| |
| 
Shirlyn McKenzie, Ph.D.
|
Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Department of Clinical Laboratory
Sciences. Clinical laboratory science is an exciting and
growing health care field. There are a wide variety of job opportunities
(see success stories of our graduates) and there is a critical shortage
of CLS throughout the country. All our graduates have jobs before
they graduate or shortly thereafter.Our Web site is designed to
give you information you need to make an informed career choice
in clinical laboratory sciences (CLS) and to describe the educational
options in CLS at the University of Texas Health Science Center
at San Antonio. The Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences at
the UTHSCSA is a top quality program that has been rated in the
top 15 such programs in the country. We are one of the few Programs
that offer a flexible curriculum that can fit almost anyone's schedule.
We also have many options from which to choose. You can earn a baccalaureate
degree, post-baccalaureate certificates or a master of science degree,
depending on your interest and qualifications. This will probably
seem confusing to you at first and you may not know which track
to select. That is why we are here to meet with you. You can email,
call or set an appointment to see a faculty member and we will try
to help you sort through the details. I urge you to take a look
through the Web pages here and get as much information as you can
first.
If you are a junior/community college graduate, you may be interested
in the special agreements we have with Austin Community College,
Southwest Texas Junior College, San Antonio College, St. Philip's
College, Northwest Community College, and Palo Alto College. Through
these agreements, you can directly transfer your prerequisites.
If you are a clinical laboratory technician (CLT)/medical laboratory
technician (MLT) and are certified by NCA or ASCP, you will receive
credit for all our level I professional courses.
The UTHSCSA is an exciting place to pursue your education as you
will interact with a wide variety of health professionals and students
in many different disciplines. The UTHSCSA is devoted to serving
the population of Texas but in particular, the population in South
Texas. There will be many opportunities for you to get involved
in our mission of service.
Let us know if you need more information or would like to meet
with one of the faculty.
Sincerely,
 ,
Ph.D., CLS (NCA), MT(ASCP)SH
Professor and Chair
|
The Profession
 Clinical
laboratory science, the study and practice of diagnostic laboratory medicine,
is a dynamic health care profession. The profession encompasses a variety
of laboratory professionals including clinical laboratory scientists,
cytogeneticists, cytologists, and histologists. Clinical laboratory professionals
provide 70% of the critical objective information for diagnosis, treatment
and preventative health care. These individuals analyze body tissues and
fluids using complex instrumentation, sophisticated techniques and specialized
knowledge.
Clinical laboratory scientists (CLS), also called medical technologists
(MT) and clinical laboratory technicians (CLT), also called medical laboratory
technicians (MLT) work primarily in hospital, physician office and reference
laboratories. They perform many routine and complex tests that help the
physician diagnose and treat the patient. For example, diabetics must
be monitored closely to assure that their glucose is within acceptable
limits. The laboratory professional will take a blood specimen from the
diabetic and test it for glucose. Based on results of this test, the patient's
insulin levels are adjusted.
Cytogenetics is a highly complex specialty area of the clinical diagnostic
laboratory. Cytogeneticists are laboratory professionals who analyze tissue
samples in an effort to detect genetic abnormalities. These abnormalities
may be hereditary or acquired. The cytogeneticist assists the physician
in correlating the chromosome anomaly to the individual's medical condition.
Much of the progress that has been made in diagnosing and treating disorders
of the bloodand bone marrow is directly related to the advances in cytogenetics.
 Cytologists
are laboratory specialists who study cells microscopically to determine
whether the cells are normal or abnormal. These are the individuals who
receive biopsies to determine whether a malignancy is present.
Histologists are laboratory specialists who cut and prepare tissue specimens
for examination by cytologists and pathologists. They perform special
stains on the specimens to help the cytologist and pathologist identify
and differentiate cells.
Clinical laboratory professionals seldom have contact with patients because
they work more closely with physicians, researchers and other health care
professionals in disease investigation, consultation, and interpretation
of laboratory results. If you like science, particularly the laboratory,
and you want to be a part of the health care team but do not want to deal
directly with patients, one of the clinical laboratory science professions
may be for you. We welcome you to come and visit our facility and gain
some first-hand knowledge of the type of work done in the clinical laboratory.
Career Opportunities for CLS Graduates
 The
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has projected a 17% growth rate
for clinical laboratory professionals from 1998 through 2008. They project
53,000 new jobs due to increased demand for clinical laboratory testing
and another 40,000 vacancies due to retirement, change of profession,
etc. That means there will be a total of about 9,300 jobs per year. In
2001, there were about 4,000 graduates to fill these positions. The ASCP
wage and vacancy survey in 1998 showed a 9-20% vacancy rate in clinical
laboratory positions. In 2001, the American Hospital Association found
a 12% vacancy rate for clinical laboratory professionals. During the same
period the vacancy rate for nurses was 11%. Thus, although you hear more
about the nursing shortage, the shortage for clinical laboratory professionals
is more severe. One explanation for this disparity in attention between
the laboratory and nurse shortage is that the nurses are directly involved
with the patients and physicians. Laboratory professionals on the other
hand, rarely interact with patients or the public and little is known
about the profession. Due to the shortage of clinical laboratory professionals,
graduates from our CLS Program have no problems finding jobs. Most have
positions before they graduate. See "Success
Stories".
Top
|
