Medical Technology

Welcome to the Medical Technology Program at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM). By choosing to follow a curriculum in Medical Technology, you will prepare yourself to become an integral member of the health care team. Through their analysis of body fluids, tissues and cells, Medical Technologists play a crucial role in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and helping people stay healthy.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently stated that employment opportunities for Medical Technologists are expected to exceed most occupations through the year 2008 with 9000 NEW jobs being needed each year for the next decade! These projections are based on the volume of laboratory testing increasing sharply in the coming years and on advances in technology serving to create new tests and laboratory procedures. While the Medical Technology Program is primarily directed toward preparing its graduates to work in the clinical laboratory environment, many other job possibilities also exist for graduates of this program. Please click on Job Opportunities to view these possibilities.

The Medical Technology Program incorporates didactic and clinical education to provide students an opportunity to develop multiple professional skills necessary for effective service in an atmosphere of inquiry and innovation. Medical Technologists perform many routine and specialized tests in clinical, research or industrial laboratories to provide diagnostic data supporting health care, quality control and product development. Medical Technologists may have a variety of responsibilities including implementing and performing tests, supervising, teaching and consulting. Therefore, graduates must have the capability and resourcefulness to assume responsibility and accountability for accurate test results, and to provide knowledgeable supervision, education and consultation.

The mission of this program is to provide the educational experiences necessary to prepare students to attain these expected outcomes. The Medical Technology curriculum is designed to meet this mission. This curriculum also satisfies the requirements adopted by the American Medical Association Council on Medical Education which sets educational standards to ensure that these expected outcomes can be met. This program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). Upon completion of this program, students earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology and/or a Certificate of Completion of an accredited Medical Technology Program. Completion of an accredited program is required for graduates to be eligible for national certification. National certification, in turn, is necessary to work in many of the clinical settings described above.

The program provides laboratory-oriented educational opportunities, with theoretical knowledge and clinical experience in clinical chemistry, hematology/hemostasis, immunohematology, immunology and microbiology (including molecular diagnostics). The program also emphasizes principles of quality assurance, laboratory management, educational methodologies, laboratory safety, research and computer applications. The program also offers specialized training in Methods of Drug Analysis in the 2 +2 option described below.

2 + 2 Option

This traditional option is for students who do not have any prior background in the Medical Technology field. This option requires the successful completion of 137 semester hours of course work and clinical experience for graduation. This option can be completed in 10 semesters over a four-calendar-year period which includes summer semesters of the junior and senior years. In this option, the student spends their first two years completing AUM core requirements and pre-requisites for the Medical Technology Program. Please note that the sequence of pre-professional science courses requires careful planning. Students are urged to consult a MT/CLS advisor each semester during the pre-professional phase. Following admission to the program, these students spend their second two years taking Medical Technology courses. These courses include one and one-half years of on-campus course work followed by six months of clinical experience in an affiliated clinical facility. Please click on the Curriculum link below to view the specific requirements of the program. Also below you will find links to our Student Handbooks. These handbooks are revised annually and describe every aspect of our program.

Curriculum
2 + 2 Handbook - Class Beginning Fall 2006
2 + 2 Handbook - Class Beginning Fall 2007
2 + 2 Handbook - Class Beginning Fall 2008
2 + 2 Handbook - Class Beginning Fall 2009
Application - Class Beginning Fall 2009

4 + 1 Option

This option is available for students who have already completed a B. S. degree and have completed introductory courses in Medical Technology. For more information on this option, please contact the Medical Technology Program Director.

Online Option

This option in Medical Technology is offered via the World Wide Web. This option is a distance learning program designed for certified clinical/medical laboratory technicians who have prior clinical laboratory experience with modern laboratory instrumentation and military laboratory personnel who have completed military medical laboratory specialist school and have laboratory experience with modern clinical laboratory instrumentation.

The Online Option is divided into two phases.

• The first phase is the pre-professional phase. During this phase all State of Alabama mandated core courses and prerequisite science/math courses that are necessary for the B.S. degree are completed. These courses may be taken at AUM or a college/junior college in close proximity to the participant’s residence. Once the pre-professional courses have been completed, qualified individuals will be permitted to begin the professional phase.
  
  
• The second phase, the professional phase, begins ONLY in the Fall Semester and consists of on-line Medical Technology courses that are offered over the next six consecutive semesters. (There is also an optional nine consecutive semester plan available.) Spreading the Medical Technology courses over these six/nine semesters will provide the flexibility needed to complete the program while maintaining a job and sanity. The professional phase Medical Technology courses will be available on-line 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This flexibility allows these courses to be completed around work schedules and family/personal activities.

Thus, the advantage of this Online option is that pre-professional and professional phase Medical Technology courses may be completed without having to relocate.

This Online option is designed to recognize the experience of qualified participants by NOT requiring these individuals to come on campus and perform introductory laboratory exercises that would normally be required of individuals training in the field for the first time. The focus of the required on-line courses will be the theoretical information related to the participant’s experience. Participants in the Online option will be required to demonstrate the same clinical experience competencies at the same proficiency levels required of all AUM Medical Technology students. For those in the Online option, clinical experience competencies will be demonstrated in an approved clinical facility, typically the participant’s place of employment. These competencies are delineated in the Program Objectives/Goals section of the student handbook and are the same for all AUM Medical Technology students regardless of the option followed.

Upon completion of this program, students earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology and/or a Certificate of Completion of an accredited Medical Technology Program. Graduates are eligible to take national certification examinations to become certified medical technologists/clinical laboratory scientists.

The OnLine Curriculum link below contains the specific requirements of the Online option. Also below you will find links to our Student Handbooks for this option. As with the 2 + 2 option, these handbooks are revised annually and describe every aspect of the Online option. In order to view the links below you will need the most current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download the current reader.

Online Tuition
Online Curriculum
Clinical Competency Requirements
Student Handbook - Class beginning 2005
Student Handbook - Class beginning 2006
Student Handbook - Class beginning 2007
Student Handbook - Class beginning 2008
Student Handbook - Class beginning 2009
2009 Application