Clinical Laboratory Science Program

Profession Overview

The field of Clinical Laboratory Science is open to those who have an interest in medical science. The student who enters this allied health profession should show aptitude for mathematics and for the chemical and biological sciences.

The clinical laboratory scientist/medical technologist (CLS/MT) supervises or performs laboratory tests that aid the physician in the diagnosis and treatment of the patient's disease. Often these tests--in clinical chemistry, medical microbiology, parasitology, hematology, immunology, blood transfusion services, urinalysis, immunoassay, and other analyses--disclose subtle changes that might not be detected in any other way. Laboratory analysis requires that the technologist learn complex biotechnical theory and skills, including molecular diagnostics and molecular genetics.

The majority of CLS/MTs work in hospital clinical laboratories as well as industry, research, or public health agencies in this country and abroad. Growth in the number of public and private medical facilities, the increased importance of laboratory tests for medical diagnosis, and the initiation of new government health care programs have created a need for more CLS/MTs.