Applicants must meet certain essential functions as defined by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). If you feel that you do not meet these essential functions, careful consideration should be made and advisement received before entering the Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) program. Essential functions are the abilities that a student must be able to perform to be successful in the learning experiences and completion of the program.
The MLS student must be able to
• Observe laboratory demonstrations in which biologicals are tested for their biochemical,
hematological, immunological, microbiological, and histochemical components;
• Characterize the color, odor, clarity, and viscosity of biologicals, reagents
or chemical reaction products;
• Employ a clinical grade binocular microscope to discriminate among the structural
and color (hue, shading, and intensity) differences of microscopic specimens;
• Read and comprehend text, numbers, and graphs displayed in print and on a video
monitor.
The MLS student must be able to
• Move freely and safely about a laboratory;
• Reach laboratory bench-tops and shelves, patients lying in hospital beds, or
patients seated in specimen collection furniture;
• Travel to numerous clinical laboratory sites for practical experience;
• Perform moderately taxing continuous physical work, often requiring prolonged
sitting, over several hours;
• Maneuver phlebotomy and culture acquisition equipment to safely collect valid
laboratory specimens from patients;
• Control laboratory equipment (i.e., pipettes, inoculating loops, test tubes),
and adjust instruments to perform laboratory procedures;
• Use an electronic keyboard to operate laboratory instruments and to calculate,
record, evaluate, and transmit laboratory information;
• Perform fine hand manipulations with dexterity.
The MLS student must be able to
• Read and comprehend technical and professional materials;
• Follow verbal and written instructions in order to correctly and independently
perform laboratory test procedures;
• Clearly instruct patients prior to specimen collection;
• Effectively, confidentially, and sensitively converse with patients regarding
laboratory tests;
• Communicate with faculty members, fellow students, staff, and other health care
professionals verbally and in a recorded format;
• Independently prepare papers, prepare laboratory reports, and take paper, computer,
and laboratory practical examinations.