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Orientation
(1 week)
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Students spend their first week in orientation.
The first day of orientation includes an overview of hospital-wide
programs, policies, and benefits. The next four days are
focused on reviewing the School of Medical Technology’s
general policies, safety policies, program schedules, and
expectations. |
General Laboratory Techniques (3 weeks)
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The majority of lectures during the first
three weeks of the program are in a workshop format and
cover general laboratory techniques.
Topics include: computers, QC/QA/PT, CQI, accreditation,
educational methods, management, instrumentation/method
evaluation, body fluids/cell counts, use of the microscope,
making and staining smears, lab math, troubleshooting
skills, and point-of-care testing. Objectives will be
met through exams, exercises, and student projects.
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Blood Bank (5-week rotation)
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The Blood Bank rotation covers all phases
of pretransfusion testing including ABO/Rh typing, antibody
screening/identification, and compatibility testing. Students
have the opportunity to process various blood components
for transfusion and receive an introduction to the responsibilities
of the Blood Bank during emergency and trauma situations. |
Chemistry (15-week rotation)
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The Chemistry rotation consists of routine and
special chemistry procedures, therapeutic drug monitoring, and
serological testing. Also included as part of the Chemistry
rotation are Urinalysis and Flow Cytometry/Immunohistochemistry. Students learn about test
analysis, clinical significance, and testing methodologies and
have the opportunity to participate in a method evaluation.
Using the laboratory's state-of-the-art instrumentation, students
become familiar with the automation and computerization of the
modern clinical laboratory. Quality control reports are used
to troubleshoot and problem solve. |
Urinalysis (3 weeks)
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Urinalysis is part of the Chemistry rotation.
Students spend one week in a workshop that introduces basic
urinalysis techniques. Students learn about physical, chemical,
and microscopic evaluation of urine samples and about special
procedures done as part of the urinalysis workstation. |
Flow Cytometry and Immunohistochemistry (2 weeks)
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Flow/IMPX is part of the Chemistry rotation.
Students spend time in this area learning about the applications
of flow cytometry to quantitate T and B cell populations,
identifying leukemia markers, and determining DNA content.
They also learn about the applications of immunoperoxidase
techniques to identify tissue and tumor markers. |
Hematology/Coagulation (8-week rotation)
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The Hematology rotation includes the study of
whole blood components with emphasis on automated and manual
procedures for the diagnosis of leukemias, anemias, and infectious
diseases. Students gain proficiency at evaluating peripheral
smears and performing manual differentials. Students also study
coagulation process and coagulopathies. |
Microbiology (9-week rotation)
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The Microbiology rotation develops and enhances
the student's awareness of diagnosing and treating infectious
diseases. The rotation will include training in routine aerobic
and anaerobic bacteriology, mycology, mycobacteriology, and
virology. Students are introduced to basic andrology procedures,
including semen analysis. Susceptibility testing and clinical
relevance of patient samples are discussed to foster student's
decision-making skills. In this rotation, students are introduced
to various automated microbiology systems, as well as standard
manual techniques used to identify microorganisms. |
Parasitology (3 weeks)
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Parasitology is part of the Microbiology rotation
and provides students with the opportunity to apply their diagnostic
skills. The Parasitology rotation is conducted in a workshop
format and includes lectures, multimedia presentations, introduction
to specimen processing, and the microscopic evaluation of prepared
smears. |
Enhancement Sites (1 week)
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During the Chemistry rotation, students are
scheduled for several field trips to local facilities to
observe the variety of applications of clinical laboratory
science. Students spend one day at the local donor center
to observe donor and component processing. They also visit
a reference laboratory, a technology firm, a physician's
office laboratory, and a small hospital laboratory. |
Central Processing and Phlebotomy (ongoing)
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Phlebotomy skills on adults and adolescents
are developed throughout the year. An introduction to infant
and pediatric phlebotomy is also provided. Students are assigned
to year-long morning phlebotomy rounds so that they can develop
their phlebotomy skills. Assignments depend on where students
are in their department rotation schedule. Instruction emphasizes
the importance of proper specimen collection and processing
as the first step in quality testing and quality patient
care. |
Review (2-week rotation)
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At the end of the year, two weeks are provided
to review all areas of the laboratory and complete program objectives. |
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