Medical Laboratory Science Program

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center's Medical Laboratory Science Program strives to:

• Provide educational experiences relevant and appropriate to medical laboratory science

• Provide a quality-driven curriculum based on current needs and latest testing methodologies and technological advances, including all aspects of clinical laboratory operation and management

• Immerse students in the day-to-day responsibilities of laboratory practitioners committed to the mission, vision and values of Penn State Health

• Share information, provide resources and create a consistent training program to build stronger teams and create a culture that cultivates stable and sustainable relationships within our health care systems and beyond

• Encourage student to constantly seek opportunities for individual personal and professional growth to enable success in career-entry level positions and their professional development into well-trained and highly skilled laboratory scientist, with the potential for higher-level health care positions, including the pursuit of advanced degrees to meet their career goals

• Prepare graduates for certification and/or licensure in medical laboratory science

• Broaden community awareness of the profession of medical laboratory science and its vital role in providing the best quality care for patients, as well as improving the health of our community

• Help meet the demand for competent practitioners in a variety of laboratory settings and venues

• Share expertise around the globe (global health)

• Help the student learn new skills and to seek out and share knowledge to promote teamwork in the health care setting and surrounding community

Colleges and universities provide the necessary science prerequisites for the Medical Laboratory Scientist Program at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Applicants who meet all entrance requirements may apply to the program; however, preference is given to students from institutions with established academic affiliation agreements. Presently, the Medical Laboratory Science Program at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center has a formal academic affiliation agreement with:

• Penn State

• Immaculata University

• Lebanon Valley College

• Moravian University

• Shippensburg University

• Saint Joseph's University

• York College of Pennsylvania

The tuition fee for the program is reviewed annually and is currently set at $15,000. Other student expenses include textbooks and living expenses.

Financial aid: Students who are entering the program with a conferred Bachelor’s degree (“4+1”) are not eligible for Title IV funding, which means they cannot receive federal or private student loans. Students receiving financial aid from their college or university will continue to receive aid during their internship, as it represents the fourth year of college or university study.

For students currently enrolled at Penn State and Lebanon Valley College: University policy is to reimburse the hospital from tuition it receives from the students at a percentage of the tuition each semester. Note that your tuition is determined by your home college or university and not Penn State Health and may differ from the posted tuition.

For students of other affiliates, graduates and students enrolled under temporary agreements: Tuition is payable in two installments: one due in August/September for the first semester, and one due in January for the second semester. Payment is made by the individual student to Penn State Health. If a student fails to pay tuition, the student will not be awarded a graduation certificate nor will grades be forwarded.

Failure to complete program: If a student does not complete the program, refunds for tuition paid will be negotiated. Any subsequent tuition to the hospital will not be billed.

Acceptance fee: For all students, an acceptance fee of $300 is due at the time of acceptance into the program to reserve a seat in the class. This fee is non-refundable.

During the program, students attend classes and participate in various clinical activities. Time is divided between the classroom, student laboratory and clinical laboratory settings.

• Program start: June

• Time off: July 4 (one week); Labor Day (one day); Thanksgiving (two days); Winter Break (two weeks); Martin Luther King Jr. Day (one day); Spring Break (one week)

• Program end: April

• Total time: 48 weeks (44 weeks of instruction)

Students routinely attend class and/or clinical experiences from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. All educational and experiential training will occur at Penn State Health facilities. There are no classroom or clinical laboratory experiences scheduled on the seven holidays observed by Penn State Health.

Curriculum activities provide for laboratory skills development and mastery, as well as a knowledge base in medical laboratory science. Acquiring this knowledge and perfecting these skills enables program graduates to function in many laboratory settings, including hospital, physician office, reference, research, forensic and industrial laboratories. The curriculum is structured to provide the principles of Medical Laboratory Science through didactic presentations, laboratory exercises and practical experience within a clinical laboratory setting that meet or exceed standard set by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). The program is divided into two phases:

• Pre-clinical education in classroom and student laboratory settings (10 students, one to two educators).

• Experiential learning through scheduled rotations throughout the clinical pathology laboratories at Penn State Health (one to two students, one trainer).

Lectures, group discussions, student laboratory activities and rotation assignments in service laboratories are used as effective learning opportunities.

Six courses are required as part of the Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) program. Note: Affiliated colleges and universities will assign credit according to individual requirements of their bachelor’s degree.

Founded in 1963 through a gift from The Milton S. Hershey Foundation, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a leading academic medical center located in Hershey, Pa. The 611-bed Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a provider of high-level, patient-focused medical care. Annually, the Medical Center admits 29,000 patients, accepts over 1 million outpatient visits, receives 73,000 emergency room patients and performs 33,000 surgical procedures. As a Magnet-designated hospital since 2007, Hershey Medical Center employs caregivers who are dedicated to excellence and achieving superior patient and community outcomes. The Hershey Medical Center campus includes Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Cancer Institute and Penn State Health Children’s Hospital.

Within the Department of Pathology, laboratories serve the needs of both clinicians and patients.

Anatomic pathology services include decedent care, cytopathology, histology, surgical pathology, hematopathology and dermatopathology.

Clinical pathology services include specimen processing, phlebotomy, client services, and patient laboratory test results reporting.

Transfusion medicine and transplantation support services encompass blood donation, blood typing, compatibility testing, antibody identification, stem cell collection and pre- and post-transplant histocompatibility testing, and therapeutic apheresis services.

Testing of human samples to identify infectious agents that impact patient treatment is performed in microbiology and virology by manual and molecular methods.

In the molecular pathology laboratory, genetic sequences associated with high-risk human papillomaviruses, chronic myelogenous leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, thrombosis risk and cystic fibrosis are sought to support the diagnoses or aid in the monitoring or treatment of these diseases.

The automated testing laboratory provides hematology, coagulation, clinical chemistry and urinalysis testing.

Billable test volumes for all clinical pathology laboratories exceed 2 million annually.

The Medical Laboratory Science training program has a separate classroom dedicated to Phase One didactic instruction and a student laboratory that allows students to gain the technical skills necessary to perform laboratory testing on clinical specimens. Phase Two of the training program will take place within the clinical pathology laboratories, which occupy more than 18,000 square feet.

Daily Phase One activities will focus on building foundational knowledge of clinical laboratory practice and obtaining technical skills essential for good laboratory practice in both classroom and student laboratory settings.

In Phase Two, students will work side-by-side with certified laboratory professionals in our Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified, College of American Pathologists-accredited laboratories to perform waived to high-complexity laboratory testing of clinical samples. The test results obtained provide objective data to aid clinicians when making diagnostic, prognostic and treatment decisions critical to good patient outcomes and excellent patient care.

Curriculum activities promote the development and mastery of laboratory skills. Acquiring this knowledge and perfecting these skills enables program graduates to function in many laboratory settings, including hospital, physician office, reference, research, forensic and industrial laboratories.

Medical Laboratory Science students have free, unlimited access to Harrell Health Sciences Library resources. Library collections and services support the informational needs of Hershey Medical Center users engaged in patient care, research and education, including interlibrary loan, search services and instruction. Students have on-site access to more than 6.9 million books, almost 400,000 ebooks, 110,000 online full-text journals and 706 databases. Most digital platforms are compatible with mobile devices. Each MLS student will be issued a laptop computer for use during the 11-month training period. Penn State provides access to many of the major scientific journals, highly used scholarly databases and point-of-care clinical tools. The first floor of the library features a mix of lounges, study carrels, group study rooms, the One-Button Studio for presentation recording and a technology sandbox for experimentation with emerging technologies, including new software and 3D printing. The library is open every day except major holidays, and the study room and computer lab are available 24 hours a day.

Students must possess certain physical and mental attributes to be able to complete the Medical Laboratory Science curriculum. The student must, with or without reasonable accommodation, have sufficient:

• Senses of smell, vision and touch to observe demonstrations and perform exercises in which biological fluids and products are being analyzed.

• Visual acuity to be able to identify microscopic structures, cells, organisms and color recognition; read and comprehend instructions displayed in print and video monitors; and operate analytical instruments appropriately and safely without substantially endangering students, coworkers and

• Fine motor skills and manual dexterity to obtain and manipulate specimens, reagents, instruments and analytical equipment according to established guidelines with speed, accuracy, precision and in a manner that does not endanger others; be able to move freely and safely in the laboratory and patient areas; and operate computers.

• Communication skills to effectively convey and/or explain results to other health care personnel, both within and outside the laboratory, as well as clearly instruct patients, clients, and other health care workers regarding specimen collection and laboratory safety.

• Interactive skills to maintain cooperative and productive working relationships with coworkers, patients and other health care

• Professional demeanor, behavior and ethics, be honest and compassionate, admit to mistakes, ask questions when uncertain and be able to both give and take constructive feedback.

• Mental ability to read and comprehend written material to correctly perform laboratory test procedures, analyze results and make judgments to the appropriateness of the results or recognize unexpected results.

• Emotional stability to exercise appropriate judgment in responding to emergency situations that may present in the health care

• Ability to effectively handle stressful situations, function independently in the face of uncertainties and prioritize activities to complete tasks on time.

• Ability to meet the program’s academic expectations to complete assignments, perform required laboratory activities and obtain knowledge from lectures, laboratory activities, clinical assignments and independent study, and to work independently in small groups and as a team.

• Ability, with or without reasonable accommodation, to safely perform all core tasks required of a medical laboratory

If unable to meet the listed essential requirements with reasonable accommodations, the student may be dismissed from the program at the sole discretion of the program.

MLS students are evaluated not only on academic achievement, but also on practical skills development and mastery, and on professional behaviors exhibited throughout the year.

Additional requirements for successful completion of the program and conferring of the program certificate include presentation of a capstone project and passing a comprehensive examination in the last week of the program.

Instructional objectives are provided to students to facilitate the learning process.

Evaluation mechanisms are designed to measure attainment of these objectives. The program’s course grades and credits will be recorded and maintained by the program. A written mid-year progress report of the student’s performance is submitted to the appropriate college/university after the first semester, and a final transcript is submitted within one week of completion of the clinical year.

The college awards the appropriate credit and the baccalaureate degree; the program assigns grades for the clinical courses and presents a certificate of completion given all financial obligations associated with the program have been met.

The granting of the degree and certificate of completion are not contingent upon passing any certification or licensure examination.