CLS Program About Us Curriculum How to Apply Policies FAQs Curriculum Home About Campus & Community Resources Pathology & Laboratory Medicine: Education & Training > CLS Program > Curriculum CLS Program Curriculum Overview On average throughout the training year, students participate in four hours of formal lectures per week. Lecture topics cover all laboratory disciplines and provide essential information for understanding the etiology and pathophysiology of disease, the principles of laboratory tests, and the clinical significance of laboratory test results. Presenters include pathology and laboratory medicine faculty, residents and CLS professionals. The majority of training time is spent in the working clinical laboratory, where students observe, practice and perform clinical diagnostic testing under the direct supervision of their instructors. Students learn to perform manual procedures, operate highly sophisticated automated instruments, use laboratory computer systems, monitor quality control and review laboratory results for their validity. The program provides students with the opportunity to greatly expand their scientific knowledge, develop proficiency in an array of technical skills, demonstrate the highest regard for patient care and consistently display professional behavior. Program Rotations Blood Bank/Donor Center Students in the blood bank study transfusion medicine and immunohematology concepts. During the rotation, students practice blood banking tests, work with blood donors and process blood components. Problem-solving skills are assessed by practical exams. Time is also spent in apheresis observing plasma exchanges and with hemotherapy services observing therapeutic phlebotomy and directed donations. Chemistry The chemistry section includes rotations through automated and special chemistry, immunochemistry, toxicology, therapeutic drug monitoring and urinalysis. Students perform a wide range of analytical procedures and learn to correlate laboratory data with clinical findings. They have the opportunity to work with a multitude of highly sophisticated automated technologies. Hematology/Coagulation During this rotation, students learn to identify normal and abnormal cells of blood, bone marrow and body fluids, and learn manual/automated cell-counting methods. Students are also introduced to flow cytometry and hemoglobin electrophoresis. Problem-solving skills are further developed in the coagulation lab while investigating disorders of hemostasis. Microbiology Students rotate through bacteriology, antimicrobic susceptibility testing, mycology, parasitology, serology, mycobacteriology, virology and molecular microbiology. They learn to evaluate cultures from a variety of body sites and identify a variety of human pathogens using identification techniques such as culture, direct microscopic exam, proteomics, nucleic acid assays and immunoassays. Automated methods are also integrated where appropriate. Molecular Diagnostics Students are introduced to the use of molecular diagnostic techniques for patient diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. They use these techniques in a number of applications, including molecular microbiology, molecular pathology and human leukocyte antigen testing. Professional Practice Students are exposed to various aspects central to the administration and maintenance of a clinical laboratory, including: Laboratory information systems (LIS): Computer applications, interfaces with instrumentation and other information systems. Compliance and regulatory agencies: Healthcare regulatory agencies and compliance with required standards of operation. Laboratory management: Introduction to areas such as human resource management, laboratory operations, communications and quality assurance. Phlebotomy: Techniques of blood specimen collection and other processes in the pre-analytical phase of specimen testing. Education: Use of strategic methodologies to effectively teach and evaluate student learning outcomes. Research: Develop skills needed to prepare, analyze and present scientific data for application in the clinical laboratory. Evaluation Students must successfully fulfill the minimum requirements in each section of the lecture and laboratory training areas. Performance will be evaluated throughout the training year based on didactic lecture exams, lab exams, practical exams, lab skills, work habits and professional behavior. Students will also have multiple opportunities to evaluate the overall program, lecture presentations, bench instructors and clinical rotations.