New River Community and Technical College will begin offering classes for the Associate of Applied Science in Medical Laboratory Technician in August on the Raleigh County Campus, Beaver.
Medical Laboratory Technicians perform phlebotomy and complex testing on tissues, blood, and body fluids to help physicians diagnose and treat diseases or monitor a patient’s health.
“We received approval from the Higher Learning Commission earlier this month,” said Medical Laboratory Technician Program Director Diane Tyson. “And we’re excited to be able to bring this program to the area as there is a critical shortage of trained and certified laboratory professionals in southern West Virginia.”
The MLT program will prepare graduates for entry into technician-level positions in a clinical laboratory environment in hospitals, physician’s offices, commercial laboratories, biotechnology, research laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, technical services and sales, or veterinary laboratories. After completing all academic and clinical requirements of the program, students will be eligible to sit for the national certification exam and apply for state licensure.
Prerequisites for the program include chemistry, anatomy and physiology, college algebra and phlebotomy.
New River CTC is seeking accreditation of the MLT program from the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences and anticipates the self-study to be complete by the end of next summer which will allow students to be eligible to sit for the national certification examination.
For further information about the program, contact Tyson at 304-929-5038 or dtyson@newriver.edu.
