Atlantic Cape, MCCC Offer Joint MLT Program

Atlantic Cape Community College and Mercer County College have entered into a cooperative program that will allow students interested in pursuing a career in medical laboratory technology to do so, the colleges announced on Thursday.

The Medical Laboratory Technology Program (MLT) is designed to prepare students for a career as a medical laboratory technician. Medical laboratory professionals perform laboratory analysis on body fluid samples, which provide physicians with data and information used to assess a patient's health.

They work in all the departments of the clinical laboratory including the areas of clinical chemistry, hematology, blood bank transfusion services, immunology and microbiology using the principles of chemistry, physiology, cell and molecular biology.

“The Atlantic Cape Community College and Mercer County Community College Medical Laboratory Technician cooperative program provides an opportunity for residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties to complete the MLT degree and secure national certification,” Myrna Morales Keklak, division chairperson of nursing and allied health programs at Atlantic Cape, said. “MLTs are medical laboratory professionals who are being highly sought out for employment by all the hospital and medical laboratories within Atlantic and Cape May counties.”

This NACCLS accredited program of study is offered in two phases. The pre-professional phase, first year of study, includes courses in general education, mathematics and sciences offered here at Atlantic Cape. The second phase or the Professional Phase, which includes the clinical experiences, is conducted at Mercer County Community College and laboratories located in Mercer, Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Upon completion of the prerequisite courses at Atlantic Cape, students apply to Mercer County Community College for admittance to the professional phase of the program. Acceptance to the professional phase of the program is competitive and requires a special application for admission.

To be considered for admission, all Atlantic Cape courses must be completed by the end of the spring semester for admission. A student must have a minimum GPA of 2.5. The professional phase of the program begins each year at the end of May, is 14 months long, and is scheduled as full-time daytime classes with a structured progression of courses in the curriculum.

For more information, visit http://www.mccc.edu/mltp/.

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