SCC’s MLT class of 2025 has national board exam 100% pass rate
The Southeastern Community College Medical Laboratory Technology class of 2025 successfully passed the American Society of Clinical Pathology exam. This is a national board exam that certifies all laboratory professionals, according to MLT and Phlebotomy Program Director and instructor Dawn Williamson. The class of 2025 included Alexandra Gilliland, Caroline Summerour, Tammy Milam, Gabrielle Kinlaw and Bridgett Thomas.
“The boards are everything they have learned in the MLT program over the past two years,” Williamson said. “It’s a lot of information, and we do a few review sessions with the students to refresh their memory on what they learned three semesters ago.”
With all her students passing the exam, Williamson said she was “incredibly proud” of them because the program is “a lot of hard work and lot of information they have to know.” Knowing that her students passed is a rewarding part of her job, Williamson said. In addition to the 100% pass rate, Williamson commended the class for a 100% employment rate.
“They all got jobs, too,” Williamson said.
Each class in the MLT program focuses on a specific area of laboratory testing such as microbiology, where students learn about bacteria and other organisms that cause infection and disease. Students must learn about all lab tests ordered by a physician and what it means when test results are positive or negative. SCC is equipped with laboratory space, where students get hands-on experience with microscopes and other equipment found in a hospital or doctor’s office lab.
“I’m trying to prepare them for going to clinical,” Williamson said. “That very last semester they’re here, it’s like on-the-job training with working beside lab techs in the real world.”
With five students in the class, Williamson said they became “like a little family.” Williamson observed their close-knit bond in class because they “talked to each other like sisters.”
“MLT is an exciting career that is not known by most people,” Williamson said. “Everyone knows what a nurse or doctor does, but you never see the lab tech who is running the test.”
Williamson described the field of MLT as “an investigation in figuring out what is wrong with a patient.” Lab technicians can test any sample that comes from the human body such as blood, urine, stool, spinal fluid, lung fluid and skin.
“Seventy percent of diagnosis made by physicians is dependent on lab results,” Williamson said. “Doctors could not do their job as well without the lab results.”
For the past 20 years, Williamson said that all her students who passed the national board exam have gotten jobs in their field. She explained that most students already have jobs at graduation or soon after. With their associate degree obtained, Williamson said that many students pursue a bachelor’s degree in Medical Lab Science.
“We have this articulation agreement with East Carolina University in MLS, where students can work and do their classes online,” Williamson said.
MLT graduates interested in getting their bachelor’s degree in MLS online through ECU can click here to learn more.
The program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), 5600 N. River Rd, Suite 720, Rosemont IL 60018-5119.
