

• Clinical Pathology
• Clinical Laboratory Scientist/Medical
  Technologist
• Clinical/Medical Laboratory Technician
• Molecular Pathologist
• Cytogeneticist
• Flow Cytometrist

7
Who are Laboratory Professionals?

• Clinical Laboratory Scientists (CLS)
• Medical Technologists (MT)
• Generalists and Category specific
• Cytotechnologists (CT)
• Histotechnologists (HTL)
• Pathology Assistants (PA)
• Molecular Pathologists (MP)
• Flow Cytometrists (FC)
• Cytogeneticists (CG)

8
Who are Laboratory Support Staff?

• Clinical Laboratory Technicians (CLT)
• Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT)
• Histotechnicians (HT)
• Clinical Laboratory Assistants (CLA)
• Phlebotomists (PBT)

9
What is a Clinical Laboratory Scientist/Medical
Technologist?

• A person who performs laboratory testing on
  blood, urine, feces, spinal fluid and other body
  fluids.
• They provide 70-80 of the objective data used to
  make clinical decisions.

10
General Job Duties

• Run Lab tests
• Develop and evaluate the tests
• Interpret data
• Analyze the results
• Communicate with physicians regarding test
  results

Medical technologist uses a light microscope to
check blood smears for abnormalities
11
Laboratory Professionals Conduct Tests To

• Verify a potentially dangerous drug level
• Detect a cancerous tumor with DNA techniques
• Identify toxic agents, such as anthrax, in cases
  of bioterrorism
• Monitor the level of anti-rejection drugs in
  transplant patients
• Type and cross-match blood samples for
  transfusions
• Identify the causative microorganism in a blood
  or wound infection

12
Clinical Chemistry
13
Serum can be tested for

• Cholesterol
• Blood glucose (sugar)
• Electrolytes (sodium,
• potassium, chloride)
• Enzymes from the heart,
• liver, pancreas, etc.
• Kidney function (blood
• urea nitrogen or creatinine)
• Hormones
• Vitamins
• Drug concentrations

14
Urinalysis

• Measures kidney and bladder health
• Examines physical, chemical and microscopic
  characteristics of urine

15
Hematology instruments analyze

• Red blood cells
• White blood cells
• Platelets
• Hematocrit
• Hemoglobin

16
Blood smears are examined using a light
microscope in Hematology
17
Hematology - Coagulation Lab

• Tests the ability of blood to clot
• Often used to monitor anti-coagulant therapy
  (coumadin), also called blood thinners

18
Clinical Microbiology
Identify organisms
Determine antibiotic sensitivity
19
Blood Bank(Immunohematology)
20
Whats a Cytotechnologist?

• A Cytotechnologist prepares and examines slides
  of cells. They are best known for the
  performance of Pap tests for cervical cancer, but
  they examine many other types of specimens as
  well.

21
Whats an Histotechnologist?

• A person who prepares solid tissues such as
  biopsy samples and tumors for examination under
  the microscope

22
Whats a Cytogeneticist

• Prepares and analyzes genetic material to
  identify potential defects or changes related to
  disease

23
Whats a Flow Cytometrist

• Uses a flow cytometer to label, sort, and
  identify DNA, RNA, and cellular surface markers
  in health and disease

24
UNLV Clinical Laboratory Sciences Program

• The only NAACLS accredited baccalaureate clinical
  laboratory science program in the state of Nevada
  (first graduates in 1990)
• 100 Board exam pass rate
• 100 job placement rate
• 10-14 graduates/year
• Certificate Minor Programs available
• 4-16 weeks of clinical practicum (category
  dependent)

25
What it Takes To Be a Clinical Laboratory
Professional

• Be a problem solver
• Accept challenge and responsibility
• Be accurate and precise
• Be reliable and emotionally stable
• Be able to work well under pressure
• Like microscope work

• Like sciences
• Able to multi-task and complete tasks on time
• Communicate well, both in writing and verbally
• Set high personal standards and expect quality in
  ones
• work
• Like to work with automated instruments

26
Skills and Abilities

• Good manual dexterity
• Enjoy problem solving
• Work independently
• Interest in science,
• especially biology
• Detail oriented
• Work well under pressure
• Organized
• Accurate and Precise
• Desire to help others

27
General Curriculum in Laboratory Science Programs

• College - general education courses
• Science Prerequisites
• chemistry
• biology
• math
• Specialty courses in laboratory medicine
• Clinical Internship practicum in real
  laboratory settings

28
CLS Requirements at UNLV

• University Core (36) same as COS
• Science Foundation (33) similar to COS
• CLS Program, Minors, and Certificates
• Whole CLS Program (53 credits)
• Minors/Certificates (2030 specialty credits)
• Clinical Chemistry, Hematology, Immunohematology,
  Microbiology, Phlebotomy

29
Types of Sites Used for Internships

• Acute care hospital laboratories
• Rural hospital labs
• Student health center laboratories
• Large reference labs
• State or county public health laboratories

• Military hospitals
• Large physician office labs (POLs)
• Clinics
• Ambulatory care centers (Well Patient, Out
  Patient Centers)

30
Who are Laboratory Professionals?
?
Why not you?