The Profession
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY (Clinical Laboratory Science) is the profession devoted to the diagnosis and management of illness by analysis of blood, body fluids, and tissues. Medical Technologists are clinical laboratory scientists who perform hundreds of laboratory tests that are used by physicians to determine the cause of illness and the extent of injury. Such tests can identify the most appropriate medication, dosage, and response to treatment. For example, a medical technologist may isolate a disease causing bacteria and determine from tests which antibiotic will be effective. Another technologist will measure the concentration of the antibiotic in the patient's blood in order to insure that the dosage is optimal but not toxic. The clinical laboratory sciences are composed of blood banking, chemistry, hematology, immunology, and microbiology. The technologist who works in the blood bank performs tests that determine if blood is compatible for transfusion. In chemistry, tests are performed that measure proteins, enzymes, hormones, electrolytes and other important metabolites in the blood plasma. The immunology lab evaluates the patient's ability to respond to disease and measures antibodies that can indicate infection or immunity. Medical technologists in the microbiology lab isolate and identify disease causing bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Medical technologists working in hematology count and evaluate blood cells, and perform tests that are essential for the management of anemia, leukemia and coagulation disorders.

The Program
The BGSU program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS), 8410 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 670, Chicago, Illinois 60631-3415. Phone: (773) 714-8880. Students who complete the program receive a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology and are eligible to sit for both national certification examinations. Courses in the basic sciences, math, humanities and social science comprise most of the first three years of study. The senior year is devoted to professional training and consists of three semesters. The first two consist of lecture and laboratory courses in blood banking, clinical chemistry, clinical immunology, hematology, and microbiology. The final term is a six-month clinical practicum at one of 10 affiliated medical centers. The clinical phase is given at the Mercy-Integrated Laboratories, Toledo, Ohio; St. Rita's New Vision Laboratories, Lima, Ohio; Medical University of Ohio at Toledo; The Toledo Hospital, Toledo, Ohio; Blanchard Valley Regional Health Center, Findlay, Ohio; Fremont Memorial, Fremont, Ohio; Fulton County Health Center, Wauseon, Ohio; Wood County Hospital, Bowling Green, Ohio; Defiance Regional Hospital, Defiance, Ohio, and Flower Hospital, Sylvania, Ohio. Students who complete the first three years may apply for acceptance to professional training during the Fall term. Selection of applicants is made in early March. The program has a capacity of 16 students.

Career Opportunities for Medical Technologists
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY has grown exponentially over the past two decades. In 1968 there were approximately 50,000 medical technologists certified by the American Society of Clinical pathologists. Today, that number has reached over 300,000. Advances in technology have created the ability to measure trace substances that were unknown less than a generation ago. New diagnostic techniques utilizing DNA technology, image analysis, and computer processing are on the frontier and are expected to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, heart disease, and infection. Better techniques are being developed to monitor medications used to control transplant rejection, heart disease, psychiatric disorders, and many other illnesses. Medical Technologists play important roles in laboratory management. Many universities offer programs of graduate study in clinical microbiology and chemistry, and post baccalaureate training for specialist certifications in each laboratory science is available at several health care institutions and universities. Students who enjoy their high school biology and chemistry labs will find medical technology an attractive profession. Beginning salaries in Northern Ohio are in the high thirties to low forties. Demand for certified technologists is expected to increase through the next decade. The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a need for 13,200 new medical laboratory professionals each year until 2012 to keep pace with testing demands and retirements.