VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) – The Valdosta campus of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College welcomed its first Medical Laboratory Technology course. The degree program will prepare graduates for careers as medical and clinical laboratory technicians.

“I feel like they’re preparing us for success,” said Quamecia Smith, an MLT student. “From day one, we were right in the lab. We learned a lot, we were very hands-on. I feel like it definitely prepared us for the lab environment in the hospital or wherever we want to work.”

Smith started at Wiregrass as a nursing student because of her love of science, but after learning about the newly introduced Medical Laboratory Technology program, she quickly transferred to the four-year program that prepared her for the medical field.

“Students can pursue additional certificates and additional degrees after completing this program because we are regionally accredited,” said Leslie Cooper, MS, MLS (ASCP), MLT and Phlebotomy program director. “This program also seeks accreditation, which means they can pursue national certifications and licensure in other states.”

Cooper said the program prepares students to work as entry-level medical laboratory technicians.

The program will help meet the need for laboratory technicians, especially in local hospitals and private laboratories.

“I have already contacted laboratory directors in the area who want to know when my first class will graduate. Hopefully they will accept our students as well, as the program is designed to last four semesters. In the last two semesters they complete their clinical internships in laboratories and hospitals in the area,” said Cooper.

This partnership with local hospitals and laboratories allows students to gain hands-on experience before seeking employment or continuing their education.

“It put me in the mood to think that after this course, I could go a little further with my bachelor’s degree,” said Jacqueline Willis, an MLT student.

“When everyone thinks of health care, they think of doctors and nurses, but it goes much further than that. There are a thousand different jobs that you know can be filled and are needed,” Smith said. “They’re doing a very good job of helping us realize that there’s more than just nurses and doctors who can do this and that.”

Wiregrass accepts students into the Medical Laboratory Technology program each fall.

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