Curriculum

Clinical Development

Students receive practical and classroom instruction in various aspects of laboratory medicine during the structured nine-month program. Through formal lectures, programmed instruction, audiovisual materials, clinical case presentations and independent study, the students learn the theoretical basis and diagnostic value of laboratory procedures, including the correlation of laboratory findings with clinical condition. Pathologists, laboratory administrators, laboratory managers, and practicing registered clinical laboratory scientists all contribute their expertise at the bench and in the classroom. The program is approved for 30-34 semester hours of credit, depending on the policies of the student’s affiliated college or university.

Clinical Course Descriptions

Clinical Chemistry (8-10 credits): Fundamental concepts of clinical biochemistry; identification and quantification of specific substances in body fluids by chemical analytical techniques; correlation of results with disease states; principles of instrumentation and quality control; toxicology and basic pharmacology; and the use of radioactive materials in clinical diagnostic studies.
Clinical Hematology (6-8 credits): Fundamental concepts of blood and bone marrow function; normal and abnormal cell morphology; theories of blood coagulation and hemostasis; diagnosis of disease by laboratory testing, and monitoring of various treatment modalities.
Clinical Immunohematology (3-5 credits): Theory and practice of grouping and cross matching blood for transfusion; detection and identification of antibodies;collection, processing and preservation of blood and its components, and use of blood and its components in transfusion therapy.
Clinical Immunology/Serology (2-3 credits): Study of the structure, function and disorders of the immune system; concepts of transplantation, and performance of qualitative and quantitative immunological procedures.
Clinical Microbiology (7-8 credits): Techniques and theories of diagnostic medical microbiology with emphasis on the cultivation, isolation, identification, and antimicrobial sensitivity of pathogenic bacteria; relationships of microorganisms to disease; principles of sterilization, asepsis, and infection; and identification techniques in medical mycology, parasitology and virology.
Clinical Urinalysis (1-2 credits): Theory of renal function in health and disease, physical, chemical and cellular examination of urine and other body fluids with emphasis on changes seen in disease states.
Clinical Management and Education : A basic introduction to the principles and theory of management and education as it relates to the clinical laboratory.