[BEAVER, W.Va.] New River Community and Technical College’s medical laboratory technician students celebrated National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, April 21-27, 2019.
“Laboratory professionals play a vital role in health care. They perform phlebotomy and analyze tissues, blood and body fluids to help physicians diagnose and treat diseases or monitor a patient’s health,” MLT Program Director Diane Tyson explained. “There is a critical shortage of trained and certified laboratory professionals nationwide, and the shortage in southern West Virginia is becoming a health care crisis.”
The MLT program prepares graduates for technician-level positions in clinical laboratory environments in hospitals, physician’s offices, commercial laboratories, biotechnology, research laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and veterinary laboratories.
New River CTC launched the MLT program in 2016, and to date, all graduates have a 100% pass rate on the certification exam and a 100% employment rate.
The MLT program is a selective admission program, meaning that students must apply to and be accepted into the program before enrolling in program coursework. Prerequisite courses include chemistry, anatomy and physiology and college algebra.
The MLT program is one of the more than 30 programs eligible for WV Invests Grant funding offered at New River CTC.
For more information about the MLT program, contact Tyson at 304-929-5038 or dtyson@newriver.edu. For information on admissions and the programs offered at New River CTC, visit www.newriver.edu, email admissions@newriver.edu or call 866-349-3739.
New River Community and Technical College serves nine counties in southeastern West Virginia from the Greenbrier Valley Campus (Lewisburg), Mercer County Campus (Princeton), Nicholas County Campus (Summersville) and Raleigh County Campus (Beaver).