| |
Dec 30, 2024
|
|
|
|
|
PUBLISHED 2021-2022 Credit Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Medical Laboratory Assistant
|
|
 Return to: Programs/Categories by School
|
Program Description
A medical laboratory assistant is an integral member of the laboratory workforce, a field that is not only growing to meet the needs of an increasing and aging population, but also changing to support medical and technological advances.
The Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA) fast-track program trains students to collect, process, and prepare patient specimens, enter data, perform clerical and reception services, perform electrocardiograms and urinalyses, and carry out basic laboratory procedures. This program provides classroom and laboratory instruction, clinical integration training, and a SAIT arranged practicum experience in a medical laboratory and patient service centre, giving students the opportunity to refine and apply their competencies prior to entering the field as professionals.
Fast Facts
- This program should be completed full-time
- Program Length:
- Full-Time (21- weeks over 2 Semesters)
- This program is delivered in a blended or online format
- Full-Time Intakes:
- Full-Time - RHZ Stream Intakes:
- Based on the availability of the practicum sites, students may have to travel or re-locate to anywhere in Alberta (and in some circumstances outside of Alberta) in order to complete their practica
- Special consideration of personal circumstances will not be provided when assigning practicum placements, and students are responsible for all fees associated with any potential travel or re-location
- Students require access to a personal computer with Internet in order to complete the required courses
Certain courses may be offered through Open Studies during the daytime, evenings, and/or weekends, as well as in a classroom, blended, or online format. All courses must be completed within the program completion timeframe. Please be advised that for the purpose of student loans, full-time student status requires that learners are enrolled in a minimum of 60% of a full course load per semester.Students require a personal computer with internet access in order to complete the required courses.
Your Career
Graduates find work as medical laboratory assistants in community collection sites, hospital rapid-response laboratories, high-volume medical laboratories and private insurance or home care companies. Graduates are often hired into casual positions initially which usually progress to full-time positions within one year of hire. In order to find employment, many graduates must relocate across Alberta and potentially even throughout Canada.
Student Success
Students who experience success in this program and profession:
- Have higher secondary and/or post-secondary grades
- Possess basic computer literacy, including the ability to use word processing and communication software
- Medical Laboratory Assistants work with laboratory and hospital information systems, and it is the student’s responsibility to establish computer literacy prior to admission into the program
- Are able to type at a speed of 30 words per minute (WPM) or greater (this is required to secure employment post graduation)
- Are detail oriented and follow instructions well
- Are self-motivated and dependable
- Can work quickly and accurately
- Have strong hand and finger dexterity to facilitate handling specimens and small laboratory equipment
- Possess normal colour vision
- Have good communication and interpersonal skills
- Are well organized and able to think critically and problem solve
- Enjoy working directly with patients and the public
- Do not mind shift work
- Are physically fit, including the ability to spend a considerable amount of time standing or sitting while performing tasks that may be repetitive
- Are mindful of observing safety precautions in order to reduce the risk of exposure to infectious body fluids or dangerous chemicals
Credentials
After successfully completing this program, graduates will receive a SAIT Medical Laboratory Assistant certificate.
All graduates are eligible for registration and membership with the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS).
Obtaining national certification as a medical laboratory assistant will allow for opportunities to work across Canada.
Accreditation
The Medical Laboratory Assistant program delivered by SAIT is accredited by Accreditation Canada, and is designed so that graduates achieve clinical competence as defined by the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS). As an accredited institute, graduates of the Medical Laboratory Assistant program at SAIT are eligible to challenge the CSMLS certification exam.
Progression
Students must attain a PGPA and/or a CGPA of 2.0 or better in each semester and pass the necessary prerequisite courses to progress through the program. To qualify for graduation, students must pass all courses, attain a CGPA of 2.0 or better and complete course requirements within the prescribed timelines. Admission Requirements
Completion of the following courses or equivalents: - At least 60% in Math 20-2 or Pure Math 10 or Math 10C,
- At least 60% in English Language Arts 30-1 or English Language Arts 30-2,
- At least 60% in Chemistry 20,
- At least 60% in Biology 20.
- All applicants must demonstrate English Language Proficiency prior to admission, including students educated in Canada.
Program Overview - Rural Health Zones (RHZ) Stream
The MLA program also offers a Rural Health Zones (RHZ) stream. This stream is cohort based and encompasses a blended delivery model. Learners will acquire their theoretical foundations through online education, and be provided hands-on simulated laboratory experience on-campus at SAIT, followed by a practicum rotation in a clinical setting. Practicum sites include fully operational laboratories and patient service centres located in rural areas of the province.
This stream of the MLA program addresses an existent need of Alberta Precision Laboratories’ services in rural areas of Alberta. As such, all practicum placements will occur within rural Alberta, and only applicants with a home address (living) in the region will be eligible for admission to the program. Students will be responsible for all fees related to their practicum placements, including the cost of travel, relocation, and dwelling.
Please be advised that all courses must be completed within the timeframe as displayed in the program outline, and that for the purposes of applying for student loans, all students in this stream are considered part-time.
Program Outline - Rural Health Zones (RHZ) Stream
Semester 2: September and October
|
Return to: Programs/Categories by School
|
|
