Medical Laboratory Technician

When it comes to the challenges and rewards of medicine and science, the medical laboratory technician has the best of both worlds. They perform a full range of tests to search for basic clues to the absence, presence, extent and causes of disease. Performing tests efficiently and accurately is essential to delivering high quality patient care. With many training programs lasting as little as one year, this high-demand profession is attainable and attractive to many job seekers and career changers. It offers good pay and an abundance of employment and advancement opportunities.

Compare Top Health Care Careers
Go to Medical Laboratory Technician Schools

Typical duties of a medical laboratory technician include the following:

• Preparing lab specimens for testing
• Testing body fluids and cells for bacteria, parasites and other microorganisms
• Testing the chemical content of fluids
• Matching blood for transfusions
• Testing for drug levels in the blood
• Analyzing and relaying test results to physicians

Medical laboratory technicians use sophisticated equipment and computers to perform numerous tests simultaneously, as well as microscopes, cell counters and other traditional laboratory equipment. They may work in several areas of the clinical laboratory or specialize in just one. Specialists known as histotechnicians cut and stain tissue specimens for microscopic examination by pathologists, and phlebotomists collect blood samples. Medical laboratory technicians usually work under the supervision of a medical laboratory technologist who has more formal education.

Workplace

More than half of medical laboratory technicians work in hospitals. Most of the rest work in physicians' offices and in medical and diagnostic laboratories. In all settings, the work environment is clean and well lit. Work hours vary with the size and type of the setting. In large hospitals or in independent laboratories that operate continuously, technicians usually work the day, evening or night shift and may work on weekends or holidays. Technicians in smaller facilities may work rotating shifts. Some take emergency calls several nights a week or on weekends.

Medical laboratory technicians often wear eye shields, gloves and other gear to prevent the spread of infection and to protect themselves from solutions and reagents used in testing. They may also spend a great deal of time on their feet. A skilled technician must be able to work under pressure and maintain close attention to detail.

Education and Training

Medical and clinical laboratory technicians generally have either an associate's degree from a community or junior college or a certificate from a hospital, vocational school or the armed forces. Associate's degrees programs take two years to complete, while certificate programs typically last about a year. The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act requires laboratory personnel who perform highly complex tests to have at least an associate's degree. A few technicians learn their skills on the job, although employers increasingly prefer to hire candidates with formal training.

Medical laboratory technician training programs include coursework in laboratory mathematics, chemistry, microbiology, pathology, microscopy and immunology through a combination of classroom and laboratory instruction. The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences fully accredits 206 programs for medical laboratory technologists. Other nationally recognized accrediting agencies include the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.

Licensing and Certification

Some states require laboratory personnel to be licensed or registered. Certification is a voluntary process but is widely considered by employers as a prerequisite for most jobs and often is necessary for advancement. The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and the American Medical Technologists offer national certification testing that earns technicians the title of Certified Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT). The National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel offers the Clinical Laboratory Technician (CLT) certification. Certification requirements and prerequisites vary by organization, but all include passing an examination and either obtaining continuing education credits or undergoing reexamination for recertification.

Motivated medical laboratory technicians with at least two years of wide-ranging laboratory experience often go on to earn their bachelor's degree to become qualified to take the certification examination to work as a medical technologist.