The George Washington University's Clinical Laboratory Science Program celebrates 70 years
By Kristin Hubing - June 4, 2012
By Kristin Hubing - June 4, 2012
In Hippocrates’ ancient Greece, uroscopy, the visual examination of a patient’s urine, was a common diagnostic practice. Dark urine was considered to indicate acute illness, and light urine suggested chronic disease. Even until the 1800s, diabetes was diagnosed by tasting urine to determine if it was sweet. To the relief of lab technologists everywhere, the health sciences have progressed dramatically since that time.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) program at GW’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The program, directed by Sylvia Silver, associate dean for health sciences, and coordinated by Carol Smith, assistant professor of pathology, has undergone dramatic changes since its inception in 1942 as a part of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
In the 1940s and ’50s, CLS used apprenticeship-style training, and there was a very limited menu of tests that were performed in laboratories, Ms. Smith said. By the ’60s, labs became more automated, especially in chemistry. And in 1972, when CLS (then known as Medical Technology) moved to the newly formed SMHS, accreditation by outside organizations had begun to provide more structure for clinical laboratory programs.
Today’s CLS program, which is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, offers two tracks: a bachelor of science in health science or a post-baccalaureate certificate in clinical laboratory science. It also offers four categorical certificate programs in blood banking, chemistry, hematology and microbiology.
Dr. Silver, who has been at GW since 1978, said clinical lab scientists are essentially detectives. They uncover information from laboratory analyses to assist physicians in patient diagnosis and treatment, as well as in disease monitoring and prevention.
“If someone has had a heart attack, we’re the ones who come up with the fact that it is a heart attack because the enzymes in the blood sample are skewed,” Dr. Silver said. “We come up with the ‘why’ it is happening and the ‘what’ that is causing it.”
In 2002, CLS moved to a distance education model that utilizes the web for lectures, assignments and student interaction via discussion boards. After completion of their online courses, students are required to undertake six months of practicums at a certified clinical site in their state of residence. There are 22 students currently enrolled in the program.
Ms. Smith, who is retiring in June after 31 years in the department, said distance education requires a lot of anticipation on the part of the professors.
“It’s a different type of teaching in terms of the way you approach it,” she said. “You’re not seeing their faces, seeing the feedback that can make you say, ‘Oh, they’re not getting that.’ And that’s where it comes in handy that Sylvia and I have both taught for so many years face to face. We know the types of things that normally create misunderstandings for the students, and I keep that in the back of my mind when I’m preparing materials.”
One benefit of the distance education program, which offers a part-time schedule and tuition fees lower than those of on-campus programs, is it provides an opportunity for working students who may not otherwise be able to pursue the degree.
Jessica Reinhardt, B.S. ’06, who served in the military while earning her bachelor’s degree, is grateful for the flexibility offered by the distance education model.
“It may have taken me nine years to get my degree, but if it wasn’t for GW and this model, I wouldn’t have been able to until much later,” Ms. Reinhardt said. “When I was activated by the military, Carol told me, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get through this. You will not sacrifice your education.’ And I didn’t.”
In the mid-1990s, GW formed a partnership with the U.S. Army and Navy that allows GW to award academic credit for the military’s medical laboratory technician programs to students like Ms. Reinhardt, who can then continue their education at GW. About a quarter of the students in the CLS program at any given time are from the military.
There is no shortage of jobs for newly minted lab technologists. Medical laboratory science is ranked third in job growth and job security among health professions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the field is projected to increase by 14 percent through 2016.
“Our graduates don’t have any trouble finding jobs,” Ms. Smith said. “Sometimes the clinical labs where they did their practicums will fight over them. One department wants to grab them before the other can.”
Ms. Reinhardt, who now works in biodefense for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has seen this need firsthand.
“Our field is always short of people, and a program like this is instrumental in keeping us staffed with the people that we need to continue our important work,” she said. “I hope the program always continues to exist because we need to educate our young people so that they can fulfill the growing needs of the population.”
While most graduates of the program work in hospital labs or the clinics associated with them, others pursue advanced education. Medical and dental schools are frequent destinations, but former students have also gone on to public health schools to study infectious diseases and business schools to prepare for supervisory roles in the lab or health care administration positions.
“It’s a marvelous stepping stone to future education, and you can go in just about any direction,” Ms. Smith said.
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