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Medical Laboratory Technician

Overview Degrees/Certificates Courses Faculty

Folsom Lake College Medical Technology

The medical laboratory technician (MLT) program at Folsom Lake College is designed to prepare students to qualify for and pass the National Medical Laboratory Technician Licensing exam. The Folsom Lake College MLT program is accredited by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Laboratory Field Services (LFS), and the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). For more information, FAQ's and to apply, please visit our medical laboratory technician department website.

MLT Department

The MLT program includes aspects of didactic and clinical training to prepare students to step into functioning medical laboratories, either in a hospital or research lab setting. The program has robust prerequisites and is intended to equip completers to execute any aspect of their profession both within and outside California. Not only will this approach prepare students for possible career advancement later, it will also result in the best possible preparation for a career as an MLT. For more detailed information related to the program, students should consult the current version of the MLT Program Handbook.

Successful completion of the MLT program requirements and general education graduation requirements of Folsom Lake College qualify the student for an associate degree in Medical Technology. Program completers are eligible to sit for the national MLT licensing exam administered by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP). Once a passing score on the ASCP National exam is achieved, graduates can apply for both national certification and state licensure.

To be eligible for enrollment in the program or in individual MEDTEC courses, the student must meet the following criteria:

Complete the application process for enrollment in the MLT program.
Fulfill all requirements set by the program and its clinical affiliates including, but not limited to: background clearance, physical examination, immunization clearance, and drug screening.
All students must have completed all program prerequisites with a grade of C or better and have a minimum grade point average in those prerequisite courses of 2.50.

The program is designed to prepare the student for licensure, for employment, and to participate as a member of a health care team. As part of the program, students will be placed in an operating medical laboratory as an intern in their final semester of program residence. Completers of the program will have demonstrated consistently professional, safe, and ethical practice.

Students admitted to the program are responsible for providing a lab coat, laboratory fees (as applicable), liability insurance (available through the college to program participants), minor necessary equipment, and transportation to off-campus locations. All costs/fees are subject to change.

Program Maps

A.A./A.S. Degrees

Medical Laboratory Technician A.S. Degree - Fall 2025 Catalog Rights Map

Certificates

Pre-Clinical Laboratory Scientist Trainee Certificate Map

Division Dean John Skellenger
Department Chair Jason Pedro
Meta-Major Public Service, Health, and Education
Medical Technology Department
Phone (916) 608-6927
Email skellej@flc.losrios.edu

Associate Degree

A.S. in Medical Laboratory Technician

The Medical Laboratory Technician Program and Degree aim to produce highly skilled individuals who pass the national licensing exam and remain committed to ethical and professional standards in healthcare. Graduates will exhibit core values such as accountability, dedication, work ethic, and trust. The program includes didactic, laboratory, and practicum components to help students achieve their educational and career goals. It prepares students for careers in clinical laboratories, industry, and biotechnology, where they may work as Medical Laboratory Technicians, Laboratory Assistants, or Research Technicians. The curriculum integrates foundational concepts, technical procedures, and laboratory exercises before practical experience. Practicum courses take place at affiliate sites, providing hands-on experience in the responsibilities of a Medical Laboratory Technician. The program ensures students master the competencies, skills, and knowledge required for the profession, including laboratory procedures in chemistry, urinalysis, phlebotomy, hematology, coagulation, microbiology, immunohematology, and immunology. These procedures are essential for maintaining health and diagnosing or treating disease. Coursework emphasizes mathematical and scientific concepts related to specimen collection, laboratory testing, quality assurance, and reporting/interpreting findings from tissues, blood, and body fluids. The program also stresses the importance of professional standards and ethical obligations in healthcare. Each part of the curriculum fosters professional competence, personal growth, and effective patient care. Students must purchase personal protective equipment and minor supplies, including safety glasses, disposable gloves, and glass slides. Access to a computer and printer is also required. Additionally, students must purchase their portion of the college’s liability insurance and undergo a background and drug screening. Immunization documentation (e.g., MMR, Varicella, Tdap, Hepatitis B, Influenza), and a negative tuberculosis test are mandatory, as students will handle blood and body fluid specimens. Health insurance is strongly advised. More information and a full cost breakdown can be found at https://flc.losrios.edu/academics/medical-technology-and-pre-clinical-laboratory-science-department.

Catalog Date: January 1, 2026

Degree Requirements

Course Code	Course Title	Units
MEDTEC 310	Introduction to Medical Laboratory Techniques and Skin Punctures	2
MEDTEC 323	Clinical Chemistry	5
MEDTEC 324	Urine and Body Fluid Analysis	2
MEDTEC 330	Hematology	5
MEDTEC 340	Immunology and Immunohematology	5
MEDTEC 350	Clinical Microbiology	5
MEDTEC 360	Chemistry and Urinalysis Practicum	4
MEDTEC 361	Hematology and Hemostasis Practicum	4
MEDTEC 362	Immunology and Immunohematology Practicum	4
MEDTEC 363	Microbiology Practicum	4
A minimum of 0 units from the following:		0¹
MEDTEC 311	Advanced Phlebotomy Venipuncture Skills (2)
MEDTEC 312	Phlebotomy Clinical Internship (2)
Total Units:		40

¹Students that hold a valid and current California Phlebotomist certificate (CPT-1) are not required to take MEDTEC 311 or MEDTEC 312 while participating in the Medical Laboratory Technician Program. Per the State of California, students without a valid and current CPT-1 certificate are required to take MEDTEC 311 and MEDTEC 312 as part of their Medical Laboratory Technician training.

The Medical Laboratory Technician Associate in Science (A.S.) degree may be obtained by completion of the required program, and either (a) the Local General Education Pattern or (b) the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC), plus sufficient electives for a total of at least 60 units. See FLC graduation requirements.

Enrollment Eligibility

To be eligible for enrollment in the program, the student must meet the following criteria:

Complete the application process for enrollment in the MLT program.
Beginning in 2026, all applicants must possess a valid MLT Trainee License issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Laboratory Field Services. More information on obtaining a MLT Trainee License can be found here: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/Pages/ClinicalLaboratoryPersonnel.aspx
Acceptance into the MLT program and completion of all of the following eligibility criteria with a grade of “C” or better. All science prerequisites must be completed at the time of application. Up to two (2) non-science prerequisites can be in-progress during the application period. The in-progress courses must conclude prior to the start of the MLT program.
CHEM 400 - General Chemistry I, or CHEM 420 - Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 401 - General Chemistry II, or CHEM 421 - Organic Chemistry II
BIOL 400 - Principles of Biology
BIOL440 - General Microbiology
STAT 300 - Introduction to Probability and Statistics, or PSYC 330 -Introductory Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
COMM 321 - Interpersonal Communication (preferred), or any other 3-unit communication course.
AH 311 - Medical Language for Health-Care Providers, or licensure/certification in a medically-related field (e.g. Phlebotomist, Radiology Technician, Respiratory Therapist, Pharmacy Technician, Nurse), or graduation from an Allied Health Program or Degree; subject to approval by the MLT Program Director.
Students may take General Education requirements concurrently with prerequisite courses and during the didactic portion of the MLT Program. During the practicum portion of the MLT Program students are required to intern at their clinical site for 40 hours per week. As such, enrolling in additional courses can only occur outside of these assigned hours. The above also applies to students who are employed and work hours outside of the MLT Program. No exceptions will be made, which result in missed MLT Program hours, for students who need to commit hours to their employer or any other outside entity.
In order to qualify to sit for the national licensing exam and acquire California MLT licensure, students must complete 60 semester units, 36 of which must be in physical or biological sciences. While the MLT program and its prerequisite courses typically meet this requirement for most students, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to ensure they have the appropriate semester units for MLT licensure.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure they have met all state and national licensure requirements including but not limited to: possession of a valid social security number, appropriate semester units, and post-graduation licensure fees. More information can be found at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/osphld/lfs/pages/mlt.aspx and https://www.ascp.org/content/board-of-certification.
Students need not hold a certificate in phlebotomy to apply to the MLT program at FLC. Those who do not already have a phlebotomy certificate will be trained in phlebotomy per the standards set forth in the California Administration Code Title 17 1035.3. Students already in possession of a valid California Certified Phlebotomy Technician certification (CPT-1) will need not enroll in the phlebotomy courses, MEDTEC 311 and 312.

Enrollment Process

Eligible students are selected for the program according to the following steps:

Applications to the program may be obtained online at: https://flc.losrios.edu/academics/medical-technology-and-pre-clinical-laboratory-science-department/apply-to-the-mlt-program.
Only students who meet the pre-enrollment requirements and follow the pre-enrollment procedures, including a pre-application meeting with Counseling Services, will be considered for the MLT Program. Meeting all these requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program.
Selection is based on a computerized random selection process from a qualified applicant pool.
The students accepted into the MLT Program must fulfill all requirements set forth by the MLT Student Guidelines including but not limited to: background clearance, physical examination, immunization clearance, and drug screening. The student is responsible for any cost incurred related to meeting the requirements.
Students who are not accepted into the MLT Program must reapply to the program at its next offering. There is no waitlist for the MLT Program.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to:

pass the nationally recognized certification examination.
apply appropriate quality control procedures and recognize and interpret erroneous results for any applicable medium-complexity laboratory testing process.
describe the principles, the clinical significance, and critical values of applicable medium-complexity clinical laboratory test results.
demonstrate safe use and disposal of biohazardous materials, and the proper methods of specimen preparation.
assess sample quality and cite any pre-analytical variables in testing.
demonstrate successful venipunctures and skin punctures on patients from a variety of age groups with a variety of medical conditions.
exhibit professional and committed delivery of excellent health care.

Career Information

The Medical Laboratory Technician is an entry-level position in the healthcare industry with a current (2025) approximate starting wage range of $29.00-$46.00 hourly. The role of the Medical Laboratory Technician is to perform routine laboratory analyses that are involved in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. With increasing reliance on computer technology, the role of the medical laboratory technician has become less hands-on and more analytical. The Medical Laboratory Technician will be an entry-level position for the healthcare industry and/or a transfer opportunity to schools offering a B.S. in Medical Technology.

Certificate of Achievement

Pre-Clinical Laboratory Scientist Trainee Certificate

The Pre-Clinical Laboratory Scientist Trainee certificate aims to guide individuals who are hoping to become a licensed Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) in the State of California. As part of this process, individuals must obtain a CLS Trainee license from the California Department of Public Health Department of Laboratory Field Services (CDPH-LFS) before enrolling in a CLS Program. The CLS Trainee license has several prerequisite courses that this certificate, and its prerequisite courses, aim to satisfy. To be clear, the Pre-Clinical Laboratory Scientist Trainee certificate is not a CLS program, nor does it allow graduates to work in the clinical laboratory upon graduation. Instead, this certificate provides a clear path for individuals interested in pursuing entry into a CLS program. The Pre-Clinical Laboratory Scientist Trainee certificate does not grant entry into any CLS Program. Students interested in CLS must apply to CLS programs separately and comply with each program’s individual requirements. Furthermore, in order to receive a CLS Trainee License from the State of California, students are required to submit an application to the California Department of Public Health. More information on this process can be on the MLT Department webpage: https://www.flc.losrios.edu/academics/medical-technology-department. The required didactic curriculum prepares individuals to perform basic clinical laboratory procedures in chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunohematology, and immunology. Course work emphasizes mathematical and scientific concepts related to specimen collection, laboratory testing and procedures, quality assurance and reporting/recording and interpreting findings involving tissues, blood, and body fluids. Purchase of personal protective equipment and minor class supplies including, but not limited to: safety glasses, disposable gloves, and glass slides, is required. Access to a computer and printer is also required. Students are further advised to ensure all their immunizations are current as blood and body fluids are utilized. Immunizations include, but are not limited to: Hepatitis B, Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR), Varicella Zoster, Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Tdap), and Influenza.

Catalog Date: January 1, 2026

Certificate Requirements

Course Code	Course Title	Units
MEDTEC 323	Clinical Chemistry	5
MEDTEC 324	Urine and Body Fluid Analysis	2
MEDTEC 330	Hematology	5
MEDTEC 340	Immunology and Immunohematology	5
MEDTEC 350	Clinical Microbiology	5
Total Units:		22

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to:

apply appropriate quality control procedures and recognize and interpret erroneous results in the laboratory testing process.
describe the principles, the clinical significance, and critical values of clinical laboratory test results.
demonstrate safe use and disposal of biohazardous materials, and the proper methods of specimen preparation.

Medical Technology (MEDTEC) Courses

MEDTEC 310 Introduction to Medical Laboratory Techniques and Skin Punctures

Units:2
Hours:27 hours LEC; 27 hours LAB
Prerequisite:None.
Advisory:AH 311 with a grade of "C" or better
Transferable:CSU
Catalog Date:January 1, 2026

This course introduces concepts in clinical laboratory medicine including: quality control, analytical errors, laboratory math, specimen collection, safety, professionalism, and ethics. Students also utilize laboratory equipment and perform skin punctures on other students. Purchase of personal protective equipment and minor class supplies including, but not limited to: safety glasses, disposable gloves, and glass slides, is required. Students are further advised to ensure all their immunizations are current as blood and body fluids are utilized. Immunizations include, but are not limited to: Hepatitis B, Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR), Varicella Zoster, Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis (Tdap), and Influenza.