Table of Contents - Hartwick College

Medical Technology
Faculty/Coordinator: Walter O. Nagel
Although medical laboratories are physically located in hospitals, clinics
and physicians’ offices, the real location is on the frontier of scientific
medicine. Here, the best qualified men and women are building careers in
laboratory medicine by applying their expert knowledge and practical
skills. Medical technologists, whose broad background of college and
clinical laboratory training provides the necessary ingredients for their
professional responsibilities, fulfill a prominent role in these laboratories.
Completion of the medical technology program as part of a liberal arts
and sciences education offers students the breadth of knowledge and
experience to handle the responsibilities and decisions they will face in
their careers, and to adapt to changes within their profession. In addition,
they will be prepared to lead full and satisfying lives.
Students interested in preparing for a career in medical technology may
choose from two tracks offered through the biology department: the
three-plus-one track or the four-plus-one track.
The three-plus-one track leads to a bachelor of science degree in medical
technology. It consists of three years of academic work at Hartwick (which
also partially fulfills departmental requirements for a major in biology),
followed by a 12-month clinical internship for those students who are
accepted by an affiliated hospital School of Medical Technology (listed in
directory). The final selection of students for clinical internships is the
province of the hospital Schools of Medical Technology. It is anticipated
that in the future, as it was in the past, student demand will exceed the
number of clinical internships available. Therefore, constant academic
advisement regarding a student’s continuation in the medical technology
program is necessary and the medical technology coordinator will advise
students of their ranking in the program on an annual basis. Those
students with a grade point average below 2.8 in their science courses
may be advised to consider another major and may not be recommended
for clinical internship. Medical technology majors with an overall grade
point average below 3.0 will be advised to improve their academic average
in order to be more competitive for available clinical internship positions.
Under the four-plus-one track, students follow the medical technology
curriculum their first three years. During the fourth year, they complete
the requirements for a major in biology and graduate with a bachelor’s
degree in biology. They may then apply to a medical technology program
which accepts students who have earned bachelor’s degrees. The fourplus-one
program may also be completed by students in the three-plusone
track who did not obtain a clinical internship following their junior
year. This option provides those students with an opportunity to take
additional courses, improve their grade point average and apply for a
clinical internship which begins after completion of the baccalaureate
degree as a biology major.
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