Steubenville, Ohio—June 30, 2023—On Friday, June 23, 2023, Trinity Health System’s School of Medical Laboratory Science graduated its Class of 2023.
Constance L. Moore, M.Ed., MLS (ASCP)CM, Program Director, School of Medical Laboratory Science, expressed great pride in each of the three graduates: Joe Nelson, Kami Stark, and Mitch Woodhall.
“These students possess a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the field of medical laboratory science and the profession itself,” she said. “The point of the program is to help alleviate the grave shortage of qualified lab personnel that has affected our nation, including our area. All three students accepted positions even before graduating, one of whom will be staying on to work at Trinity Health System.”
The Medical Laboratory Science program provides students with 11 months of intense lecture and laboratory experiences in Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology, Blood Bank, Immunology, Hematology, and Body Fluid Analysis.
“There is no student laboratory as in other programs, so each morning, they are learning in real time, performing the tests right alongside and under the supervision of the laboratory professionals,” Moore said. “In the afternoons, they attend lectures to learn about the theories and principles of those tests and how the results correlate with disease states.”
The Medical Laboratory Science program has enjoyed success, both with this year’s class and previous graduating classes, in employment and in passing the certification exam given by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).
“While we have an affiliation with Youngstown State University, we would like to finalize an affiliation with Franciscan University of Steubenville, so local MLS majors can come into the program in their senior year to earn credits to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and hopefully want to stay in the area to work,” Moore said.
Through the laboratory portion of the program, the students gain the perspective of how vital laboratory testing is to positive patient outcomes.
“This aligns perfectly with the mission and vision of Trinity Health System and CommonSpirit Health, valuing all patients and helping them achieve better health through aiding in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease states,” she said.
Trinity Health System’s School of Medical Laboratory Science is fully accredited by the National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). For more information about the profession and the program, please contact Connie Moore at 740-264-8447 or [email protected].
The 2023 Trinity Health System School of Medical Laboratory Science Graduating Class and Instructors (L – R): Mitch Woodhall, graduate; Joe Nelson, graduate; Kami Stark, graduate; Annette Kyler, MT(ASCP), Blood Bank faculty; Connie Moore, M.Ed., MLS(ASCP)CM, Program Director, School of MLS; Paul Wheeler, MBA, Vice President of Operations; Theresa Clark, MT(ASCP), Regional Director of Laboratories; and Himanshu Doshi, M.D., Medical Director, Pathology and Clinical Laboratories.