Medical Laboratory Sciences Clinical Laboratory Assistant (CLA) Certificate

The Clinical Laboratory Assistant (CLA) certificate of completion is designed to teach core clinical laboratory skills to individuals from various health care professions. The curriculum will focus on basic laboratory methods in quality control, quality assurance, information recording and transfer, normal and abnormal laboratory values, and problem recognition. Students will receive basic technical instruction in laboratory safety, microscopy, phlebotomy, specimen collection and processing, and laboratory instrumentation in the areas of hematology, serology, urinalysis, clinical chemistry, and microbiology. Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Dumke College of Health Profession’s Clinical Laboratory Assistant (CLA) program and are designated as CLA level assistant IV by local industry.

For campus students, the CLA certificate is granted after successful completion of MLS 1113 , Intro to Medical Laboratory Practices.

Online students must complete MLS 1010 , Core Clinical Laboratory Skills, and have the support of a clinical laboratory to fulfill the laboratory requirement. The laboratory component will address applications with a focus on point-of-care-testing (POCT). Students will be required to spend a minimum of 64 unpaid hours during the semester working on laboratory competency.  If students wish to continue to further their education, MLS 1113  will be waived upon enrollment into the MLS AAS Program at WSU. Contact the AAS/MLT online academic advisor, Christy Achter, at 801-626-6874 or christyachter@weber.edu for advising.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge Goal: Demonstrate knowledge of theory underlying laboratory testing using analytical, interpretive, and problem solving skills.
• Knowledge Goal: Apply mathematical calculations to laboratory situations.
• Laboratory Skill: Perform laboratory procedures from simple to complex, including specimen collection and processing, analysis, interpretation, and use of quality assurance procedures.
• Laboratory Skill: Correlate laboratory theory and terminology to practical laboratory work.
• Laboratory Skill: Gather additional laboratory data and apply problem solving skills to solve problems/discrepancies.
• Diagnostic Skill: Relate laboratory findings to common disease processes. Professionalism and Ethics:
• Demonstrate professional conduct and ethical behavior.
• Communication Skill: Demonstrate effective communication skills and behaviors with colleagues in the program and in a laboratory setting for the best new technologies to integrate organization’s business processes.