Volume 40 Number 2 | April 2026
Summary
The article explains how the University of Utah’s Medical Laboratory Science program integrates professionalism and ethics throughout its curriculum. Students explore ethical issues early, study codes of ethics, create a class pledge, and revisit ethical expectations before clinical rotations. Interprofessional activities reinforce shared values, preparing graduates for responsible, ethical practice in healthcare.
Jeffrey J. Clifford, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, Volunteer Contributor
Educational programs in the clinical laboratory sciences have a responsibility not only to develop technically competent medical laboratory science professionals but also to prepare them to be ethical members of the healthcare team. At the University of Utah, we strive to weave professionalism and ethics into several aspects of our medical laboratory science program.
For many of our students, their first discussions of ethics in the context of clinical laboratory science are in our Survey of Medical Laboratory Sciences course. This exploratory course, intended for freshmen and sophomores who are considering an undergraduate degree in medical laboratory science, allows students to have introductory laboratory experiences in the major areas of clinical laboratory science and learn the basics of microscopy, pipetting, and spectrophotometry. In the session focused on molecular diagnostics, we present medical ethics in the context of laboratory testing for Huntington’s Disease. Students discuss why some patients may choose not to have genetic testing performed for a disease that may not be treatable. We also talk about some of the risks of genomic testing in regions of the world where discrimination based on ethnicity or genetics is legal. I close the class by asking students to reflect on why having a personal code of ethics is an important part of being a medical laboratory scientist.
Many students who take Survey of Medical Laboratory Sciences apply to and are accepted into our professional program of study. The week before each school year begins, we have a new student orientation for the incoming cohort of MLS students where professionalism and ethics are reiterated. As part of this orientation we review, among other things, professional communication and program policies in the student handbook. In our discussions we highlight the absolute necessity for ethical academic conduct, and we share principles of respectful written communications.
Soon after the new student orientation our MLS students begin their fall semester medical laboratory science courses. One of my favorite lectures to teach our new MLS students is in our Basic Laboratory Techniques course where I focus on professionalism and ethics. As part of this lecture, I have students read the ASCLS Code of Ethics and the Hippocratic Oath. I also share other examples of codes, oaths, creeds, and pledges that commit healthcare professionals to fulfilling their responsibilities ethically. These examples come from hospitals, educational institutions, and other healthcare professions.
After reviewing these introductory materials, I instruct our students to collaborate as groups to write a “class pledge” to the profession. I love seeing their creativity come out when they put these together. Some submissions are poems and some are more formal, like what we see in the ASCLS Code of Ethics. As part of the assignments, each group submits a pledge and then the class votes for their preferred version. The pledge with the most votes then becomes the official class pledge for their cohort.
As an example, the pledge I wrote as an undergraduate student many years ago was chosen by my cohort:
As a medical lab scientist
There are values I will not resist
I’ll be honest and true
In all that I do
And patient care will not be missed
I’ll honor patient privacy
I’ll be the best that I can be
I’ll continue to learn
Until I’m in an urn
And teach all those working with me
I’ll treat everyone with respect
And make sure results are correct
I’ll bring into fashion
The comfort and compassion
That patients will learn to expect
After the first year of our professional program, our students are scheduled for 18 weeks of clinical rotations courses. Prior to this exciting experience we have another formal orientation that I lead as the clinical coordinator for our program, where I remind them about principles of professional and ethical behavior in preparation for their clinical rotations. We review the program’s student handbook and the policies related to proper deportment in a clinical environment. I also present ethical conundrums that they may encounter during their clinical experiences and ask how they would respond. Finally, after all the difficult conversations and review of policies, we present the students with their own copy of their class pledge, and they recite it aloud as a group (usually with lots of enthusiasm).
In addition to clinical rotations, as part of the final year curriculum our MLS students participate in an interprofessional education activity with graduate students from genetic counseling, informatics, and public health programs at our university. As part of this experience, we encourage students in each professional program to review the codes of ethics of the other professions and discuss the overlap of values between the professions. This has been an excellent way to find common ground, not only between students but also with the faculty of the other health professions programs.
I believe that in every profession, especially in healthcare, it is important to have a set of ethical standards by which we can measure ourselves and our conduct. Sharing these values and standards with our students throughout their education and requiring them to synthesize their own codes of ethics are ways to help the rising generation of medical laboratory science professionals prepare for a lifetime of work in a field that requires unimpeachable ethics. I hope the ideas I shared will help other clinical laboratory science educators further incorporate ethics and professionalism into their curriculum.
Jeffrey J. Clifford is an Assistant Professor and MLS Clinical Coordinator at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah.