Laboratory Sciences Training Program

The Laboratory Sciences Training Program at Cincinnati Children’s is dedicated to providing students with a comprehensive, innovative, and high-quality learning experience that provides them with a strong foundation of clinical laboratory knowledge and technical skills that they can build upon for years to come.

Our program provides the graduating student with qualifications and resources to take the Board of Certification exam for the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP), or American Medical Technologists (AMT).

All programs include hospital/program orientation, as well as clinical and didactic rotations. Students are exposed to a broad range of techniques, instrumentation and instructors. Instruction includes lectures, self-directed learning modules, teaching laboratory experiences and extensive experiences in the clinical laboratories at Cincinnati Children's.

Students are evaluated based on their academic achievement, laboratory performance and professional behavior throughout the program year and are awarded a certificate upon successful completion. The certificate, plus appropriate applicable education requirements, allow the student to sit for a national certification examination. Granting of the certification is not contingent upon the student passing any type of external certification or licensure examination.

Our programs have completed all steps of the accreditation process with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) and are awaiting official award notification, expected in the upcoming months.

Why Choose a Career in Laboratory Sciences?

There is a critical shortage of certified clinical laboratory professionals and the demand is only increasing each year as new tests are developed and those currently working in the field retire.

Most clinical laboratory professionals are employed in a hospital setting; however, career opportunities can be found by other employers such as those in community health, research, forensics, physician office laboratories, veterinary laboratories, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology companies, other industries in sales or service of laboratory equipment and supplies.

• Medical Laboratory Assistants or Aides (MLA) contribute in a critical way by receiving and preparing specimens for laboratory testing. In many ways, the MLA provides a foundation for the laboratory by ensuring that the laboratory is well stocked with necessary supplies, that reagents are available, and may perform simple diagnostic testing under the supervision of laboratory technologists (MLT or MLS).
• Phlebotomists (PBT) are the face of the laboratory, as they are the ones who have constant and direct contact with patients. Phlebotomists are responsible for properly drawing blood from patients and delivering the samples to the laboratory for testing.
• Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS) are vital healthcare detectives, uncovering and providing laboratory information from routine to complex laboratory testing that assists clinicians in patient diagnosis and treatment, as well as in disease monitoring or prevention.

Learn more about these in-demand opportunities

Minimum Qualifications

Currently, the program is only open to internal candidates already employed by Cincinnati Children's.

Phlebotomy and Medical Laboratory Assistant Pre-requisites:

• 18 years of age
• Possess a High School Diploma or equivalent
• Apply & accept an offer of employment within the clinical lab in a role associated with the student’s program of choice.

Medical laboratory Scientist (MLS) Pre-requisites:

• Baccalaureate degree or higher in a chemical, physical, or biological science from a regionally accredited college/university.
  • 60 semester hours that comprise 24 semester hours of science courses that include -
    • 6 semester hours of chemistry
    • 6 semester hours of biology; and
    • 12 semester hours of chemistry, biology, or medical laboratory technology in any combination
• Currently employed in the clinical lab as a Laboratory Technologist meeting the educational requirements above.
  

What to Expect After Completing the Program

After completing the Laboratory Sciences Training Program, you will have introductory competency in:

Phlebotomy / MLA (10-week program)

• Phlebotomy (PBT) / Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) (12-week program)
• Anatomy and physiology of body systems and anatomic terminology to relate major areas of the clinical laboratory to general pathological conditions associated with the body systems
• Order requisitioning, specimen collection, specimen integrity, specimen transport, and processing
• Quality assurance and quality control
• Follow standard operating procedures to perform point-of-care and other clinical assistant-appropriate level testing and quality control
• Prepare blood and body fluid specimens for analysis according to laboratory standard operating procedures

Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) (12-month program)

•  Proficiently perform sample analysis in the clinical laboratory, including the chemistry, urinalysis, coagulation, hematology, microbiology, immunology/serology, and blood bank departments
• Explain the basic analytical principles for common laboratory diagnostic procedures
• Troubleshoot and solve instrument and patient sample issues
• Understand the specimen collection process and pre-analytical variables in relation to the outcome of patient test results
• Demonstrate understanding of laboratory accreditation and compliance standards
• Perform quality control analysis and troubleshooting in compliance with standard operating protocols
• Perform laboratory microscopy and accurately identify common microbial pathogens, hematological cells, urine sediment, and body fluid structures
• Interpret laboratory testing results and identify abnormal values
• Correlate patient results to patient condition and/or treatment
• Identify questionable laboratory results and bring them to the attention of the clinician
• Understand the process for testing platform validations and quality assurance requirements

Student Handbook

Download our student handbook.

Who do I contact for more information?

Phlebotomy/MLA: Danielle Arrasmith, Program Director
MLS: Barbara Brown, Program Director
Email: ClinicalLabEducation@cchmc.org