Your Path into the Lab: Become a Medical Laboratory Assistant
The Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) program at San Jacinto College will help you learn the skills you need to work in this critical health care position. With our certificate program, you are trained to be part of the clinical lab team collecting, labeling and processing specimens, recording information, as well as maintaining equipment.
Students enjoy classes and labs as well as on-site experience at affiliate hospital sites. After completing the one-year certificate, students are eligible to apply to take the national certification exam given by the American Medical Technologists (AMT).
Career Opportunities and Income
Visit sanjac.edu for information regarding career opportunities and potential earnings in the Greater Houston region.
Job Entry Requirements. The College informs all students in this program who may have a criminal background that a criminal history could keep graduates from being licensed by the state of Texas. Students with any questions about their background and licensure may speak with the program’s department chair. This is in accordance with Texas House Bill 1508 amendments to Texas Occupations Code Sec 53.152.
Learning Outcomes and Career Skills
A student completing the last award in the pathway will be able to:
- Minimize transmission of infectious disease
- Communicate in written and oral using industry terminology
- Collect and process laboratory specimens
- Perform minimal complexity testing of laboratory samples within the scope of laboratory practice for a laboratory assistant
- Adhere to professional conduct and HIPAA compliance standards while performing the duties of a medical laboratory assistant
- Perform, interpret, and troubleshoot quality control on laboratory instruments
- Generate lab reports and report accurate, reproducible patient results
- Determine specimen acceptability on tests ordered and specimen requirements
External Learning Experiences
This program includes external learning experiences outside of the classroom, e.g., an internship, externship, clinical, practicum, or cooperative learning experience. Those experiences are typically on-site at a business or organization.
All students participating in external learning experiences are required to comply with the immunization requirements and policies of the external learning sites. Some learning sites outside the college have their own vaccination requirements. These rules come from those facilities and are not mandated by the college. Failure to meet those immunization requirements may limit a student’s ability to complete the program and/or may delay the student’s graduation date. San Jacinto College does not process exemptions, and students should address potential vaccination exemptions directly with the external learning site.
Locations
College Admission
San Jacinto College is an open admission institution. All students are welcome to apply and will be admitted to the College. You may begin the process on the College’s “How to Apply” webpage.
Program Admission
In addition to being admitted to the College, students must also be admitted to the Medical Laboratory Assistant program which has additional requirements and/or steps.
Plan of Study
6MED-LBAS
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Term | Credits | |
| HPRS 1206 | Essentials of Medical Terminology | 2 |
| PLAB 1223 | Phlebotomy | 2 |
| MLAB 1201 | Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Science | 2 |
| HPRS 2301 | Pathophysiology | 3 |
| HPRS 1101 | Introduction to Health Professions | 1 |
| Credits | 10 | |
| Second Term | ||
| HPRS 2321 | Medical Law and Ethics for Health Professionals | 3 |
| HPRS 1209 | Interpretation of Laboratory Results | 2 |
| MLAB 1167 | Practicum Clinical Medical Laboratory Technician | 1 |
| Credits | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 16 | |
Capstone Experience: HPRS 1209 Interpretation of Laboratory Results
Medical Laboratory Technology students must earn a grade of C or above in each Medical Laboratory Technology course and required science courses and maintain an overall grade point average of at least 2.0 to graduate from the Medical Laboratory Technology program.