Jacen Moore, Ph.D., Program Director
Alex Ryder, M.D., Medical Advisor
Program Objectives
The College of Health Professions offers an online Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Laboratory Science (BSMLS) for students who have earned an Associate of Science (AS) or Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT). This career-ladder program allows Medical Laboratory Technicians to complete their Bachelor of Science degree online while maintaining their employment in a medical laboratory. Graduates of the program are prepared to function effectively as medical laboratory scientists in any laboratory setting and eventually to assume positions of responsibility in laboratory management, teaching and consulting.
Accreditation
The UTHSC program in medical laboratory science is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), 5600 N. River Road, Suite 720, Rosemont, IL 60018- 5119; (773) 714-8880; http://www.naacls.org.
Admissions
1. Required coursework
| Prerequisites |
Credit Hours |
| |
|
| General Education |
|
| English Composition |
3 |
| English Literature |
3a |
| Humanities or Fine Arts |
3 |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences |
3 |
| Natural Science/Mathematics |
|
| College Algebra |
3 |
| American History |
6b |
| Subtotal |
21 |
| |
|
| General Education Electives |
|
| Electives |
9 |
| Subtotal |
9 |
| |
|
| Prerequisite Course Work |
|
| |
|
| English Composition II |
3 |
| General Chemistry |
8 |
| Organic Chemistry |
4 |
| General Biology or Zoology |
8 |
| Human Physiology or Anatomy/Physiology |
4 |
| Microbiology |
4 |
| Subtotal |
31 |
| |
|
| MLT Courses & Licensurec |
|
| Competency-Based Credit |
23 |
| |
|
| Total |
84 |
- Courses in literature maybe used to fulfill the Humanities/Fine Arts requirement.
- Students lacking the required one unit (one year) of American History from high school must complete six (6) credit hours of American History or three (3) credit hours of American History and three (3) credit hours of Tennessee History to fulfill the requirements in General Education. Students who have successfully completed one unit (one year) of American History in high school will need to complete six (6) credits of elective to have thirty (30) credit hours in General Education.
- Applicants who have completed a medical laboratory technician program, received a degree and passed one of the following board exams: American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) or American Medical Technologists (AMT) and are certified as a medical laboratory technician will be granted 23 credits for competency based education.
2.Other Requirements
- An earned AS or AAS degree for Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) from a NAACLS-accredited program.
- In addition to their B.S. degree general education and program-specific prerequisite course requirements, qualified students must have successfully completed the medical laboratory technology curricular courses with the grade of “C” or higher.
- A minimum overall GPA of 2.5.
- A minimum of 84 credit hours of college level course work completed with the grade of “C” or higher in MLT and prerequisite courses.
- Two letters of recommendation from previous college instructors or immediate supervisor and a letter of support from the applicant’s laboratory manager.
- Foreign applicants whose native language is not English must submit the results of a TOEFL exam with a minimum score of 550 on the written test, 213 on the computer test or 80 on the TOEFL iBT®.
- Complete an interview with the faculty.
Coursework from another MLS professional degree program may not be transferred to meet the requirements for graduation from the MLS program. Students cannot obtain advanced standing or placement in the program.
Applications
Applications are accepted online at http://www.uthsc.edu/admissions/chp.php.
Health Requirements
In addition to general University of Tennessee Health Science Center requirements, Medical Laboratory Science students are required to have an annual skin test for tuberculosis and to be immunized against Neisseria meningitidis and the Hepatitis B virus. Students are also required to meet the vaccination and testing requirements of their employer.
Technical Standards
For admission to the Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science degree programs or the Master of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), students are expected to be able to successfully meet the Technical Standards outlined below. Students are required to sign the Technical Standards Commitment form indicating their understanding and ability to meet these standards either with or without accommodations (for persons with documented disabilities). Any questions about these technical standards should be directed to the program director of the MLS programs.
UTHSC receives applications from a diverse body of potential students including those with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations will be provided to help students meet these technical standards when appropriate, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Any student wishing accommodations should contact Ms. Keri Snyder, the Associate Director of Accessibility and Accommodations at ksnyde21@uthsc.edu, or
https://uthsc.edu/tlc/accommodations.php or by calling the TLC at 901-448-1218.
Students who are or become unable to meet the Technical Standards with or without reasonable accommodations will become ineligible for admission or continued enrollment in the program. Students must also demonstrate the ability to provide for the welfare and safety of their patients and others and meet the intellectual, emotion and physical criteria for medical laboratory science.
Once enrolled in the BSMLS or MSCLS Program, students must continue to meet the academic and technical requirements of the curriculum, including the demonstration of the program-specific skills described herein, in order to progress through the curriculum and to graduate.
General Standards
The students must have the ability to:
- Assess and make appropriate judgements regarding lab services and patient outcomes.
- Prioritize and perform laboratory testing.
- Adapt to a variety of patient care situations, including crisis.
- Communicate effectively in English, orally and in writing.
- Participate in discussion in the classroom, the clinical arena and with colleagues and patients.
- Acquire information developed through didactic instruction and clinical experiences.
- Comprehend reading assignments and to search and evaluate literature.
- Prepare written assignments and maintain written records.
- Perform duties and assignments in a timely fashion while under stress and in a variety of settings.
- Meet deadlines and manage time.
- Utilize the computer for instructional assignments and patient care activities.
Physical and Motor Skills
The student must possess:
- Dexterity with both wrists, hands and arms, and dexterity with all fingers.
- Motor skills to grasp, pinch, push, pull, finger, hold, extend, rotate, cut.
- Ability to obtain and/or verify patient samples.
- Sufficient stamina to tolerate physically taxing workloads.
- Ability to operate/manipulate and effectively evaluate the status of laboratory instruments and equipment.
Sensory Skills
The student must possess:
- Visual acuity (corrected to 20/40); visual perception with respect to depth and color.
- Cognitive, Integrative, Quantitative Skills
- The student must possess the:
- Ability to measure, calculate, analyze, interpret, synthesize and evaluate as applicable to clinical practice.
- Ability to solve one or more problems within specific time frames, which are often short.
- Ability to comprehend spatial relationships.
Affective, Behavioral and Social Skills
The student must be able to:
- Function as part of a team (communicate effectively in English, consult, negotiate, share, delegate).
- Delegate to and supervise others.
- Adhere to safety guidelines for self and others.
- Comply with standards and regulations required by external agencies.
- Follow instructions/procedures with accuracy and precision.
- Maintain intellectual and emotional stability and maturity under stress, while also maintaining appropriate performance standards.
- Learn and exhibit professional attributes.
State Authorization
As outlined in the college section of this bulletin, students completing all or a portion of an educational program residing outside the state in which the program originates (i.e., for UTHSC students residing outside of the state of Tennessee while enrolled in an online program) must be authorized per statute to do so by the state in which they live. The University of Tennessee is responsible for securing all necessary authorizations across the US. Students seeking admission to the online MLT-MLS who plan to live outside of Tennessee while completing the degree should contact the program director to confirm the presence of the necessary state authorization.
General Education Competencies
General education competencies for all UTHSC baccalaureate degrees are:
Critical Thinking
Students will demonstrate their ability to solve problems, construct and present cogent arguments in support of their views, and understand and evaluate arguments presented by others.
Communication
Students will demonstrate appropriate skills in planning, preparing, and presenting effective oral and written presentations.
Interprofessionalism
Students will be able to explain interprofessional practice to patients, clients, families, and/or other professionals, describe the areas of practice of other health professions, and express professional opinions competently, confidently, and respectfully while avoiding discipline specific language.
General education competencies will be measured through tools and strategies such as student performance on oral presentations, written critiques of research papers, and papers written in capstone courses.
Program-Specific Policies
Communication
Email is the primary mode of communication for instructor and student interactions and is conducted using the official UTHSC email system. Course information is provided to students via the campus learning management system, BlackBoard, which includes the course syllabus, links to campus resources, reading and supplemental class materials, recorded lectures, testing and assessment, grades and other classroom materials. To ensure online privacy and to verify student identity, students must use their unique login and ID to access their email accounts and the BlackBoard site. Student’s personal information is not shared with anyone outside of the college unless specified by the student in accordance with all FERPA guidelines. Students can only access courses in which they are enrolled. Faculty may also interact with students via web-conferencing, video chat and telephone conferences.
Exams
Exams are taken through a live proctoring service that allows students to take exams from anywhere using a webcam and a reliable internet connection. This service verifies the identity of the student.
Academic and Student Support Services for Online Students
Additional resources and information particularly pertinent to students enrolled in an online program is provided in the college portion of the bulletin as well as the overall UTHSC portion of the bulletin. Students are strongly encouraged to review the information regarding access to various resources for online students.
Attendance Requirement
Attendance is mandatory. For the online courses, students are expected to participate in discussions or activities posted in Blackboard and to check for announcements on a daily basis.
Clinical Affiliations
Clinical affiliation sites are located in Memphis and throughout Tennessee. Ideally, students will complete their clinical practicums at their place of employment. These practicums must be completed outside of their work schedule. If the place of employment does not perform testing in all areas, the student will be expected to find an alternate site. An affiliation agreement (between the clinical site and the University) must be signed before a student can perform a clinical practicum.
Grading Policy
Written and practical examinations and performance evaluations are a crucial part of the educational program throughout the MLS curriculum. All courses in each term must be passed with acceptable grades before the student is allowed to progress to the next term. No credit for any course is awarded until the end of the term. The point-grade conversion scales used by the medical laboratory science program for all courses are as follows:
94-100 = A
92-93 = A-
89-91 = B+
85-88 = B
83-84 = B-
80-82 = C+
75-79 = C
73-74 = C-
71-72 = D
65-70 = D-
Below 65 = F
The grading scale for all clinical practice courses is as follows:
95 - 100 = A
86 - 94 = B
80 - 85 = C
75 - 79 = D
Below 75 = F
Information about grading for incompletes and withdrawals is covered in the general college section of the bulletin. Students should reference this information about grade assignments in these situations.
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