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Medical Technology Program

› Program Description
› Curriculum
› Standards for Admission & Retention
› Graduation Requirements
› Program Faculty
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› Application Information
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Program Description

The Medical Technology Program is a four-year course of study leading to a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology degree, and is divided into two major parts, the Pre-professional Phase and the Professional Phase.

Pre-Professional Phase

During the freshmen and sophomore years, known as the pre-professional phase, students must earn a minimum of 90 quarter credits, including both prerequisite courses for medical technology and general education courses required for graduation from the University of Washington, as outlined below.

In general, the following courses must be completed prior to entry into the Medical Technology Program:

biological science - 15 quarter credits
chemistry - 22 quarter credits
statistics and/or mathematics - 5-10 quarter credits
general subjects - 43-48 quarter credits

Specific requirements:

1. Prerequisite course requirements

Biology 180, 200, 220
Biology 118 recommended
General Chemistry 142, 152, 162
Organic Chemistry 223, 224 or 237, 238, 239
Statistics 220 or Mathematics 124 or 144

2. Completion of University writing, reasoning, and general-education requirements.

a. 5 credits of English composition, plus a minimum 7 credits of additional writing-intensive courses
b. 5 credits of quantitative reasoning.
c. minimum of 40 total credits from the three Areas of Knowledge, at least 10 credits in each Area.

Courses may be taken at the UW, or at another university, college, or community college. All courses need not be completed at the time of application to the program (application deadline is February 15 for entry in Autumn Quarter). However, the applicant must show a specific plan for completion of all prerequisite courses prior to entry in the Professional Phase of the program. If courses are not complete at the time of application, admission will be with the condition that all course work will be completed prior to Autumn Quarter.

If course work is taken at some other school, it is important to verify that courses equivalent to those offered at the UW are taken. An advisor at the school should be able to obtain and give you this information.

An overall cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 is required for consideration for admission to the professional program. In addition, the applicant must have at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average in the prerequisite science and mathematics courses. The average GPA for last year's class was 3.43.

Professional Phase

The last two years of study constitute the professional phase. Courses in the first year of the this phase are designed to provide students with an appropriate theoretical background and with the basic technical skills that will enable them to function effectively in the clinical laboratory. The following subjects are included in the professional phase of the curriculum and are taught by faculty in the Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Biochemistry, Immunology and Microbiology.

Biochemistry
Immunology
Phlebotomy (blood collection)
Clinical Chemistry
Clinical Hematology
Clinical Microbiology, including

Bacteriology
Parasitology
Mycology
Virology

Coagulation
Clinical Microscopy (Urinalysis and other Body Fluids)

The final year (3 quarters) takes place in the clinical laboratories of the University of Washington Medical Center and its affiliates.

Students spend the majority of their scheduled time in the core clinical laboratory program in chemistry, hematology, immunohematology, and microbiology. In addition, they can either spend time in a variety of clinical laboratory rotations designed to enrich their core clinical experiences or participate in research. In research, a collaborative project is supervised by a faculty member in the Department of Laboratory Medicine. Enrichment rotations include subspecialty sections in chemistry, hematology, microbiology, and/or immunohematology; molecular diagnostics laboratories; and laboratories where skills in several sections are utilized.

Students attend the Department of Laboratory Medicine Grand Rounds which provide current information on scientific advances in laboratory medicine and they also attend Medical Technology seminars where topics in laboratory management, educational methodologies and other areas are covered.

Students in the Medical Technology Program also learn proper specimen collection techniques, including phlebotomy (drawing blood) since phlebotomy may be part of their role as medical technologists, especially in smaller hospital or clinic settings. Phlebotomy orientation includes review of educational software (Phlebotomy TutorTM) and the opportunity to practice on "simulated training arms" before collecting samples from other students and eventually, under supervision, from patients. While many students find phlebotomy intimidating at first, most overcome this initial hesitation and many become experienced phlebotomists during their time in the MT program through employment on phlebotomy teams at the University of Washington or Harborview Medical Centers.

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Program Curriculum - Major Scientific Disciplines

Traditionally, medical technology has included four major scientific disciplines-clinical chemistry, clinical hematology, clinical microbiology, and immunohematology (blood banking). However, with advancement in scientific knowledge, newer and more sophisticated procedures are constantly being developed within all of these areas so that they have greatly expanded from their traditional content. Molecular biology plays an increasingly important role in patient evaluation. For example, individuals who have inherited a genetic disease such as cystic fibrosis can be identified at the DNA level. Chromosomal abnormalities found in many cancers such as breast cancer or leukemia can also sometimes be detected at the molecular level. Many bacteria and viruses can be identified using molecular techniques, frequently more rapidly than with traditional culturing methods.

The following paragraphs give a brief description of the traditional major scientific disciplines, along with some examples of roles medical technologists have in patient care issues in these areas.

Clinical Chemistry:

Analysis of chemical constituents of blood and other body fluids. Common examples of chemical constituents include electrolytes (e.g., Na, K, Cl), lipids (e.g., cholesterol), proteins, hormones, glucose, drugs, etc.
Medical technologists in clinical chemistry analyze the blood and other body fluids to determine the level of the chemical constituents. Many chemicals, such as glucose, cholesterol, and protein are always present, but the levels in some individuals may be either too high or too low. For example, patients with diabetes mellitus have glucose levels which are too high while patients with hypoglycemia have glucose levels which are too low. Other chemicals may only appear in the blood stream in significant amounts when an organ or tissue is damaged as when a patient has a heart attack.
Drugs may be introduced into the body to treat a specific disease, but because many can have serious side effects, the concentration must be monitored to assure that the dosage is correct. In addition to monitoring therapy, the technologist in clinical chemistry frequently performs testing to confirm drug overdoses or recreational drug abuse.
In all of these situations, medical technologists in the clinical chemistry laboratory play an important part in providing the physicians with information necessary to treat patients in a timely and appropriate manner.

Clinical Hematology:

Analysis of the cells found in blood and bone marrow; the identification of anemias, leukemias, and lymphomas; blood response to bacterial and viral infections.
Leukemia and lymphoma, which are both malignancies of blood cells, account for about 10% of cancers in the United States. It is critical to correctly identify the cell population involved in these malignancies. Medical technologists use a variety of sophisticated techniques to identify the malignant cell population. These range from the use of monoclonal antibodies for identification of specific proteins on the surface of cells to the use of DNA probes to evaluate a cell population at the molecular level.
Hematology also includes the study of the systems that result in the clotting of blood, which, if defective, may lead to excessive bleeding ("hemorrhage") or excessive clotting ("thrombosis"). Only recently has it become possible to identify many abnormalities that may lead to thrombosis, the consequences of which include heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary emboli. Patients who have a family history of thrombotic disease can be evaluated, sometimes at the DNA level, to determine if they have inherited the abnormality found in affected member(s) of their family. Medical technologists not only have been instrumental in identifying the abnormalities which are risk factors, but also in evaluating the effectiveness of therapies proposed to treat them.

Clinical Microbiology:

Detection and identification of microorganisms that cause infectious diseases. These may be bacterial, parasitic, fungal or viral.
Bacteria that cause infecton include common organisms such as those that cause strep throat and unusual organisms that only cause infection in patients whose immune systems are deficient, such as those undergoing cancer treatment or those with AIDS. Medical technologists are the detectives that isolate and identify both common and uncommon organisms. To aid the physicians in treating infectious diseases, the organisms must be tested for susceptibility to antibiotics and monitored for emerging resistance patterns. Tuberculosis is an example of a microorganism that is becoming more resistant to treatment.
International travel and immigration often result in patients in the United States presenting with parasites previously found only in other parts of the world. These parasites are identified by medical technologists in the microbiology laboratory.
Patients who have recieved organ or bone marrow transplants are at high risk for unusual infections with fungi or molds. Mycology is the division of microbiology that involves the culture and identification of fungi that cause disease.
Knowledge and understanding in the field of virology is increasing exponentially, and medical technologists perform sophisticated tests, often using biomolecular techniques, to identify the presence of a specific virus as well as the viral load, and evaluate the patient's response to new drug protocols, thus determining the effectiveness of therapy. Nowhere has this been more highly publicized than with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Clinical Immunohematology (Blood Bank):

Typing and crossmatching of blood and blood products for administration to patients requiring transfusions; identification of unusual blood types; testing of blood donor units for infectious agents which may be transmitted via a transfusion; preparation of blood products for transfusion.
Acute trauma patients and patients undergoing surgical procedures where a significant loss of blood occurs may require large amounts of blood or blood products over a short period of time. Medical technologists in blood banking are responsible for separating blood constituents and preparing more specific products, such as red cells, platelets, cryoprecipitate, and fresh frozen plasma. Since multiple products can be made from whole blood, this results in more targeted treatment for the patient and also expands the usefulness of one unit of blood.
Some people have unusual blood types, or may have developed unusual antibodies to other blood types due to exposure to donor blood or through pregnancy. Medical technologists must identify and characterize these unusual types in order to identify compatible donor blood.
Organ transplantation has expanded the role of medical technologists working in blood banking, as organ recipient and donor testing for compatibility is crucial. It is also critical that both blood products and organs be safe and not infected with any microorganism. Medical technologists test donor blood and organs for an ever expanding number of infectious agents which may be transmitted to the recipient.

Course Curriculum - Specific Course Descriptions

For a complete program curriculum, go to the top of this page and click on "Courses".

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Essential Function Standards for Admission and Retention

Introduction

The Department of Laboratory Medicine has a responsibility for the welfare of the patients treated or otherwise affected by students enrolled in the Medical Technology Program, as well as for the welfare of students in the educational programs of the Department. In order to fulfill this responsibility, the Department has established minimal essential function standards that must be met (with reasonable accommodation if necessary) in order to participate in the program and graduate.

Program

Essential abilities required by the Medical Technology Program curriculum are in the following areas: visual, communication, fine and gross motor functions, emotional maturity, application skills, professional skills, dealing with risk exposure, and attendance. These abilities are in addition to academic standards and have been developed in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (PL101-336) and the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS).