Clinical Laboratory Science, B.A.S.

Program Overview

The Clinical Laboratory Sciences program prepares you to work as a medical technologist in a clinical setting such as a hospital, medical center or reference laboratory. When you graduate, you are eligible for certification as a medical technologist by the American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB), American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), and American Medical Technologist (AMT).

Clinical Accrediting Agency

The program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), 5600 N. River Road, Suite 720, Rosemont, Illinois, 60018. NAACLS can be contacted by phone at 773-714-8880, naacls.org, or info@naacls.org.

Once NAACLS accreditation was awarded to the Clinical Laboratory Science program, the following statistics have been reported:

ASCP Certification Exam Pass Rate - 89% 
Employment Rate is - 93%. 

Program Pre-requisites

The following lists common program prerequisite courses (or appropriate substitutions) with successful completion of a grade of C or higher:

• BSC 2010/L - Core Biology with Lab
• MCB 2010/L - Microbiology with Lab
• BSC2085/L and BSC2086/L - Anatomy and Physiology 1 & 2 with Labs
• CHM 2045, 2046, 2210, 2211/Labs - General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry
• STA 2023 - Statistics 

Internship

Clinical Laboratory Science students are required to do a 6-month internship rotation as part of their degree. Internship agreements are currently being sought with hospitals in the Gainesville area and the surrounding counties to host program interns. Expectations for internship locations include Shands Healthcare, North Florida Regional Medical Center, the Malcolm Randall Veterans Administration Hospital, LifeSouth Regional Blood Bank, and RTI Biologics. For more information, please contact Mary El-Semarani.

Career Opportunities

Clinical Laboratory Scientists (or Medical Technologists) may work in hospitals, clinics, and medical centers, but positions are also available in industrial settings, public health, reference and research laboratories. These individuals may practice as generalists, typically covering the areas of serology, microbiology, clinical chemistry, hematology, and immunohematology, or they may specialize in one scientific area. After experience within the field, there are opportunities for advancement into management or teaching positions. Industry also offers opportunity in the area of sales, public relations, research and development. There are channels for continued academic specialization and advanced degrees which in turn bring further employment opportunities and benefits.

Career Coach

The following statistics are for local careers obtained with a Clinical Laboratory Science degree:

• Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist / $28.18 Hourly Wage / 357 Currently Employed

In order to get current and local data on wages, employment, job postings, and associated education and training, visit Career Coach page. Not sure what to search for? Try searching by Medical Technologist.