Medical Laboratory Science
Offered at IU Indianapolis by School of Medicine
About
Medical laboratory science is a diverse, science-based profession aimed at accurate performance of clinical laboratory procedures on biologic samples from patients. Physicians use the results from these procedures in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating diseases.
Some of the tasks that medical laboratory scientists perform are:
- Analysis of simple/complex chemical components of body fluids
- Evaluation of cellular components of blood
- Identification of microorganisms and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns
- Preparation of blood components for patient therapy
- Molecular detection of diseases
- Evaluation of new techniques, procedures, and instruments
Laboratory personnel continually evaluate the quality of the results from procedures and instruments and solve any problems that relate to inconsistencies.
Excellent communication skills are required to interact with other members of the healthcare team, to teach, and to manage individuals under their supervision.
Medical laboratory scientists typically work in laboratories located in hospitals, clinics, physician group practices, blood centers, medical research facilities, or medically oriented industries.