Medical Laboratory Technology

Associate Degree

Medical Laboratory Technology

Important Links

What can I do in medical laboratory technology?

Working under the supervision of a medical laboratory scientist (MLS), a medical laboratory technician (MLT) performs routine tests in all areas of the clinical laboratory. A medical laboratory technician searches for basic clues to the absence, presence, extent and causes of diseases. This skilled individual is responsible for performing laboratory tests efficiently and accurately for high-quality patient care (from ASCP).

Medical laboratory technicians perform routine clinical laboratory tests in areas such as clinical chemistry, hematology/hemostasis, immunology, immunohematology/transfusion medicine, microbiology, urine and body fluid analysis, and laboratory operations.

Explore laboratory practice areas:

Introduction to Medical Laboratory Sciences	Specialty Laboratory Modules
Body Fluid Analysis	Cytogenetics
Chemistry	Forensics
Hematology	Tissue Typing
Hemostasis	Immunology Flow Cytometry
Microbiology	Molecular Diagnostics
Transfusion Medicine	Public Health
Urinalysis	Toxicology and Drug Testing

What characteristics and skills do I need to work in this field?

To be successful in this field, you should have an aptitude for math and science and an innate curiosity. Medical laboratory technicians need to have an analytical mind, strong organizational skills, the ability to think independently and solve problems, and an attention to detail. Communication skills are critical, as MLTs must interact with other health care professionals and patients.

Where can I work?

Medical laboratory technicians work in laboratories in a variety of practice settings, such as hospitals, urgent care centers, independent laboratories, physician offices and clinics, specialty or research laboratories, military and public health facilities, and industry.

What does Trident Technical College offer?

Trident Technical College’s Medical Laboratory Technology program offers a combination of lecture, laboratory and clinical education in hematology, clinical microbiology, clinical chemistry, immunology, urinalysis and blood banking.

The MLT program admits 20 students each Fall Semester: it is a full-time daytime or part-time daytime program; part-time, evening, and/or online options are available for prerequisite coursework.

The MLT program affiliates with numerous laboratories in the Charleston and surrounding areas to provide clinical experiences for students under qualified supervision. The MLT clinical coordinator assigns students to sites based on availability. Students will be assigned to more than one site for their clinical rotations. Students are financially responsible for any transportation or lodging costs that may result from clinical site assignments.

Clinical affiliation agreements require participating students to have current CPR certification, major medical insurance, professional liability insurance, criminal background checks/drug screens within 90 days of attending clinicals, selected immunizations and titers, and safety and orientation training.

Please note: MLT students are exposed to blood and other body fluids during their training. Strict safety guidelines must be followed. Uniforms and personal protective equipment are required for MLT student laboratories at the student’s expense.

The medical laboratory is a growing field of medicine and offers many different opportunities for advancement. The MLT faculty can provide you with more information about these opportunities if interested.

For more information: The MLT program has online information sessions or you can contact the MLT program coordinator.

Accreditation

The Medical Laboratory Technology program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for the Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), www.naacls.org. Upon graduation, students are eligible to take a national certifying examination, earning the designation Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), www.ascp.org.

Program Mission Statement

The Medical Laboratory Technology program at Trident Technical College is an associate degree program aimed at providing students with a high quality education and excellent clinical skills which students will utilize to become successful professionals in the field of clinical laboratory science.

Program Goals and Philosophy

The program subscribes to the college’s mission to provide quality education and promote economic development in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties by preparing the student for opportunities and responsibilities in a rapidly changing global environment.

The program emphasizes the role of the medical laboratory technician in maintaining the value of human life in a changing health care environment.

Accessible and responsive to the needs of the multicultural community, the college provides the tri-county area with competent medical laboratory personnel who have quality marketable job skills.

As an integral part of Trident Technical College, the Medical Laboratory Technology program seeks to provide an environment of educational excellence.

MLT Program Learning Competencies

The Medical Laboratory Technology program prepares the student for employment as a medical laboratory technician (MLT). The program is designed to foster the development of the entry-level competencies that meet requirements for NAACLS accreditation. Graduates of the program should be able to demonstrate the entry-level competencies required for professional practice.

These competencies are:

Collecting and processing biological specimens and other substances
Performing analytical tests on blood, body fluids, cells and other substances
Recognizing factors that affect procedures and results in pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases, and taking appropriate actions within predetermined limits when corrections are indicated
Performing and monitoring quality control within predetermined limits
Performing preventive and corrective maintenance of equipment and instruments or referring to appropriate sources for repairs
Applying principles of safety
Demonstrating professional conduct and interpersonal communication skills with patients, laboratory personnel, other health care professionals, and with the public
Recognizing the responsibilities of other laboratory and health care personnel and interacting with them with respect for their jobs and patient care
Applying basic scientific principles in learning new techniques and procedures
Relating laboratory findings to common disease processes
Establishing and maintaining continuing education as a function of growth and maintenance of professional competence

Program Outcome Measures

Graduation Rate:
Graduation rate is defined by NAACLS as the % of students who have begun the final half of the professional program (Fourth semester-Fall) and go on to successfully graduate from the program.

% graduation rates:
May 2025 graduates: 100%
May 2024 graduates: 100%
May 2023 graduates: 100%

Certification Examination (ASCP) Pass Rate:
TTC MLT graduates are eligible to take the ASCP MLT examination for certification. See www.ascp.org for information about the examination process.

MLT graduates are not required to take the ASCP certification exam but are encouraged to do so because most places of employment require certification.

The Pass rate on the ASCP exam is defined by NAACLS as the number of graduates passing the exam within the first year of graduation per the total number of graduates taking the exam.

ASCP exam pass rates:
May 2025 graduates: 83.3%
May 2024 graduates: 92%
May 2023 graduates: 100%

Job Placement Rate:
Completion of the Medical Laboratory Technology program at Trident Technical College does not guarantee employment. The competencies taught in the program allow the student to sit for a national certification exam and be competitive in the laboratory job market. There are many opportunities for employment for Medical Laboratory Technicians in hospital and doctor office settings in the Charleston area. Please note that entry-level clinical laboratory jobs are not always day shift jobs and usually involve weekend hours as well.

The Job Placement Rate is defined by NAACLS as the % of graduates who take jobs in the field, or a closely related field, or who continue their education within one year of graduation. Part- time jobs and full-time jobs are both counted equally as employment. Note: Students not responding to follow-up surveys and whose employment status is unknown are not included in this outcome measure.

Job placement rates:
May 2025 graduates: 100%
May 2024 graduates: 100%
May 2023 graduates: 100%

Clinical Facilities

Roper St. Francis Hospital – Downtown, Leeds Avenue, Mt. Pleasant, and Berkeley St. Francis Hospital

Medical University of South Carolina Trident Medical Center Summerville Medical Center

East Cooper Medical Center Colleton Medical Center Beaufort Memorial Hospital

For all further information concerning admissions, essential functions, advanced placement, transfer of credits, credits through experiential learning, list of course descriptions, academic credit hours per course, tuition, fees, refund policies, and all other policies, please view the links on the MLT Web or Portal Pages. These can be found at the following link: https://www.tridenttech.edu/academics/divisions/hlthsc/hlthsc_medLabTech.htm

Program Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the college’s general admission requirements, including submission of official high school and college transcripts, applicants must complete all of the following requirements:

Complete the Health Sciences Application. Application link can be found on the TTC Health Sciences webpage. Note: When the number of applicants qualifying at the same time exceeds space available in the program, admission will be prioritized according to the date and time that the Health Science application was received by the Health Sciences Admissions Coordinator.
Complete MAT 110 College Algebra, CHM 110 College Chemistry, and BIO 112 Basic Anatomy and Physiology.
1. These courses must be completed with a minimum grade of C.
2. Laboratory science courses must have been taken within five years of acceptance into the program.
3. The applicant must achieve a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA at the time of acceptance into the program based on classes at the most recently attended institution taken within 5 years of acceptance into the program.
After submitting the Health Sciences Application, the student will receive details in their Trident Tech email from the Health Sciences Admissions Coordinator regarding the Information Session and quiz. Students must achieve a 100% score on the online quiz following the session to verify the information was reviewed and understood.
Submit the Statement of Completion form online. The link to the form can be found on the Health Sciences webpage.

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Medical Laboratory Technology, AAS - Career Outlook

Important Information

You will also learn how to:

Fix and troubleshoot laboratory analyzers
Operate multiple platforms of software, learn how they communicate, and learn how they measure
Perform maintenance

There are TWO options for the MLT program:

Full-time: 18 months to graduation
Part-time: 28 months to graduation

Once your application for the program is received, your MLT program advisor will provide you with a course curriculum schedule.

Clinical Experience Rotations:

During MLT 107, MLT 271, MLT 272, MLT 273, and MLT 274, MLT Students will be given the opportunity to gain hands-on clinical experience, performing laboratory procedures under the qualified supervision of clinical instructors employed by medical laboratories that have affiliation agreements with the College.

Clinical Affiliates:

Clinical rotation assignments are made by the MLT Clinical Coordinator and are not negotiable. Clinical rotation assignments and times are based on training requirements, space availability, patient care, and affiliate workload, and NOT on individual student preferences or geographical considerations. An attempt is made to place students in different institutions during their major rotations. This provides students with the opportunity for a broader clinical training experience.

Policy on Placement for Clinical Experience:

Due to major changes in health care organizational structures and laboratory mergers, space for clinical experience may become limited. If this happens, students will be assigned to clinical rotation slots according to the date on their Health Sciences application to the MLT Program. In the event that more students qualify for clinical rotation slots than are available, those on the waiting list will be notified when a clinical site becomes available. Those students waiting on an available clinical site will be given an incomplete, and his/her graduation may be delay

The MLT Program is part of the Division of Health Sciences. In the MLT Program, students should utilize this line of communication when attempting to make complaints, solve problems, offer suggestions, or get questions answered. This line of communication begins with the student’s instructor or advisor and proceeds as follows:

1. Should a student have a classroom issue, the student should first address the concern with the instructor of the class, and then the MLT Program Director if the concern is not resolved at the instructor level.

2. Should a student have a programmatic issue, the student should address this concern with the MLT Program Director.

3. Should a student have a clinical issue, the student should first address this at the clinic, and then the MLT Clinical Coordinator if it is not resolved at the clinic level.

4. Should the student issue fail to be resolved at the program level with the Program Director, the student should complete and submit the Academic Complaint Form found in Etrieve (https://tridenttechcentral.etrieve.cloud/#/form/297), so the Dean and Associate Dean can address the issue. The Academic Complaint could be any of the above issues that have not been resolved at the Program or Clinic level.