Army Medics Receive Medical Laboratory Technician certification

By Mr. Dave Conrad (III Corps)May 8, 2017

Army Medics Receive Medical Laboratory Technician certification
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Three Soldiers graduated from phase II of the Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) course during a commencement ceremony at Carl R. Darnall Medical Center April 28.

Family, friends and senior hospital leadership were on hand to recognize Spc. Indira Fouch, Pfc. Leopoldo Palma and Spc. Khym Turner for their achievements, which capped off a year of formal training in the field.

Phase I of the training is a 6-month course covering blood banking and clinical laboratory procedures in hematology, immunohematology, clinical chemistry, serology, bacteriology, parasitology and urinalysis, according to the Army's recruiting website, and is held at Joint Base San Antonio.

"The second phase is an additional 26 weeks of on the job training at one of the 21 phase II clinical training sites including Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center," Spc. Beatrice Clark, the opening speaker for the ceremony, said. "Along with their hands on training, the students are assigned clinical case studies and numerous presentations on laboratory operations and regulatory agencies. The students are held to the same high academic standards of accredited college and university medical laboratory programs across the United States, yet the course is conducted at a speed which far outpaces their civilian counterparts."

The MLT program prepares graduates to function as entry-level medical laboratory technicians.

"You are the link between a patient's presenting symptom and a medical diagnosis," guest speaker Lt. Col. Alicia Surrey, commander of CRDAMC's Troop Command, said. "Accuracy, speed and precision are of the utmost importance. You are a vital member of the health-care team and play a pivotal role in our health-care delivery."

In addition to completing the course, all three Soldiers received the Army Achievement Medal for graduating and for passing the American Society for Clinical Pathology Certification Exam.

"It was a rough year, with ups and downs, but our motivation and our dedication to this program actually helped us pass the certification and pass the program," Palma said.

With the completion of training, the Soldiers have earned 60 credit hours toward an Associates Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences with George Washington University, Clark stated, and are certified to work in civilian and military hospitals as medical laboratory technicians.