What Is a Medical Laboratory Scientist?
Laboratory science professionals play a vital role in the diagnosis, treatment, management, and prevention of disease. These professionals act as healthcare detectives behind the scenes, using both state-of-the-art biomedical instrumentation and manual methods to provide laboratory results to clinicians. Many medical decisions are based on laboratory results generated by laboratory professionals.
Medical (clinical) laboratory professionals work in disciplines such as clinical chemistry, hematology, immunology, immunohematology (blood bank), microbiology, and molecular diagnostics. Medical laboratory professionals generate laboratory test results and can provide consultation as needed to healthcare practitioners, aiding in detecting cancer, stroke, diabetes, infectious disease, birth defects, heart attacks, and more.
Medical Laboratory Science, BS: The Fine Print
Admission Requirements / Considerations
- To be considered for admission to the MLS program, an applicant must first be accepted as a Utah Tech University student. Then, the applicant must complete a separate application to the MLS program.
- Everything one needs to know about applying to UT can be found on the Admissions website.
- The MLS professional program is admission-limited, meaning that through a competitive application process one cohort of 12-15 students is admitted to the professional program per year. The start date for the program is the first day of classes of the UT fall semester.
- Program students spend three semesters completing MLS-specific courses on the UT campus.
- Upon successful completion of these courses, students are assigned to one or more program-affiliated medical laboratories to complete a semester-long clinical internship.
- During this internship, students spend 40-hours per week for sixteen weeks advancing their knowledge and skills performing a wide variety of medical lab tests in a contemporary accredited medical laboratory under the supervision of professionally credentialed Medical Laboratory Scientists.
- Currently, the program maintains affiliations with accredited laboratories in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.
Compliance Requirements
Students taking this program of study are required to meet certain health and safety standards. The following requirements are mandatory and must be completed by deadlines given upon program admission.
Screenings:
- Background check
- Drug screen
- Tuberculosis (TB): Either of the following TB tests performed within the past 12 months is acceptable:
- Blood test (QuantiFERON Gold or T-SPOT.TB) with negative result
- Proof of two separate TB skin tests (administered at least 7 days apart and within 1-3 weeks of each other), both with negative result
Immunizations:
- Hepatitis B: Proof of 3 vaccinations and a positive antibody titer (showing immunity/reactivity) demonstrated by a lab report
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella): Proof of 2 vaccinations or a positive antibody titer (showing immunity) demonstrated by a lab report
- TDaP (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis): Proof of 1 vaccination administered within the past 10 years
- Varicella (chicken pox): Proof of 2 vaccinations or a positive antibody titer (showing immunity) demonstrated by a lab report
- Influenza (seasonal flu): Proof of flu vaccine administered during the current flu season (September – March) or declination waiver signed by healthcare provider
- COVID-19: Proof of a completed COVID-19 vaccine series
Essential Requirements
The UT MLS program has established non-academic standards of performance defined as essential requirements. Through their conduct, MLS students represent Utah Tech University and importantly the MLS profession and the MLS program. Accordingly, UT MLS program students must possess knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work in a wide-ranging variety of settings where laboratory testing is performed. Consequently, to be admitted and maintain enrollment, participate in, and successfully complete the MLS program, a student must meet the program’s essential requirements.
Contact
Gayle Husselbee
Program Director
Email: gayle.husselbee@utahtech.edu
Phone: 435-879-4466
Office: Taylor 257