The online post-baccalaureate certificate in blood banking for medical laboratory science is designed to teach students the ins and outs of testing, storing, and transporting blood for transfusions. Students learn how to test blood for viruses, identify blood types and antibodies, and separate blood into its component parts, such as red and white blood cells and plasma. This certificate can be completed in as little as one year and allows students to qualify to sit for the ASCP Technologist in Blood Banking (BB) exam*.
Upon completion of the certificate program, students are able to:
- Apply principles of traditional and molecular laboratory procedures to perform diagnostic analyses
- Correlate laboratory data and quality control data to assess patient test results
- Apply knowledge of laboratory science principles as they relate to human disease diagnosis
- Maintain a safe work environment
- Comply with laboratory safety regulations and regulatory policies
- Apply ethical decision-making to issues related to clinical laboratory practice
Students complete required courses on either a full- or part-time basis. Courses in the major are designed to broaden the student's foundation in the sciences in preparation for the clinical phase of the program. All courses are taught online, except for the clinical practicum. The clinical practicum usually is taken on a full-time basis upon completion of didactic coursework. Students typically are in a clinical laboratory eight hours per day (daytime hours), five days per week. Students must be able to fulfill the necessary time requirement for the practicum**.
Visit the program website for additional information.
*Completion of the certificate qualifies graduates to take the Technologist in Blood Banking examination offered by national certifying agencies.
**Clinical rotations, each between one to four weeks duration, are completed at an approved clinical site.
