Laboratory Assistant
Laboratory Assistants conduct specimen processing, provide inventory management,
conduct quality control and quality assurance activities, draw blood,
perform point of care tests and select laboratory tests, and initiate
testing on automated analyzers.
Work Environment:
Employment is found in hospital laboratories, research and reference
laboratories, public health departments, physicians’ offices,
and insurance companies.
Job Outlook:
A multiskilled lab assistant will have strong employment opportunities
in many healthcare settings.
Licensure/Certification:
An associate's degree and three years laboratory work experience qualifies for national certification as a medical laboratory technician. However, currently there are no requirements for national or state certification. A certification option is available as a Certified Office Laboratory Technician (COLT) through Americian Medical Technologists (AMT).
Salary:
Estimated salaries range from $11 - $14 per hour
Program Offerings:
Students who successfully complete the Laboratory Assisting program
receive a Certificate of Completion. Students are encouraged to pursue
an associate's degree with an emphasis is science. An associate's degree
and three years laboratory work experience qualifies for national certification
as a Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT - ASCP). Laboratory Assisting
Program courses are accepted by various universities as transferable
credits at the university level.
For more information contact the Academic Advisor for Health Professions
at 602-285-7427 or visit http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/he/la
Block Transfer for Health Professions:
As a student enrolled in Allied Health and Health Professions degrees
and certificate programs at one of the Arizona community colleges, you
have an opportunity to complete your bachelor’s degree through
a statewide pathway. This pathway maximizes the use of your community
college credits towards the degree. To help you understand the pathway
and the route to your degree, use the information that has been prepared
by faculty and advisors from both the community colleges and the Arizona
public universities.
The Arizona public universities and community colleges have established
a unique transfer agreement specifically for the Health Professions
Career programs. Instead of relying on a course-by-course evaluation
of a student’s academic transcript, the faculty agreed that it
would be more appropriate to consider the Associate in Applied Science
(AAS) degrees or Certificates of Completion as “blocks”
for transfer to the university.
Click here for the Block Transfer Flow
Chart for Laboratory Assisting
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