Thursday, November 30th, second year MLT students braved the rain to tour the laboratory at Titus Regional Medical Center. They were able to see first hand how the skills they’ve been learning throughout their time at NTCC will be used. Titus Regional has two Sysmex hematology analyzers for fast and accurate complete blood counts. Laboratory Director, LeeAnn Harlow, explained how Titus moved to high sensitivity troponin testing for patients being evaluated for myocardial infarctions.
With the improvement in testing, patients can now be released after three hours instead of eighteen. She then showcased the new molecular platform for respiratory and stool specimens. Viral and bacterial pathogens can now be identified in an hour rather than waiting the two to three days for traditional culture results. Glenda Strain went over all the ins and outs of blood bank and how they respond in a trauma situation.
The tour concluded in the microbiology department where Kim Townes demonstrated the use of the MicroScan WalkAway Plus that is used to identify pathogens and determine antibiotic sensitivities for the many different cultures they set up daily.
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, enroll now for the Spring semester in Biol 2401 and Chem 1406. Applications will be accepted for the next cohort until June 15, 2024. Applications can be found here.
