CLINICAL LAB SCIENEC

40
ESSENTIALS OF CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
in most states that are licensed to provide medical care and accept insurance
reimbursement are required to hire registered MTs and MLTs to perform laboratory
tests.
Phlebotomists and laboratory assistants may be certified or registered but
are not authorized to perform and report laboratory tests, but they may provide
services such as collecting and accessioning laboratory specimens and clerical
duties such as logging of samples and the physical acts of sending out reports
either by computer or by hand. Information regarding professional organizations
that provide avenues for becoming registered as a professional laboratory
worker or to promote the profession may be found on the Internet. All of these
agencies have codes of ethics specific to the agency, but all are similar. An example
of this code is one by the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
(ASCLS) (Table 2-4), which is a professional organization and does not itself
credential workers but works to advance the profession.
Categories of Medical Laboratory Workers for Certification
Although a number of different forms of nomenclature are used for workers
in the laboratory in different locales, those certified by any agency to work in
medical laboratories are basically divided into two major groups. Each of these
two groups may be known by several names (Table 2-5). The MLT may also be
known as a clinical laboratory technician (CLT) based on the job position and
the type of credentialing obtained by the technician. A technician level usually
requires an associate’s degree, which includes both academic components and
training involving technical skills and the practice of the skills. The next category
is that of the technologist, which requires a bachelor’s degree. The MT is also
known as a CLS, depending, again, on the organization granting the credential
and, in some cases, the workplace that uses particular job titles for the technologist.
Pathologists are not discussed with medical laboratory workers as they are
in a separate category as medical doctors, who are licensed by the state and who
also often belong to professional registries. Table 2-5 shows equivalent titles
between two major credentialing agencies. Some technologists will be certified
by more than one organization.
An MT/CLS technologist may choose to become specialized in a particular
area of the laboratory. Some of these specialties may require a master’s degree
Table 2-4 ASCLS Code of Ethics to Which Clinical Laboratory
Members Ascribe
As a clinical laboratory professional, I acknowledge my professional responsibility to:
• Maintain and promote standards of excellence in performing and advancing the art and science
of my profession;
• Preserve the dignity and privacy of patients;
• Uphold and maintain the dignity and respect of the profession;
• Contribute to the general well-being of the community; and
• Actively demonstrate my commitment to these responsibilities throughout my professional life.
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