Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Lone Star College-Tomball Medical Laboratory Program is to produce medical laboratory technicians that are well educated and prepared to enter the laboratory workforce, aiding in the endeavor of providing the highest quality of healthcare for our community.

Program Description

Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLTs) are vital healthcare detectives, uncovering and providing laboratory information from laboratory analysis that assist physicians in patient diagnosis and treatments, as well as in disease monitoring or prevention.

Lone Star College-Tomball offers a two-year Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) program leading to an Associate of Applied Science degree. The MLT program includes both practical and theoretical experience in hematology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, parasitology, mycology, urinalysis, immunology, and immunohematology. Clinical courses included in the program provide hands-on experience in various hospital and clinic laboratories in the surrounding area.

The program will be applying for NAACLS accreditation/approval. Student eligibility to take certification examinations may depend on whether or not the program achieves "serious applicant" status.

What do medical lab techs do?

MLT's use sophisticated biomedical instrumentation and technology, computers, and methods requiring manual dexterity to perform laboratory testing on blood and body fluids. The role of the MLT requires an understanding of scientific principles and theories, the ability to perform a wide variety of laboratory procedures with accuracy, the ability to analyze data for accuracy and the ability to detect and correct problems.

Other duties and responsibilities of MLTs include:

• Forwarding test results to requesting physicians while keeping clear records of the test results in the lab's record book or daily file
• Collecting, preparing and storing specimens
• Explaining lab testing procedures to patients and other clients
• Receiving, examining and approving samples collected by physicians, nurses and other medical professionals and ensuring that the right type, integrity and quantity of samples are presented for the ordered tests
• Standardizing testing procedures to ensure consistent reliability and usefulness of test results
• Using automated equipment and computerized lab instruments capable of performing several tests at the same time

Clinical Affiliates

• HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake
• HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe
• HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center
• HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress
• HCA Houston Healthcare Pearland
• HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast
• HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball
• HCA Healthcare Texas Orthopedic Hospital
• Houston Methodist - The Woodlands
• SML LLC

***Students admitted into the MLT program may be employed by a clinical facility. However, paid scheduled work hours must not overlap with student's clinical course rotation hours and will not replace required clinical course rotation hours.

Application/Admission Information

All applicants are highly encouraged to attend at least one program information session prior to applying to the MLT program.  Information Sessions: October 3, 2024 at 4:00pm 
                                                               
*Location will be in Room #310 at the Tomball Health and Science Building, 700 Graham Dr., TX 77375.

In addition to the general admission requirements of Lone Star College (LSC), the following are requirements that must be met in order to apply for admission to the MLT program:

1. Have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0.
2. Complete ENGL 1301, PSYC 2301, any college-level MATH course, MLAB 1101 and PHIL 2306 with a grade of “C” or better.
3. Students must submit official transcripts from colleges attended other than LSC.

An application packet for the MLT program must be completed and submitted to be considered for acceptance into the program. 

For further MLT application information, visit our Application Page.