Volume 39 Number 3 | June 2025
How Clinical Laboratory Science Shapes Future Health Professionals
Benjamin Amat, ASCLS Today Volunteer Contributor
Imagine a world where human patients could not communicate, let alone speak? What if it was even harder to examine presenting symptoms? For clinical laboratory scientists, this is their reality—their patients are non-verbal. Their job comes from deliveries of a variety of specimens, but with no patient to be physically seen.
This is the same reality veterinarians face. The field of clinical laboratory science (CLS) is important in the human medical field, but perhaps even more so in veterinary medicine when all patients are non-verbal. Without technicians examining specimens from a patient with an underlying condition, it would be almost impossible to diagnose and treat a multitude of conditions in the veterinary world. This fact provokes a fundamental question in our field. How does CLS lay the foundations for future health professionals?
Exploring the importance of laboratory tests has been the center of my education. As a pre-veterinary student majoring in Medical Laboratory Science at Michigan Technological University (MTU), I experience the reality of making diagnostic decisions both inside the classroom and laboratory, as well as through working at a veterinary clinic. I have been in numerous situations where the work I do at the vet clinic directly reinforces my coursework at MTU. Applying the hands-on skills that I learn in my classes to working in a veterinary practice has highlighted how important a clinical laboratory science curriculum is to pre-medical education.
One example of applying CLS skills is when I encountered a dog at the vet clinic that was presenting for a loss of appetite, lethargy, and weight gain. A TSH and T4 were ordered, and it was discovered that hypothyroidism was the cause. With reference to hands-on skills, if a platelet level on a CBC is abnormally low, being able to perform a blood smear to count platelets or check for clumping is a technique I first learned in my laboratory coursework and now use in the vet clinic. These situations reaffirm my understanding of my coursework, as well as give me the confidence I need to tackle more challenging situations down the road.
On a broader scale, the structure of the curriculum in a CLS course is built around the perspective that the skills and knowledge the students gain can be directly translated into helping patients. The courses focus heavily on labs with a corresponding lecture class. For example, my medical bacteriology course had a one-hour lecture meeting three times a week, as well as three laboratory sessions that totaled four hours a week. Within both the lecture and lab component, case studies are one of the primary learning components.
It is not uncommon to go through four or five case studies a week, which helps to cement the knowledge of a certain subject. These case studies allow us students to develop critical thinking skills while applying the knowledge that we have learned. They also allow students to be exposed to real world situations and understand why what we are learning matters. Oftentimes, these case studies will build on past coursework or have red herrings that the student will have to work through, emphasizing the importance that knowledge builds on itself and that the first answer is not always the correct one.
The course structure is invaluable for all students pursuing graduate pre-health programs. For aspiring veterinarians, it provides a solid foundation in the diagnostic skills required in the field. Lab-focused courses from a CLS curriculum allow the future veterinarian to feel comfortable in their work environment. Vet clinics are always in-and-out with patients, sometimes with no end in sight. However, the lab practical in the basic medical laboratory techniques course focused on getting the correct tests done for a rolling window of STAT patients in a timely manner, which would have prepared an aspiring veterinarian for a busy day at the clinic. The critical thinking skills gained in grappling with case studies and practicals during university are extremely beneficial in efficiently diagnosing and treating a variety of patients and diseases.
Grace Gonzales, graduate of my current program, who is now a DVM-PhD student at Cornell University, reflected on her CLS background and how it currently benefits her. “CLS made me realize how much I love diagnostics, physiology, and pathology,” she said. “I found myself drawn to the details and mechanisms behind disease processes. That passion translated perfectly into veterinary medicine.”
Furthermore, she explained, “It honestly shocked me how many new vet students had little to no background in things like anatomy, physiology, or diagnostics. My CLS background gave me a massive head start—not just in coursework, but in clinical reasoning.”
That is not to say that the CLS curriculum only benefits pre-veterinary students like Grace and me. MD, PA, nursing, and even pharmacology students benefit from the focus and the skills taught in a CLS curriculum. Haley Marchese, another CLS graduate out of my current program who has completed her practicum and was recently accepted into a MD/PhD program has this to say, “For a career in medicine, I believe a background in MLS has provided me with a breadth of information relevant to what I’ll be learning in medical school and practicing as a physician. I have a clearer understanding of laboratory tests that I’ll be able to use to aid my diagnosis and treatment plans for future patients.”
I believe that clinical laboratory science curricula are an underrated and underutilized resource for aspiring pre-health students. Being able to understand the details behind diseases and the science behind laboratory work is critical to every health setting. Having a base knowledge in this subject, going into graduate schools gives students a firm foundation and advantage to become the best doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and veterinarians that they can be.
Benjamin Amat is an MLS/Pre-Veterinary Student at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan.
Author Benjamin Amat is a third-year medical laboratory science student at Michigan Technological University (MTU) and a pre-veterinary student. He has found himself in numerous situations where the work he does at the vet clinic directly reinforces his coursework at MTU. Applying the hands-on skills that he learns in his classes to working in a veterinary practice has highlighted how important a clinical laboratory science curriculum is to pre-medical education.
“Applying the hands-on skills that I learn in my classes to working in a veterinary practice has highlighted how important a clinical laboratory science curriculum is to pre-medical education.”