Student Attributes:

A student who is successful in the Clinical Laboratory Science program often possesses the following traits:

• Enjoys working with their hands.
• Practices good problem solving skills.
• Works independently as well as with a team.
• Demonstrates excellent communication skills.
• Exhibits good math and computer skills.
• Understands the role of the CLS practitioner as an integral part of the patient healthcare team.

Employment Opportunities:
 
Following graduation, many clinical laboratory scientists choose to specialize in blood banking, chemistry, coagulation, hematology, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology or other subspecialty areas. Graduates that work in smaller hospital laboratories may be employed as "generalists", working in several areas of the laboratory (e.g. chemistry and hematology).
 
Employment opportunities are excellent and include careers with:

Clinical laboratories:

• Hospitals
• Physician offices
• Commercial practices
• Veterinary clinics

Industry and Pharmaceutical Companies:

• Research
• Sales
• Technical Writing
• Quality assurance and Quality control
• Regulatory affairs
• Computer science

Universities:

• Research (Infectious Disease, Cancer, Molecular biology, Pharmacology, Toxicology, etc.)
• Teaching
  

Employment Facts:

• Job opportunities are at an all time high.
• Currently, all graduates can be placed by the end of the program.
• Vacancy rates for year 2000 were over 11% for staff positions and higher for supervisor/manager positions
• Projected supply:demand ratio will be 1:3 by 2008.
• Starting salaries vary by geographical region.
• In the Midwest, beginning annual salaries average $34,000.
• Increased demand should increase salaries
• Sign-on bonuses and/or employer paid scholarships are common.

Why Choose the Indiana University Program?

Two decades before the baccalaureate degree was established as the educational benchmark for medical technologists, the Indiana University Program was established with a baccalaureate format, graduating the first class in 1942.  The Clinical Laboratory Science faculty members at Indiana University are proud of their program.  The education coordinators are clinical laboratory scientists and members of the IU School of Medicine faculty.  They are recognized experts in their fields, many have published CDs and/or textbooks, and all are active members of professional organizations.

The facilities at the Indiana University Medical Center are unparalleled.  Four major hospitals (Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University Hospital, Wishard Memorial Hospital, and the Richard Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center) are located on campus.  Every student spends time in each hospital, offering the students a broad education with a variety of patient populations, laboratory equipment, and test menus.  As the only academic health center in Indiana, the Indiana University Medical Center is a referral center for patients with a variety of complex and unusual manifestations.  This provides students with rich learning experiences.

Program graduates complete national certification examinations with a 95% pass rate on the first attempt.  The average score of program graduates exceeds the national average of first-time examinees 96% of the time.

Technical Standards:
 
Technical Standards for Admission and Retention of Students in the Clinical Laboratory Science Program
 
The School of Medicine Health Sciences faculty has specified the following non-academic criteria (technical standards) which all applicants and enrolled students are expected to meet in order to participate in the School of Allied Health Sciences programs and professional practice.

       1. Observation: The applicant/student must be able to participate actively in all demonstrations, laboratory exercises, and clinical experiences in the professional program component of the degree.  The applicant/student must analyze patient specimens (blood, urine, cell samplings, tissues, etc.) using a variety of manual and automated techniques.  The applicant/student must be able to assess and comprehend the condition of all patients assigned to him or her for sample procurement, examination, diagnosis, and treatment.  Such analyses and assessments usually require the functional use of visual, auditory, and somatic sensations.
       2. Communications: The applicant/student must be able to effectively and sensitively communicate with patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity, and posture; assess non-verbal communications; and be able to effectively and efficiently transmit information to patients, fellow students, faculty, staff, and all members of the health care team.  Communication skills include speaking, reading, and writing, as well as the observation skills described above.
       3. Motor Skills: The applicant/student must have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by appropriate diagnostic or therapeutic maneuvers; be able to perform basic tests and in vitro assays, including multiple concurrent and repetitive tasks; possess all skills necessary to carry out diagnostic or therapeutic procedures; be able to interpret appropriate examinations and procedures; and be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to perform all of the functions described above.
       4. Intellectual/Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: The applicant/ student must be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize, which due to the detailed nature of some laboratory tasks, may require long periods of concentration.  Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of allied health practitioners, requires all of these intellectual abilities.  In addition, the applicant/student must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures.  The applicant/student must have the capacity to perform these problem-solving skills in a timely fashion.
       5. Behavioral and Social Attributes: The applicant/student must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of his or her intellectual abilities; the exercise of good judgment; the prompt completion of all responsibilities; and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, fellow workers and students, and others.  Applicants must also be able to tolerate taxing workloads, function effectively under stress, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility, and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in clinical problems.  Compassion, integrity, concern for others, commitment, and motivation are personal qualities which each applicant/student should possess.

Clinical Laboratory Science Program Accreditation

The Indiana University Clinical Laboratory Science Program for undergraduates is fully accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science.