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Showing posts with label [Career] medical technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label [Career] medical technology. Show all posts
Friday, September 10, 2010
Careers in Clinical Laboratory Science
Received the following in an email today:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Stimulus Money - Laboratory Professional Training
Received the following in my email. If you're considering becoming a Medical Technologist/Clinical Laboratory Scientist, you might ask around.
Department of Labor (DOL) Announces Health Care Sector Grants: Laboratory Professional Training Programs Urged to Apply
On July 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of approximately $125 million in new grant funds authorized for projects that provide training and placement services to help workers pursue careers within the health care sector. Eligible applicants include public entities and private nonprofit organizations. The grants are intended to fund projects that provide workers with training that will prepare them to enter and advance in the health care sector.
Earlier this year, ASCP alerted the laboratory professional training community that President Barack Obama's stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, would contain grants that prioritize training and placement for healthcare professionals in high-growth industries. To ensure that laboratory training programs were eligible for upcoming stimulus related grants, ASCP President Barbara J. McKenna, MD, FASCP, urged DOL to consider the critical role that laboratory professionals play in patient care. In 2008, a pre-stimulus $2 million grant from DOL was awarded to a consortium of universities and colleges in Minnesota to restore and build 2- and 4-year laboratory training programs throughout the state.
Laboratory professional training programs and schools at risk of closure or programs seeking to expand should proactively examine this grant money from the stimulus package. These dollars are specifically available for health care professions training and for projects that provide training and placement services to help workers pursue careers within the high growth health care sector. The DOL intends to fund 45-65 grants ranging from approximately $2-$5 million. Approximately $25 million of the total funds available through this solicitation will be reserved for projects serving communities impacted by automotive-related restructuring, so these dollars could potentially be considered to help retrain the workforce. See the full announcement for a list of communities impacted by automotive-related restructuring.
With regard to grants to support allied health, DOL indicated it is interested in proposals that "support recruitment, retention, and career pathways in related allied health occupations," particularly "in hospitals and in medical laboratories." Successful training programs funded through the grant program will prepare participants for employment within the health care sector, and will: (1) target necessary skills and competencies; (2) support career pathways, such as an articulated career ladder or lattice; (3) result in an employer- or industry-recognized certificate or degree (which can include a license, as well as a registered apprenticeship certificate or degree); (4) combine supportive services with training services to help participants overcome barriers to employment, as necessary; and (5) provide training services at times and locations that are easily accessible to targeted populations.
The announcement noted that "recognizing the long-term needs of workers, it is strongly recommended that training lead to portable industry-recognized certificates or degrees." The grant announcement outlined DOL's mandate that proposals "must demonstrate that the proposed project will be implemented by a robust strategic partnership" utilizing entities from the public workforce investment system, public and private employers, and the education and training community as well as other partners such as nonprofit organizations and foundations.
Grant applications must be submitted to the DOL no later than October 5, 2009. To obtain a copy of the grant announcement, please click here.
Department of Labor (DOL) Announces Health Care Sector Grants: Laboratory Professional Training Programs Urged to Apply
On July 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of approximately $125 million in new grant funds authorized for projects that provide training and placement services to help workers pursue careers within the health care sector. Eligible applicants include public entities and private nonprofit organizations. The grants are intended to fund projects that provide workers with training that will prepare them to enter and advance in the health care sector.
Earlier this year, ASCP alerted the laboratory professional training community that President Barack Obama's stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, would contain grants that prioritize training and placement for healthcare professionals in high-growth industries. To ensure that laboratory training programs were eligible for upcoming stimulus related grants, ASCP President Barbara J. McKenna, MD, FASCP, urged DOL to consider the critical role that laboratory professionals play in patient care. In 2008, a pre-stimulus $2 million grant from DOL was awarded to a consortium of universities and colleges in Minnesota to restore and build 2- and 4-year laboratory training programs throughout the state.
Laboratory professional training programs and schools at risk of closure or programs seeking to expand should proactively examine this grant money from the stimulus package. These dollars are specifically available for health care professions training and for projects that provide training and placement services to help workers pursue careers within the high growth health care sector. The DOL intends to fund 45-65 grants ranging from approximately $2-$5 million. Approximately $25 million of the total funds available through this solicitation will be reserved for projects serving communities impacted by automotive-related restructuring, so these dollars could potentially be considered to help retrain the workforce. See the full announcement for a list of communities impacted by automotive-related restructuring.
With regard to grants to support allied health, DOL indicated it is interested in proposals that "support recruitment, retention, and career pathways in related allied health occupations," particularly "in hospitals and in medical laboratories." Successful training programs funded through the grant program will prepare participants for employment within the health care sector, and will: (1) target necessary skills and competencies; (2) support career pathways, such as an articulated career ladder or lattice; (3) result in an employer- or industry-recognized certificate or degree (which can include a license, as well as a registered apprenticeship certificate or degree); (4) combine supportive services with training services to help participants overcome barriers to employment, as necessary; and (5) provide training services at times and locations that are easily accessible to targeted populations.
The announcement noted that "recognizing the long-term needs of workers, it is strongly recommended that training lead to portable industry-recognized certificates or degrees." The grant announcement outlined DOL's mandate that proposals "must demonstrate that the proposed project will be implemented by a robust strategic partnership" utilizing entities from the public workforce investment system, public and private employers, and the education and training community as well as other partners such as nonprofit organizations and foundations.
Grant applications must be submitted to the DOL no later than October 5, 2009. To obtain a copy of the grant announcement, please click here.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Medical Technology Blurbs
A couple of interesting bits concerning Medical Technology/Clinical Laboratory Science.
1. Went to Monster.com today and typed in "medical technologist". This brought up 575 hits. Not all of them are Med Tech jobs, but a large portion of them are. As I've said before, it's a job which does not have a lot of people competing for those positions. As of a recent study, over 15,000 Med Tech positions remain unfilled.
2. If you plan on getting your Med Tech B.S. degree, Arizona State University might not be the place you want to do it. They're in the process of cutting almost 4 dozen programs, with their MT program being one of the unfortunates. I've blogged about it, and posted a letter from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) advocacy branch which is asking ASU to reconsider. If you think this vital source of training for good jobs needs to remain open ... click on the link, fill out your information, and have the advocacy group send out emails to the relevant ASU officials for you.
1. Went to Monster.com today and typed in "medical technologist". This brought up 575 hits. Not all of them are Med Tech jobs, but a large portion of them are. As I've said before, it's a job which does not have a lot of people competing for those positions. As of a recent study, over 15,000 Med Tech positions remain unfilled.
2. If you plan on getting your Med Tech B.S. degree, Arizona State University might not be the place you want to do it. They're in the process of cutting almost 4 dozen programs, with their MT program being one of the unfortunates. I've blogged about it, and posted a letter from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) advocacy branch which is asking ASU to reconsider. If you think this vital source of training for good jobs needs to remain open ... click on the link, fill out your information, and have the advocacy group send out emails to the relevant ASU officials for you.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Medical Technology - Part Deux
A while back, I was asked the following question: [How comparable is a] BS/MS in med tech vs a BS/MS in straight chemistry or microbiology?
Two of the four major disciplines within Medical Technology are Clinical Chemistry and Microbiology, so there is definitely some overlap. However, I'd say that there is probably a fair bit of difference between a Chemistry major and the discipline of Clinical Chemistry. The same holds true for Microbiology. The issue becomes, what is the focus of the university programs curriculum?
If the Microbiology B.S. degree has more of an environmental focus, the student is going to have a lot less exposure to medically relevant organisms, and probably will not know the tests needed to properly differentiate phenotypically similar organisms, which is a core skill in Medical Technology. Same goes for the Chemistry major. If they have a solid background in Biochemistry, they'll be on their way, but will they have enough knowledge in some basic laboratory skills to run some of the non-standard tests (especially when it comes to drug testing and validation tests, which are usually not machine-based)? Plus they'll be missing the instrumentation classes necessary for the job (which often includes troubleshooting and routine maintenance).
That is why, while both majors can be used to work an individual into ASCP certification (which is a standard registry accepted by all hospitals in the USA), on their own they are not sufficient. In most cases, the individual with a BS in Microbiology and/or Chemistry is looking at about a year of additional training before they can sit for the ASCP Board of Registry Chemistry or Microbiology Certification exam. They can, however, be employed during that time, but it will be a position which will be heavily supervised.
Two of the four major disciplines within Medical Technology are Clinical Chemistry and Microbiology, so there is definitely some overlap. However, I'd say that there is probably a fair bit of difference between a Chemistry major and the discipline of Clinical Chemistry. The same holds true for Microbiology. The issue becomes, what is the focus of the university programs curriculum?
If the Microbiology B.S. degree has more of an environmental focus, the student is going to have a lot less exposure to medically relevant organisms, and probably will not know the tests needed to properly differentiate phenotypically similar organisms, which is a core skill in Medical Technology. Same goes for the Chemistry major. If they have a solid background in Biochemistry, they'll be on their way, but will they have enough knowledge in some basic laboratory skills to run some of the non-standard tests (especially when it comes to drug testing and validation tests, which are usually not machine-based)? Plus they'll be missing the instrumentation classes necessary for the job (which often includes troubleshooting and routine maintenance).
That is why, while both majors can be used to work an individual into ASCP certification (which is a standard registry accepted by all hospitals in the USA), on their own they are not sufficient. In most cases, the individual with a BS in Microbiology and/or Chemistry is looking at about a year of additional training before they can sit for the ASCP Board of Registry Chemistry or Microbiology Certification exam. They can, however, be employed during that time, but it will be a position which will be heavily supervised.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Medical Technology - Q&A Part I
maddox22 asks:
... what's your take on how long it would take someone who already has a graduate degree (although not in chemistry or biology) to complete such a program?
To test for a license from the ASCP Board of Registry, ASCP provides several routes. These are listed on the following page (you'll need to scroll down some).
Route 1: A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university including courses in biological science, chemistry and mathematics AND successful completion of a NAACLS accredited Medical Technologist program within the last 5 years; or
Route 2: MLT(ASCP) certification AND a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours) of biological science (with one semester in microbiology), 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours) of chemistry (with one semester in organic or biochemistry), one semester (one quarter) of mathematics, AND two years of full time acceptable clinical laboratory experience in Blood Banking, Chemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, Immunology and Clinical Microscopy in the U.S., Canada or a CAP/The Joint Commission (JCAHO)/AABB accredited laboratory within the last ten years. At least one year must be under the supervision of a pathologist (certified by the American Board of Pathology) or an appropriately board certified medical scientist and a certified medical technologist; or
Route 3: *CLA(ASCP) certification, AND a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours) of biological science (with one semester in microbiology), 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours) of chemistry (with one semester in organic or biochemistry), one semester (one quarter) of mathematics, AND four years of full time acceptable clinical laboratory experience in Blood Banking, Chemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, Immunology and Clinical Microscopy in the U.S., Canada or a CAP/The Joint Commission (JCAHO)/AABB accredited laboratory within the last ten years. At least two years must be under the supervision of a pathologist (certified by the American Board of Pathology) or an appropriately board certified medical scientist and a certified medical technologist; or
Route 4: A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college/university, including 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours) of biological science (with one semester in microbiology), 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours) of chemistry (with one semester in organic or biochemistry), one semester (one quarter) of mathematics, AND five years of full time acceptable clinical laboratory experience in Blood Banking, Chemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, Immunology and Clinical Microscopy in the U.S., Canada or a CAP/The Joint Commission (JCAHO)/AABB accredited laboratory within the last ten years. At least two years must be under the supervision of a pathologist (certified by the American Board of Pathology) or an appropriately board certified medical scientist and a certified medical technologist.
*CLA(ASCP) certification was discontinued in 1982. Only applicants previously certified as CLA(ASCP) may apply under Route 3.
Now, maddox22, I’m not sure of your exact schooling, so I don’t know if you have the necessary chemistry/biology to go through any of the Routes 2 through 4 (I assume Route 3 is off the table entirely). Route 1 depends on you receiving a degree in Medical Technology. So let us assume you need to go Route 1.
Off the top of my head, there are a few scenarios you can take:
Scenario 1: Oklahoma, where I once lived ... had NO Med Tech programs AT. ALL. in any of the universities in the state. Instead, the programs were run by the hospitals. Essentially, you signed on, they trained you, and then you worked for them. I think those programs took about 2 years, but IIRC you were working for them in the meantime so you did pull in a salary. I'm unsure of any costs of education that might be incurred. Local hospitals in your area might have such programs, if you're vaguely interested, it's worth checking out.
Scenario 2: You could back to college for a second major. Most universities will accept up to 60 credits, so if you've taken some chem and bio, you can probably enter a MT program directly. You'd have to take the 2 years of course work. You'd also have to pay for it.
Scenario 3: You go for your MLT, which would probably be a 1 year program at a local technical college and start working (albeit at lower wages) in the hospital and you go through Route 2 in two years time.
I’m not sure if you have enough base courses in bio, chem and math to meet the criteria outlined above. If you do, you’re looking at 2 or 3 years maximum of training, 1 or 2 of which (depending on the route) would require schooling.
There may be additional scenarios, but I can’t think of them right now. If you’re interested in looking into the situation, I’d contact the local hospitals to see if they have such programs and then talk to any MT programs in your vicinity and see what they have to say. It certainly couldn't hurt, and they'd be more aware of additional routes/opportunities. I'm sure a lot of people are going back and re-evaluating their career choices and I would imagine that the MT departments are taking this into consideration (if not, they should).
I hope this helps! I’ll get to your second question soon!
Greetings Earthlings ...
... how do you actually introduce yourself on a new blog? Obviously I don't know ... so I came up with something cheesy. At any rate, here I is. My name is Thomas Joseph (which I'm using as a pseudonym - though it's technically my first and middle name, just not my last) and I am the author of the blog (It's a ...) Micro World (... after all). When I'm not wasting my time blogging, I'm a geneticist/microbiologist/molecular biologist for the United States government. This qualifies me, I suppose, as an "alternative scientist" since I'm not in academia. I often work closely with individuals from academia, but I have a different set of goals and pressures in my work environment. As I continue to post here, I'll talk about a number of those.
I also qualify as an "alternative scientist" given the fact that my B.S. and first M.S. degree were in Medical Technology. As a licensed and registered member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and their Board of Registry, I can work in hospital laboratories throughout the United States (and throughout the world) in a number of fields. The four primary fields being: Clinical Chemistry; Hematology; Immunohematology (aka Blood Banking); and Microbiology (my favorite). Currently, there is a huge need for Medical Technologists (also referred to as Clinical Laboratory Scientists), and according to a US Department of Labor report (ASCP commentary here), there is a need for 15,000 new Medical Technologists per year through 2014. It's a shortage that simply won't be going away soon. Pay is also reasonable. Average salaries are topping well over $20 to $25/hour right out of college (translates into $40 - 50K/year). I didn't remain a Med Tech for long, opting for further graduate schooling and a PhD in Microbiology ... but I did jump through all the hoops and did work in a STAT lab (third shift, bleh!) for a couple of years during graduate school. As opportunities (and demand?) arise, I'll talk about these experiences as well.
With that said, I appreciate the opportunity given to me by Mad Hatter for allowing me to post my thoughts/opinions/advice here. If you have a question/blog entry request for me, leave a comment here and I'll run with it.
I also qualify as an "alternative scientist" given the fact that my B.S. and first M.S. degree were in Medical Technology. As a licensed and registered member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and their Board of Registry, I can work in hospital laboratories throughout the United States (and throughout the world) in a number of fields. The four primary fields being: Clinical Chemistry; Hematology; Immunohematology (aka Blood Banking); and Microbiology (my favorite). Currently, there is a huge need for Medical Technologists (also referred to as Clinical Laboratory Scientists), and according to a US Department of Labor report (ASCP commentary here), there is a need for 15,000 new Medical Technologists per year through 2014. It's a shortage that simply won't be going away soon. Pay is also reasonable. Average salaries are topping well over $20 to $25/hour right out of college (translates into $40 - 50K/year). I didn't remain a Med Tech for long, opting for further graduate schooling and a PhD in Microbiology ... but I did jump through all the hoops and did work in a STAT lab (third shift, bleh!) for a couple of years during graduate school. As opportunities (and demand?) arise, I'll talk about these experiences as well.
With that said, I appreciate the opportunity given to me by Mad Hatter for allowing me to post my thoughts/opinions/advice here. If you have a question/blog entry request for me, leave a comment here and I'll run with it.
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