Medical Laboratory Science, B.S. (CIP 51.1005)

Minimum Requirements for Admission

Admission to the Medical Laboratory Science program is on a competitive basis. Satisfactory completion of the minimum requirements identified below is required.

1. Applicants must have attained a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or greater (on a 4.0 scale) by the application deadline.
2. Satisfactory completion of listed prerequisite courses earned from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university by the first day of class in the program. A grade of D or F in any prerequisite course is not accepted and the course must be repeated until an acceptable grade is achieved. Grades in repeated courses are not deleted in the determination of GPA.
3. Other factors considered for admission are science/math GPA, last 30 hours completed GPA, interview, knowledge of the profession, and recommendations.
4. Accepted applicants must certify that they meet the technical standards established by the program with or without reasonable accommodations.

Prerequisite Courses

(Subject to revision)

• English (Composition) 6 Hours
• Chemistry (General/Inorganic Lecture and Laboratory) 8 Hours
• Mathematics (College Algebra or above) 6 Hours *
• Biology (Consecutive Lecture and Laboratory for Science Majors) 8 Hours
• Microbiology (Lecture and Laboratory) 4 Hours
• Science Electives (2000 level or higher) 6 Hours **
• General Electives 9 Hours ***
• Fine Arts Requirement 3 Hours ****
• Humanities 9 Hours *****
• Social Science 6 Hours

Technical Standards for Medical Laboratory Science

Technical standards are essential abilities and characteristics required for admission, progression, and graduation from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport School of Allied Health Professions. The following standards consist of certain minimum physical and cognitive abilities and sufficient mental and emotional stability to assure that students are able to complete the entire course of study and participate fully in all aspects of the academic and clinical curriculum, with or without reasonable accommodations:

Visual and Observation Skills: A student in the MLS program must possess sufficient visual skills and skills of observation to perform and interpret laboratory assays, including the ability to:

• Observe laboratory demonstrations in which lab procedures are performed on patient samples (i.e. body fluids, culture materials, tissue sections, and cellular specimens).
• Characterize the color, consistency, and clarity of biological samples or reagents.
• Use a clinical grade binocular microscope to discriminate among fine differences in structure and color (i.e. hue, shading, and intensity) in microscopic specimens.
• Read and comprehend text, numbers, and graphs displayed in print and on a video monitor.
• Recognize alarms.

Motor and Mobility Skills: A student must possess adequate motor and mobility skills to:

• Perform laboratory tests adhering to existing laboratory safety standards.
• Perform moderately taxing continuous physical work. This work may require prolonged sitting and/or standing, over several hours and some may take place in cramped positions.
• Reach laboratory benchtops and shelves, patients lying in hospital beds or patients seated in specimen collection furniture.
• Perform fine motor tasks such as pipetting, inoculating media, withdrawing a blood sample from a patient, handling small tools and/or parts to repair and correct equipment malfunctions, and transferring drops into tubes of small diameter.
• Use a computer keyboard to operate laboratory instruments and to calculate, record, evaluate, and transmit laboratory information.

Communication Skills: A student must possess adequate communication skills to:

• Communicate with individuals and groups (i.e. faculty members, fellow students, staff, patients, and other health care professionals) verbally and in recorded format (writing, typing, graphics, or telecommunication).

Behavioral Skills: A student must possess adequate behavioral skills to:

• Be able to manage the use of time and be able to systematize actions in order to complete professional and technical tasks within realistic constraints.
• Possess the emotional health necessary to effectively apply knowledge and exercise appropriate judgment.
• Be able to provide professional and technical services while experiencing the stresses of task-related uncertainty (i.e., ambiguous test order, ambivalent test interpretation), emergent demands (i.e. “stat” test orders), and distracting environment (i.e., high noise levels, crowding, complex visual stimuli.)
• Be flexible and creative and adapt to professional and technical change.
• Recognize potentially hazardous materials, equipment, and situations and proceed safely in order to minimize risk of injury to patients, self, and nearby individuals.
• Adapt to working with unpleasant biological specimens.
• Support and promote the activities of fellow students and of health care professionals. Promotion of peers helps furnish a team approach to learning, task completion, problem solving, and patient care.
• Be honest, compassionate, ethical, and responsible. The student must be forthright about errors or uncertainty. The student must be able to critically evaluate her or his own performance, accept constructive criticism, and look for ways to improve (i.e. participate in enriched educational activities). The student must be able to evaluate the performance of fellow students and tactfully offer constructive comments.
• Show respect for individuals of different age, ethnic background, religion, and /or sexual orientation.
• Exhibit professional behavior by conforming to appropriate standards of dress, appearance, language and public behavior.

PLEASE NOTE: Immunocompromised individuals may put themselves at personal risk due to exposure to infectious agents that occurs in all aspects of the laboratory.

LSUHSC-S seeks to comply with the American with Disabilities Act by providing reasonable accommodations, including resources and services, for students with disabilities, chronic medical conditions, a temporary disability, or pregnancy complications resulting in difficulties with accessing learning opportunities.

It is the responsibility of a student with a disability (or a student who develops a disability) and who needs accommodations to contact the SAHP Admissions and Records Office to initiate the procedure for requesting accommodations and provide adequate documentation of the general nature and extent of the disability and the functional limitations to be accommodated. All requests are reviewed by school’s ADA Officer to determine what reasonable accommodations, if any, are appropriate for the student.

For further information, please view the LSUHSC-S Student Policy for Requesting Accommodations.

Method of Application

Procedures for applying for admission to the Medical Laboratory Science program are as follows:

1. The LSUHSC-S Medical Laboratory Science program accepts applications for admission via the Allied Health Centralized Application Service (AHCAS). The Medical Laboratory Science website provides further instructions.
2. Selected applicants will participate in an admissions interview and the action taken by the Admissions Committee will be forwarded in writing to the applicant.
3. Accepted applicants are expected to complete an acceptance form and submit a non-refundable deposit of $150.00 by the deadline indicated on their acceptance email. The acceptance deposit secures the student’s position in the program and credits their first semester’s tuition.
4. Accepted applicants are assigned a provisional admission status until meeting conditions outlined in the acceptance letter and completing pre-matriculation requirements (e.g. drug screen, criminal background check) set forth by the Office of the Registrar. Failure to meet these requirements may result in revocation of acceptance offer.

Transfer of Credits

Transfer credit earned in other NAACLS (National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science) accredited programs or unaccredited programs will not be accepted. Students may petition the program director to receive credit for prior coursework by paying tuition and passing a course examination. If the student receives an acceptable score on the course examinations, credit for each course passed may be given without course attendance. Clinical practicum courses must be successfully completed as described in the course descriptions and are not subject to testing out for credit.

Non-Resident Fee Waiver

Students enrolled in the LSUHSC-S Medical Laboratory Science program that are residents of Arkansas and Texas are eligible for in-state tuition rates via the Non-Resident Fee Waiver.

Academic Progression Requirements

The following requirements pertaining to the academic progression apply to all students in the Medical Laboratory Science program.

In order to achieve the status of academic progression, the student must meet the following minimum standards:

1. Satisfy the academic progression requirements listed in the SAHP Student Admissions and Regulations section of this catalog/bulletin.
2. Satisfactorily complete the required number of credit hours per semester established by the Program.
3. Satisfactorily complete the 15 month curriculum in medical laboratory science in not more than 28 months after initial enrollment or the student will be dismissed from the program. If making a grade less than C in a course will prevent a student from meeting the 28 program month requirement, the student will be dismissed from the program.

Grade appeals may be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in the section of this catalog/bulletin entitled “Student Grade Appeals ”.

Note: Students whose entry into the four-month clinical affiliate phase is delayed because of failure to meet scholastic requirements will be given a clinical affiliate assignment based on space availability. This clinical affiliate assignment may not immediately follow the completion of didactic courses.

Curriculum

• Medical Laboratory Science Curriculum