School of Biological Sciences

Medical Laboratory Science students practicing techniques for counting bacteria

LSSU’s Medical Laboratory Science program has two concentrations: Academic and Clinical

Listing of Degree Requirements

	Academic Concentration	Clinical Concentration
Duration (total)	4 years	4 ½ years
Certification Exam eligibility (upon graduation)	No	Yes
Admission	All who are accepted to LSSU	Competitive
Curriculum	All classroom lectures and labs	4 years of classroom lectures and labs + 6 months clinical experience
	Degree Requirements	Degree Requirements

Academic Concentration

Microbiology students practicing techniques for counting bacteria

The Academic Concentration is designed to be completed in four years. When you finish the Academic Concentration you will receive a Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science, but you will not be eligible to take the Board of Certification exam. If you want to take the certification exam after completing LSSU’s MLS – Academic Concentration, you must first be accepted into, and complete, a six- to twelve-month clinical experience at an independent hospital-based MLS program that is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). There are four such programs in the state of Michigan, located at:

DMC University Laboratories (Detroit)
St. John Providence Health Laboratories (Detroit/Grosse Pointe)
Hurley Medical Center (Flint)
Beaumont Health System (Royal Oak)

LSSU cannot guarantee acceptance into any of the hospital-based programs. While completing this clinical experience, you are not an LSSU student (you have already graduated), and you do not pay LSSU tuition (some hospital programs charge their own tuition; some do not).

Clinical Concentration

Medical Laboratory Science students examining the eggs of parasitic worms

The Clinical Concentration is designed to be completed in four and a half years. When you finish the Clinical Concentration you will receive a Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science and you will be eligible to take the Board of Certification exam. That is because the last six months of the Clinical Concentration consist of a clinical experience at one of our Clinical Affiliate partner hospital labs: you will spend each day in a real-life hospital laboratory practicing tests on that hospital’s equipment on real-life patient specimens. Because our Clinical Affiliates can accommodate only a limited number of students each year, admission into the Clinical Concentration is by competitive application at the end of your junior year.

Entry into and completion of MLS – Clinical Concentration

All students wishing to major in Medical Laboratory Science must begin by declaring the MLS-Academic Concentration as their major.

The course requirements for the first three years of the Academic Concentration and the first three years of the Clinical Concentration are exactly the same.

In the final half of their junior year, students wishing to enter the Clinical Concentration submit an application packet to the Program Director (details in the Student Handbook). Students who are accepted switch at that time from the Academic Concentration to the Clinical Concentration and finish the last 1½ years according to the course requirements of the Clinical Concentration. Students who do not apply to or who are not accepted into the Clinical Concentration finish the last 1 year according to the course requirements of the Academic Concentration.

Clinical Concentration: Student Handbook

Extensive information about LSSU’s MLS-Clinical Concentration, including accreditation information, program goals and outcomes measures, and policies and procedures, is provided in the Student Handbook LSSU MLS-Clinical Concentration 2017-2018

Some of the information in the Student Handbook is reproduced below:

II. Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Lake Superior State University Medical Laboratory Science- Clinical Concentration Program is to train competent entry-level Medical Laboratory Scientists.

III. Program Accreditation Information

The Lake Superior State University (LSSU) Medical Laboratory Science (MLS)—Clinical Concentration Program has serious applicant status conferred by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). NAACLS may be contacted at:

5600 N. River Rd. Suite 720
Rosemont, IL 60018-5119
Phone: 773-714-8880
Fax: 773-714-8886

IV. Program Director

Martha A. Hutchens, Ph.D., MT(ASCP)CM
Assistant Professor
School of Biological Sciences
Lake Superior State University
650 W. Easterday Ave.
Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783

VI. Program Outcomes Measures

A. Certification Rate

This Program is required to publish the average certification rate of its graduates over past three years. The first cohort of students has graduated from the program and taken the certification exam, with a 100% certification rate (n = 2 students).

B. Graduation Rate

This Program is required to publish the percent of students who begin the final half of the Program who also complete the Program, averaged over the past three years. The “final half” of the program is defined as beginning at acceptance into the Clinical Concentration. The first cohort of students has graduated from the program, with a 100% graduation rate (n = 2 students).

C. Attrition Rate

This Program is required to publish the percent of students who begin the final half of the Program who do not complete the Program, averaged over the past three years. The “final half” of the program is defined as beginning at acceptance into the Clinical Concentration. The first cohort of students has graduated from the program, with a 0% attrition rate (n = 2 students).

D. Placement Rate

This Program is required to publish the percent of graduates who find employment within the field of medical laboratory science or who pursue further education, on average over the past three years. The first cohort of students has graduated from the program, with a 100% placement rate (n = 2 students). (Both of them received several job offers as soon as or even before they graduated.)

VII. Program Goals and Graduate Competencies

The goals of the Lake Superior State University Medical Laboratory Science- Clinical Concentration Program are to provide the information, personal interactions, and experiences that will prepare students to:

Understand and analyze medical laboratory tests and situations
Quickly, accurately, and precisely perform medical laboratory test procedures
Conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner.

Graduate competences (aka Program-Level Student Learning Outcomes)

1) Graduates of the MLS Program will recall fundamental principles of each discipline used in the medical laboratory, including:

Basic Laboratory Operations
Clinical Chemistry
Hematology/Hemostasis
Immunology/Serology
Immunohematology
Microbiology (including Mycology and Parasitology)
Urine and Body Fluids Analysis
Regulations pertaining to the medical laboratory
Communication
Education
Professionalism
Finances
Management
Clinical Research

2) Graduates of the MLS Program will, given the necessary data, draw accurate conclusions about the quality of a clinical laboratory test and suggest appropriate action

3) Given a set of clinical laboratory data, graduates of the MLS Program will draw accurate conclusions about the health of the patient and suggest a correct course of action

4) Graduates of the MLS Program will use the scientific method to formulate and test hypotheses

5) Graduates of the MLS Program will communicate clearly in writing

6) Graduates of the MLS Program will safely and accurately perform basic medical laboratory test procedures

7) Graduates of the MLS Program will demonstrate entry-level competency in medical laboratory test procedures

8) Graduates of the MLS Program will exhibit professional behavior and attitudes

VIII. List of Clinical Affiliates

War Memorial Hospital, Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Clinical Liaison:
Michael Metrish, MT(ASCP)
Laboratory Director
War Memorial Hospital
Sault Sainte Marie, MI, 49783

906-635-4428

Helen Joy Newberry Hospital, Newberry, MI
Clinical Liaison:
Mitchell Grigg MBA, MT(ASCP)
Laboratory Director
Helen Newberry Joy Hospital
Newberry MI, 49868

906-293-9189

Mackinac Straits Health System, St. Ignace, MI

Laboratory Director:

Karen Schwiderson, MT(ASCP)

Mackinac Straits Health System

1140 N. State St.

St. Ignace, MI 49781

906-643-1193

Covenant HealthCare, Saginaw, MI

Clinical Liaison:

Alison Jamrog, MLS (ASCP)^CM

Educational Specialist, Laboratory Services

Covenant HealthCare

Saginaw, MI 48602

989-583-6720