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Volume 37 No.11
Mar. 15 - Mar. 28, 2002 [ ARCHIVE ] [ FEEDBACK ] [ HELP ] |
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1. MLT graduates help fill void in job market
2. The Week of the Young Child at Shoreline Community College
3. Distance Education Blackboard server to be upgraded
Shoreline Community College Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) students get a head start on their career by just graduating from the MLT Program. Lecture and student laboratory practices prepare them to go into real clinical laboratories, 40 hours a week for 12 weeks-where they learn the latest techniques working side-by-side with professionals.
"The best thing about this program was all the hands on experience you get. I was able to actually perform many of the tests that I would be performing in a hospital laboratory," says program graduate Sue Seegers.
Many of the educational programs across the state do not offer this hands-on training. Only two other community colleges in Washington state offer an MLT program one in eastern Washington, the other in Pierce County. Students commute from as far north as Mt. Vernon and Port Angeles and as far south as Longview and Bremerton to be able to complete Shoreline's program,which accepts an average of 15 to 20 students each year. When they complete the program MLT graduates are awarded an Associate in Applied Arts and Sciences degree.
The MLT program is a year-long professional training program that follows a year of general education and pre-requisite science coursework. The program is comprehensive, with coursework in phlebotomy, basic medical lab procedures, parasitology and mycology, hematology, immunology, clinical microbiology and clinical chemistry. Students practice their skills on real specimens in realistic practice labs. Upon program completion, they are well prepared to take national certifications exams, a requirement for employment in clinical or healthcare facilities.
MLT professionals are in high demand across the nation. The American Hospital Association recently reported that there is a 12 percent vacancy rate of laboratory technologists/technicians in hospitals nationwide, placing them in higher demand than nurses today. Medical laboratory technicians ranked in the top 18 of "best jobs" available in the healthcare field in a comprehensive national survey last year.
These findings have proven true in the Puget Sound area. Shoreline MLT graduates find employment immediately after graduation, in fact, the majority of them find employment even before completing the program. Many of the clinical facilities that partner with the college training the MLT students are interested in hiring them when they graduate because they have firsthand knowledge of their skills. This experience not only offers them firsthand experience, but places them in a highly employment situation.
"I was able to get a job immediately after graduation at the hospital I trained at. There were many shifts available and was able to work the hours that I wanted," says Seegers. Seegers currently works at Northwest Hospital and is a part-time faculty member at Shoreline.
MLT graduates find career opportunities in hospitals and other public health facilities, out-patient clinics, research clinics, biotechnology and blood bank laboratories, industrial or veterinary labs or in medical sales. Salaries range from $27,000 to $37,000 a year plus benefits.
The clinical laboratory science professional has played an increasingly vital role in the diagnosis and prevention of disease. As team members of one of the largest industries in the U.S., the dedicated efforts of laboratory professionals oftentimes goes unnoticed by the general public, as well as by the very institutions employing their services. With the public now demanding the assurance of quality health care and professional accountability, organizations representing practitioners of this critical science have a responsibility to ensure that the public is well informed about clinical laboratory competency.
During the week of April 7 through April 13, the Parent Child center will celebrate the first annual Week of the Young Child, sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The purpose of the celebrations is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families, in addition to recognizing the early childhood programs and service that meet those needs.
Lists of events are as follow:
Monday April 8 Distribution of pet bricks.
The children are making pet bricks and would like to donate them around campus. If you are interested in having a brick, please feel free to call ext. 4690 to reserve one. (Thanks to the builders on the library- who donated a bunch of broken bricks).
Tuesday April 9 Cookies/milk booth in PUB 9 a.m. -1 p.m.
Wednesday April 10 Speaker
Building childrens self-esteem and entertainment for the children (partnership with the parent Board and the Early Childhood Education Program).
Friday: April 12 Staff Appreciation Day
Saturday April 13 Children Arts Festival
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Approximately 50 booths will be on campus to provide art experiences to children ranging from 18 months to 12 years. The police department will be on hand to do children identification kits, as well as the fire department with fire safety information. This festival will be open to the public.
Technical Support Services (TSS) and Distance Education will be upgrading its online course server and Blackboard software during spring break. In order to perform this maintenance, the server will be down March 26-29, and Internet courses will be unavailable during this time.
In addition, old student accounts will be removed from the Blackboard server to ensure our online courses continue to function well. Unless you used Blackboard in a traditional or online course during winter quarter 2002, your account will be deleted.
Students who are currently working on incompletes may maintain their accounts on the Blackboard server by contacting their instructor before March 25. For more information about the Blackboard server upgrade, please visit the Distance Education web site at http://elmo.shore.ctc.edu/distance or contact Karin Roberts via email at kroberts@ctc.edu.
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