Clinical Laboratory Science (Medical Technology) (B.S.)

Refer to requirements relating to Writing Enriched courses.

The Clinical Laboratory Science (Medical Technology) curriculum is designed to prepare students for a career in determining the causes and cures of a variety of diseases. A Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) performs, interprets, and supervises the analysis of blood, plasma, serum, body fluids, and tissues in a clinical laboratory. After entering the workforce, a CLS may choose to specialize in Blood Bank, Chemistry, Hematology, Histology, Immunology, Microbiology, or Virology. The four-year program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), P.O. Box 75634, Chicago, IL 60675-5634 (773-714-8880).

Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Science and will be eligible to take the ASCP and/or NCA national certification examination. After passing a national certification examination, the student will then be eligible to submit an application to obtain a state license.

The curriculum consists of 125 semester hours. The first three years (85 hours) are completed on campus. The final year or clinical internship (40 hours) consists of clinical classes and lectures.

Students must meet the following requirements before submitting an application to the Admissions Committee during the second semester of the junior year:

• 2.5 GPA with no grade less than “C”.
• Repeat no more than 2 courses due to failure.
• Complete the Internship Application by the specified deadline.
• Complete all pre-clinical courses by the internship starting date.

Selection into the clinical internship of the Clinical Laboratory Science program is competitive due to the limited number of students approved for each clinical site. Students are admitted to clinical sites in August and January. If a student is not selected for clinical internship, the student will be directed to appropriate remedial action or alternative career opportunities. There is no substitution for the 12-month clinical internship. The student must comply with all University and clinical site policies during the clinical internship. During clinicals the student will enroll in CLS 400-440.

Students enrolled in clinicals at a McNeese State University Clinical Laboratory Education Site will receive letter grades for these courses each semester until the end of the clinical internship at which time the IPC grades will be changed to letter grades. To receive an IPC grade the student must be attending classes and have at least a C average at the time of grade posting. If a grade of IPC is changed to a grade below a C, the university may require the student to repay a portion of his/her federal  financial assistance.

McNeese’s clinical internship sites include, but are not limited to, the following laboratories:

Christus St. Patrick Hospital, 524 South Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA.
Jennings American Legion Hospital, 1634 Elton Road, Jennings, LA.
W.O. Moss Regional Medical Center, 1000 Walters St., Lake Charles, LA.
Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, 611 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA.
The Pathology Laboratory, 830 W. Bayou Pines, Lake Charles, LA.
The Medical Laboratory of SW Louisiana, 1910 Oak Park Blvd., Lake Charles, LA.
Beauregard Memorial Hospital, 1118 N. Pine St., DeRidder, LA.

Independent clinical internship sites include, but are not limited to, the following laboratories:

Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital, 2830 Calder Street, Beaumont, TX.
Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, 1701 Oak Park Blvd., Lake Charles, LA.
Rapides Regional Medical Center, 211 Fourth Street, Alexandria, LA.