Program Description
Rapid advances in research will continue to increase both the number and the complexity
of clinical laboratory tests performed. Federal regulations and New York State licensure
now require more highly-trained personnel who must meet the minimum educational standard
of the associate degree. Consequently, the demand for trained clinical laboratory
technicians has been rising and will continue to grow in both the local and national
arenas.
The modern clinical laboratory technician applies knowledge from the physical and biological sciences to the detection and management of disease. The program to train clinical laboratory technicians emphasizes development of laboratory skills and characteristics essential to the health care worker. The use of state-of-the-art equipment in the analysis of blood and body fluids, as well as computerized patient data entry systems, allows the students to gain the skills necessary to perform effectively on the Board of Certification Licensure examination.
The Clinical Laboratory Technician (CLT) curriculum encompasses a concentration of medical laboratory courses along with courses in the liberal arts, social science, sciences, and mathematics. Lectures in the clinical laboratory area include studies in hematology, clinical chemistry, coagulation, analysis of urine and other body fluids, immunology, serology, blood banking, and microbiology. Troubleshooting and quality control procedures are integrated into the program. College laboratories provide a simulated medical setting that give students the opportunity to analyze clinical specimens using manual and automated methodologies. In the lab courses, students will use computers for data retrieval, record updating and printing reports.
During their senior year, students complete laboratory rotations at affiliated clinical sites including Buffalo General and Flint Road Laboratories, Sisters of Charity Hospital, St. Joseph Campus, Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital, Lockport Memorial Hospital, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Erie County Public Health Laboratories, Buffalo Medical Group, X-Cell laboratory, and Erie County Medical Center. Additional enrichment rotations include the American Red Cross and ConnectLife. The students may perform clinical laboratory procedures at the affiliated hospitals under the direct supervision of laboratory technologists. Students may not perform service work during scheduled clinical sessions. Students must be available for their entire assigned rotation shift as clinical rotation may be scheduled during evening hours.
Upon successful program completion, graduates are encouraged to take the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) Licensure examination. Graduates passing the BOC examination will fulfill the requirements for licensure in New York State and will be nationally certified. Graduates of the CLT Program perform consistently at or above the national average on BOC examinations. The granting of the CLT Associate in Applied Science degree is not contingent upon the student passing any type of external certification or licensure examination.
CLT graduates are employed as clinical laboratory technicians in private, clinical, or hospital laboratories and research institutions. Alumni of the program have also found employment as phlebotomists; quality control technicians in the food industry; in biological; pharmaceutical; and chemical laboratories. Other graduates transfer to four-year institutions to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Science, as well as other medical fields such as nursing, pre-medicine and physician assistants.