RGH Medical Laboratory Science Curriculum

The Rochester General Hospital Medical Laboratory Science Program is a 45-week, full-time clinical internship experience (40 hrs/week). The student receives a comprehensive education which encompasses the technical aspects of clinical laboratory medicine as well as the theoretical aspects of the medical relevance of clinical laboratory results and how various disease states are manifested in the laboratory.

The program stresses the development of independent judgment and critical thinking/problem solving skills. The student will be educated using actual clinical specimens, extensive case study material, unknown clinical challenges, study question sets, and a comprehensive lecture component (see below).

The program consists of three phases:

Orientation: (2 days)

Orientation provides an overview of laboratory safety, the entire annual schedule of the Program and other relevant topics.

Introduction to Medical Laboratory Science: (7 weeks)

During this 7-week full-time portion of the program, the student will learn basic manual methods and basic medical laboratory science theory. This brings all students up to a common body of knowledge before embarking upon general rotation. This portion of the year takes place at Rochester General Hospital in the student classroom, with all students present in one group.

General Rotation: (38 weeks)

Students are divided in to three equal groups, with each group beginning their one-on-one clinical experience in a major laboratory Division (Hematology, Transfusion Service, Clinical Chemistry, or Microbiology). General Rotation takes place four days/week, with all lectures being presented on Wednesday.

During this portion of the year, our students will be rotating at both Rochester General Hospital and RGH Elmgrove Labs.

The Wednesday lecture series covers all clinical disciplines such as Hematology, Clinical Chemistry, Transfusion Medicine, Microbiology and Coagulation. The lecture component is delivered by the MD / PhD Division Heads and Pathologists within the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

The program also features a Management Project component. Working within groups, students will tackle management and laboratory operations scenarios, presenting their findings and solutions in oral form in May.

The final two weeks of the program are devoted to final exams, review sessions and finally graduation!