Clinical Laboratory Sciences

The Profession  

High Tech Applications of Biology, Chemistry & Medicine  

Clinical Laboratory Sciences include the areas of Hematology, Immunohematology, Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Microbiology, and Clinical Immunology. Clinical laboratory dcientists work to provide critical information needed for diagnosis, prognosis and management of disease. The work is of exacting precision and accuracy, and is performed in a fast-paced, highly technical environment. Clinical laboratory scientists examine and analyze blood, body fluids, tissues, and cells. They perform routine to complex chemical, biological, hematological, immunologic, microscopic and microbial tests, so they are required to have a strong background in biology, chemistry and medicine. In today's clinical laboratory, a medical technologist is responsible not only for fast and accurate performance of lab tests, but also for quality control, quality assurance, clinical relevance, infection control, cost effectiveness, revenue generation, and management of human resources.  

Practice of the profession is regulated by a federal law entitled "The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act" (CLIA) and laws of the state in which the laboratory is located. Clinical Laboratory Scientists are responsible for the accreditation of their laboratory as well as the laboratory's compliance with state and federal regulations. They often serve as consultants to smaller laboratories and physicians' office laboratories (POLs). Board certification as a clinical laboratory scientist is a nationally recognized and highly marketable qualification for employment in a variety of organizations. In the State of Florida, laboratory personnel are required to be licensed by the State and to renew their license each biennium through documentation of continuing education. 
 

         Clinical Affiliates

Pensacola:

Fort Walton Beach:
      Fort Walton Beach

               Medical Center

Gainesville:

     Shands at UF

       Shands AGH

Jacksonville :

      Shands Jacksonville

The UWF Program in Clinical Laboratory Sciences is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) and approved by the Department of Health of the State of Florida..

NAACLS                                                                      BCLP

8410 W.Bryn Mawr Ave                                               Department of Health
Suite 670                                                                       4052 Bald Cypress Way

Chicago, IL 60631                                                         Tallahassee, FL     32300-3257

773-714-8880                                                               http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/ClinLab/ 

www.naacls.org/

Graduates of the program are eligible to take the national certification exams given by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists - Board of Registry (ASCP-BOR) to be certified as MT(ASCP), and the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel (NCA) to be certified as CLS (NCA). Graduates are also eligible to take State of Florida exams and be licensed as technologists in Hematology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Immunohematology, and Serology. 

The undergraduate program in Clinical Laboratory Sciences is one of the degree programs offered by the Department of Biology. The clinical year of the Program in Clinical Laboratory Sciences constitutes the last year of a 4 to 41/2 years of study, including summer semesters. Students take general education courses and science prerequisites during the freshman/sophomore years. This is followed by two semesters of upper division biology prerequisites to include Genetics, Pathophysiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology.  

During the Spring semester of their junior year, students apply for selection into the clinical year of the program. Each year, one class of selected students begin the clinical year in the month of May and graduate with a B.S. degree in medical technology in August of the following year. The UWF Program in Clinical Laboratory Sciences is approved by State of Florida Board of Regents as a Limited Access Program. The class size is limited to 20 per year. The clinical year curriculum is taught in two phases. Phase one courses are university-based lecture/lab sessions and phase two courses are hospital-based clinical rotations. 

Joan Simmons, B.S., MT (ASCP), MBA  
Administrative Director, Laboratory 
Columbia West Florida Regional Medical Center  
Pensacola, Florida 

Joyce Trawicki, BS MT (ASCP), MBA 
Administrative Director, Laboratory  
Sacred Heart Hospital 
Pensacola, FL 

Charles Henry, BS, MT(ASCP), MBA, Director of Laboratory Services  
Columbia Gulf Coast Medical Center  
Panama City, Florida 

Melgena Budzinsky, BS, MT (ASCP) 
Hematology/Blood Bank Laboratory Supervisor  
Colquitt Regional Medical Center 
Moultrie, Georgia 

Debra Wiggins, BS, MT (ASCP), CLS(NCA) 
Research Associate 
Department of Molecular Diagnostics & Pathogenesis 
Retroviral Assessment Laboratory 

Henry M. Jackson Foundation for Advancement of Military Medicine 
Rockville, Maryland 

Magda Clanton, BS MT (ASCP), MBA 
Crime Laboratory Analyst Supervisor 
Florida Department of Law Enforcement 
Pensacola, FL

This profession is rapidly expanding into several specialties and sub-specialities of these primary areas of practice. To name a few, Toxicology, Tumor Markers, Molecular Biology, Histocompatibility, Flow Cytometry, Stem Cell Blood Banking, and Assisted Reproductive Technology are the fastest growth areas offering new employment opportunities for medical technologists. A majority of clinical laboratory professionals work in hospitals. Many others work in healthcare related industries. The biotechnology, environmental, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic products fields, in particular, employ medical technologists. Many opportunities are available in the area of gathering data for clinical trials of drugs and diagnostic products. Clinical laboratory professionals also perform tests, supervise, and conduct research in environmental, food and chemical manufacturing laboratories. As hospitals merge, opportunities are opening up for overall management of diagnostic services, including laboratories, medical imaging and pharmacy. Jobs are frequently available in infection control and organizational quality management. Pharmaceutical companies recruit lab personnel to field-test drugs. Laboratory professionals are finding employment in industry as consultants and product information and customer support specialists. There is a growing need for well-trained medical technologists to staff and manage the nation's diagnostic, industrial and research laboratories. 
 
 

The on-campus classroom/laboratory complex is equipped with state of the art microscopes and other instructional technology equipment. Students receive not only comprehensive didactic instruction in medical laboratory subjects, but also practical instruction in manual and semi-automated laboratory procedures, in a simulated clinical laboratory setting. The student laboratory complex is equipped with lab safety devices and other features unique to a clinical laboratory. Adjacent to the classroom/laboratory complex is a computer lab for students' use, which is equipped with software programs offering review sessions, tutorials, comprehensive exams, and other instructional support services. UWF has also established a computer connectivity with clinical affiliate hospitals to connect on-campus faculty with students in clinical rotations and to provide distance learning opportunities. The five hospitals which are affiliated with the UWF Program in Clinical Laboratory Sciences maintain state of the art technology and offer topnotch laboratory services to physicians and patients. Students are trained in traditional, modern and cutting edge technology methods, thus preparing them for employment or advanced degrees in related fields.