MLT professionals provide diagnostic testing of patient specimens in a laboratory setting. Harcum’s MLT Program can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis, with on-line courses accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week each semester. Using the WebStudy Course Management System, students are in contact with their instructors through email, and can also contact instructors directly by telephone. The Harcum program has students enrolled throughout Pennsylvania and in other parts of the U.S.

Professor Donna Broderick, Program Director for the Medical Laboratory Technician Program and 2006 recipient of the Lindback Award for excellence in teaching, said "We are pleased to be able to offer our on-line program in this fast-growing field through hospitals associated with PMHA." Harcum has extensive experience in the field of Allied Health Science, and the MLT program will benefit area workers because, as Broderick noted, "Harcum has offered this program on-line since 2004 and it is a unique and practical resource for those who, for a variety of reasons, do not have access to traditional MLT programs."

Rebecca Overdorf, Network Clinical Director for PMHA, said that the goal of the PMHA Lab Directors is to recruit new laboratory staff through the enrollment of local students in Harcum’s MLT program. "They can then be placed in PMHA hospital labs for the clinical laboratory program component of their Harcum courses. The PMHA hospitals can then have the option to offer contractual job offers to the students in exchange for potential tuition reimbursement and sign-on bonuses," Overdorf said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, future job opportunities in the Medical Laboratory field are expected to be excellent, because the number of job openings is expected to continue to exceed the number of job seekers.

Employment of clinical laboratory workers is expected to grow faster than average through the year 2014, as the volume of laboratory tests continues to increase with both population growth and the development of new types of tests.

Harcum recently received a full 7-year accreditation award from the National Accrediting Agency of Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS), the highest accreditation award possible. The accreditation is based on a self-study report and site visit that occurred in March 2007.

NAACLS is the accrediting agency for academic programs dealing with laboratory science that includes Medical Technology, Histology, Cytology, Phlebotomy, as well as many specialty areas within the laboratory. Programs are granted an accreditation status of 3, 5, or 7 years depending on the strength of the curriculum, faculty, clinical sites, and certification passing rates.

Harcum’s MLT program is also proud of it’s 5-year 100% passing rate of students taking the ASCP (American Society of Clinical Pathologists) Board of Registry certification exam for Medical Laboratory Technicians.

Professor Broderick credits the MLT faculty, clinical affiliates, and students, past and present, for their commitment and hard work toward achieving the 7-year accreditation award. She also acknowledges the continued support of the Harcum College administration, faculty and staff to the MLT program.

About Harcum College

Harcum College, one of Pennsylvania’s first private, two-year colleges, was founded in Bryn Mawr, PA in 1915 and was the first college in Pennsylvania authorized to grant associate degrees. Among the co-educational College's fields of study are programs in Animal Center Management, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Dental Hygiene and Assisting, Early Childhood Education, Fashion Design, Health Care Practice Management, Human Services, Interior Design, Liberal Studies, Legal Studies, Medical Laboratory Technology, Histotechnology, Nursing, Physical Therapist Assisting, Sports Management, Radiologic Technology, Neurodiagnostic Technology and Veterinary Technology, For more information, call 610.525.4100 or visit the website: www.harcum.edu