To become a medical technologist (also known as a clinical laboratory technologist), a person must earn a bachelor’s degree in medical technology or earn a degree in one of the life sciences and obtain specialized training in clinical laboratory sciences. The Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology degree at Mercer University requires the completion of 90 hours at the College of Liberal Arts (see details below) plus completion of any NAACLS-accredited twelve-month program in medical technology. The required 90 hours of Mercer University credit must include the general education requirements (excluding the Senior Capstone) plus 16 hours of chemistry (CHM 111, 112, 221, 222), at least 17 hours of biology (BIO 211, 212, 303, and 465), 4 hours of pre-calculus (MAT 133), and 3 hours of statistics (MAT 126).
The courses required for admission to an NAACLS-accredited medical technology program vary from school to school, but may include courses in Human Anatomy and Physiology and Immunology. Also, many medical technology programs require each applicant to have a minimum overall G.P.A. of 2.5, though some programs require a minimum overall G.P.A. higher than 2.5. In addition, most programs also evaluate each applicant's G.P.A. in math and science and/or prerequisite courses. Note that having the minimum required G.P.A. does not guarantee entry to a program; the higher a student's G.P.A. is, the more competitive the student will be when applying to a medical technology program. It is recommended that, early in a student’s undergraduate career, s/he research the admission requirements for the medical technology program(s) to which s/he intends to apply, and that s/he should schedule his/her undergraduate classes based on the requirements of the programs in which s/he is interested. Each student is ultimately responsible for knowing and fulfilling the admission requirements of the programs to which s/he intends to apply.
Students should know that some states (including Georgia) require licensure to practice as a medical technologist, and that professional certification is preferred by most employers. Certification as a Medical Technologist (MT) is available through the American Society for Clinical Pathology (http://www.ascp.org) and the American Association of Bioanalysts (http://www.aab.org), and certification as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) is available through the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel (http://www.nca-info.org). Master’s and doctoral programs are also available in clinical laboratory science for students who wish to further their education.
Pre-medical technology students may wish to join Mercer's pre-health club, MerPMed. For more information, students should visit the club's website, located at http://www2.mercer.edu/AAS/Pre-professional Information/MerPMed.htm, or send an e-mail to merpmed@yahoo.com.
For more information about the medical technology programs offered in Georgia, see the following schools' websites: Armstrong Atlantic State University (http://www.medtech.armstrong.edu/); Emory University School of Medical Technology (not yet NAACLS-accredited; http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/departments/medtech/about_us/admissions.html); the Medical College of Georgia (http://www.mcg.edu/sah/brt/cls/index.html); and Thomas University (http://www.thomasu.edu/cls.htm). For a list of medical technology programs offered throughout the United States, see the following website: http://www.naacls.org/accreditation/. For more information about the field of medical technology and laboratory science (including salaries and job outlook), see http://www.ascls.org/jobs/edreqs.asp and http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos096.htm, respectively.
More Information
For more information about preparing for and applying to medical technology programs, contact the pre-professional advisor in the Office of Academic and Advising Services (478-301-2250).
CB 5-12-09