Medical Laboratory Technology Details
Question? Contact Us!
Karen Campbell
Program Chair and Instructor
kjcampbell@dmacc.edu
515-964-6296 (or 1-800-362-2127, ext. 6296)
The Med Lab Tech program gives students an AAS (Associate in Applied Science) degree by completing 5 semesters of curriculum. The curriculum includes clinical lab techniques, liberal arts and science, and a six month hospital assignment.
The program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS)*. DMACC partners with local health facilities including: Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Iowa Lutheran, Broadlawns, and VA. The program is willing to make arrangements with local hospitals as well, so student can participate in their clinical training close to home.
If you enjoy:
- independent, detailed work
- looking at clues to solve problems
- the medical and science field
- challenging work
- producing quality results
then the DMACC Medical Laboratory Technology Program could be the profession for you. Look through this site to find out more about the Med Lab Tech program.
In order to be successful in the MLT Program, students must be able to demonstrate these essential functions.
The Med Lab Tech program starts each fall. Students must have a high school diploma or equivalent with a grade "C" or better in one year of high school biology, algebra, chemistry or equivalent. If not, the following classes are offered at DMACC: MAT063, BIO156, and CHM122. The Academic Achievement Center also offers the following equivalent classes: Biology I & II and Chemistry I & II. Students must earn a "C" grade or better in these classes before entering the Med Lab Tech Program.
Online Information Session
Students must also attend a REQUIRED Information Session about the program before they will be accepted into the program.
Please watch this Online Information Session video and complete the quiz.
To receive credit for attending this online information session, you MUST complete the quiz which can be accessed by following this link: Medical Laboratory Technology Information Session Quiz
As distance learners who choose to take all or part of the Medical Laboratory Technology classes at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) using the Web-blended option, you may want to contact someone about concerns in the program, admissions, and financial aid.
Learn more about Cooperating Labs or Proctoring Exams for Distance Learning for Medical Laboratory Technology classes.
Cooperating Labs
Any student who is considered a "distance learner" and is enrolled in the Web-blended
Medical Laboratory Technology courses of DMACC's MLT Program must have a Cooperating
Lab. It is the student's responsibility to solicit the support of a Cooperating Laboratory.
To help in the student's solicitation of a laboratory, please see the list of Frequently
Asked Questions below about the Role of the Cooperating Lab.
The potential cooperating laboratory must then submit to the DMACC MLT Program Chair:
- A completed Notice of Understanding AND
- Clinical Facility Fact Sheet and Faculty Fact Sheet.
This documentation is REQUIRED by DMACC, the sponsoring program, as well as by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, the organization that accredits the DMACC MLT program.
The Cooperating Laboratory must also submit the following information to the MLT Program Chair upon request:
- A listing of major items of equipment in the laboratory
- Current test "menu" for each instrument
- A listing of current instructional resources including:
- Current reference books - Author(s). (Publication Date) Title. Publisher EXAMPLE: Phelan, S. E. (1999) Phlebotomy review guide. Chicago: ASCP
- Periodicals
- Prepared slides, stock cultures, A-V materials, etc
- Time Logs for students
- Reference List
Cooperating Labs FAQ
The primary role of the Cooperating Laboratory is to provide basic skill development for distance learners enrolled in the "Web-blended" option of the Medical Laboratory Technology Program at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). The "hands-on" instruction in the Cooperating Laboratory is to "mirror" the basic training received in the on-campus DMACC MLT Laboratory.
As a Cooperating Laboratory you agree to allow personnel from your laboratory to provide direct on-site supervision and basic bench instruction related to performance of routine laboratory procedures, to evaluate respective laboratory competencies, to serve as proctors for various examinations, and to give other valuable assistance as needed.
The student is expected to spend the same amount of time in their Cooperating Laboratory as an on-campus student would spend in the on-campus MLT laboratory for the same course. Some courses have no laboratory component; others require anywhere from 4-8 hours per week. For some courses, students may have to spend 2-4 consecutive days in the Cooperating Lab.
A student taking the entire MLT program as a distance learner would need to document approximately the following number of hours each semester:
- Term 1 (Fall semester - 15 weeks) - 4 hours per week
- Term 2 (Spring semester - 15 weeks) - 4 hours per week
- Term 3 (Summer term - 10 weeks) - estimated 8+ hours per week
- Term 4 (Fall semester - 15 weeks) - 8 hours per week
Hours may be adjusted slightly on the weeks that the student is required to attend class on the DMACC campus.
Students keep a Time Log that details the amount of time they are in the cooperating laboratory. The Time Log must be signed by the person who is supervising their learning experience.
Generally, the Fall semester begins at the end of August and ends in mid-December; the Spring semester begins in mid-January and ends in mid-May. In unusual circumstances a student may receive a grade of "I" (incomplete) grade and extend the time to complete the course. The Cooperating Site Coordinator will be included in communication about and planning for course completion when a student chooses to take an "I".
All DMACC MLT courses taught in Terms 1-4 (excluding the Principles of Phlebotomy class) have a lab component. The final semester (Term 5) is the student's clinical rotation; this is treated differently than the experience in the Cooperating Laboratory.
The Cooperating Laboratory could serve as a student's "practice lab" for all classes with a lab component in Terms 1-4. Hours the students is required to spend in a Cooperating Lab depends on each individual student's curriculum plan. The student can tell you how many and which courses he or she is taking. Use of a Cooperating Lab also depends on the volume and variety of testing and staffing situation at the Cooperating Lab. The DMACC MLT Program Chair and Faculty, upon review of information about the potential Cooperating Lab, will determine its suitability to be a Cooperating Laboratory for the various courses in the MLT Program.
Proctoring the Exam FAQ
You are to directly monitor the student while they are taking exams, and you must complete and mail or fax a Proctor Report for each exam you administer.
Please review the attached Proctor Report form. Students can print Proctor Report forms from each course web page.
The Fall semester begins in mid-August and ends in mid-December. The Spring semester begins in mid-January and ends in mid-May. In unusual circumstances a student may receive an "I" (incomplete) grade and extend the time to complete the course.
This depends on each individual student's curriculum plan. The student can tell you how many and which courses they are taking.
This varies from course to course. Usually there are 3-9 exams for each course.
The schedule for each course is posted on its web page. Both the student and the instructors can provide you with a schedule for each course.
Exams are written close to the day of administration - often the day before. For written exams, the course instructor will email a copy of the exam to the proctor. The proctor can then print and exam for the student.
For computerized exams quizzes and other evaluations, the student will be able to see exact dates AND times that the evaluation is available. The student should then set up a time with the proctor to monitor the exam.
The student has a required amount of time (in days) in which to complete any exam. The proctor will be notified of the time limit via email from the course instructor.
For written exams, unless otherwise stated, students have a maximum of 1 hour for regular exams throughout the course, and 2 hours and 15 minutes for final exams.
For computerized exams, quizzes or other evaluations given over the Internet and/or special software, the amount of time the student has to take the exam can be set within the testing software itself. Students will not be allowed to continue after the set time is up.
As noted on the Proctor Report, the student is allowed to use only blank paper, a pen or pencil, and a non-programmable calculator. Calculators on cell phones are NOT permitted.
As a rule, when students sit for an exam in class they are expected to bring a calculator to all exams and the teaching faculty do not provide one for them if they do not have one for some reason. This is stated both verbally and in writing to the students.
Instructor Contacts:
The DMACC MLT instructors are:
Karen Campbell, Program Chair and Instructor
515-964-6296 (or 1-800-362-2127, ext. 6296)
Email: kjcampbell@dmacc.edu
Michelle Erickson, Instructor
515-965-6023 (or 1-800-362-2127, ext. 6023)
Email: mserickson@dmacc.edu
Medical laboratory technicians are in demand and have 100% job placement nation-wide. Salaries are competitive, with current starting salaries in the Des Moines area of $25,000 - 30,000. Most companies hiring our graduates offer sign-on bonuses as well.
Positions for Medical Laboratory Technicians can range from:
- Hospital Laboratories
- Physicians' Office Laboratories
- Public Health Clinics
- Blood Collection Facilities
- Pharmaceutical Firms
- Research Institutions
- Armed Forces
- Reference Laboratories
- For Profit Laboratories
- Private Sector
Additional Information