Best Medical Lab Technician Courses: After 12th, Eligibility, Skills, Top Colleges, Jobs

Lab Technician Course Overview

A laboratory technician is a person who works in a lab to carry out analytical or experimental operations, to maintain lab equipment, and to help scientists with their job.

Who is Lab Technician?

A Lab Technician is a professional who is involved in all aspects of laboratory work, from data collection to equipment maintenance. They are in charge of a variety of activities that must adhere to tight norms and regulations, such as ensuring the accuracy and efficiency of studies while keeping labs orderly. They collaborate with senior technicians, scientists, and other stakeholders to effectively carry out tests and studies, and they frequently document lab activities. 

Lab Technician Course Details

What is an Medical Lab Technician Course?

Clinical laboratory tests are used in medical laboratory technology (MLT) to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness. Analysis of body fluids, including blood, tissues, and other bodily fluids, is included in medical laboratory technology (MLT). The students are required to conduct a variety of assays, including haematological, chemical and microscopic, and bacteriology. Some MLT disciplines are Clinical Endocrinology & Toxicology Lab, Diagnostic Molecular Biology Lab, etc.

Curriculum for Lab Technician Course

Students who enrol in the lab technician course learn the fundamentals of biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, and blood banking through lectures, practicals, internal evaluation, vivas, and internships. The following is a discussion of the program's required subjects:

1. Anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, community medicine, and statistics.
2. Pathology, microbiology (general bacteriology, system bacteriology, and clinical microbiology), and biochemistry are all included in Part 2. Immunohematology, blood banking, and haematology are all included.
3. The third section covers biochemistry, immunology, serology, parasitology, parasitic virology, parasitic virology, parasitic virology, and pathology (histotechnology, cytology, museum study).

The course lasts between two and four years, and the exams are organised according to the semester system. Additionally, students are taught how to use lab apparatus. Programs for pharmacy diplomas last between one and two years.

Eligibility for Lab Technician Course

For most schools that offer the course, the admission requirements (Pharmacy College) for a lab technician course are the same. The following list includes the lab technician qualification that applicants must meet in order to be admitted to the lab technician-

1. The student must take their 10+2 test from an Indian education board that is recognised.
2. The pupil must receive between 45 and 50 percent on their 12th board test.
3. Many institutes hold entrance exams and enrol students on the basis of their results, while some take admission based on merit or scores obtained in 12th board exams.

Skills Required to be Lab Technician

Good Communication Skills

A good lab technician should have good communication skills in order to interact with a lot of people. Good communication makes the work easier.

Problem Solving Skills

There are several challenges on the job which lab technician must solve. Person should have exceptional problem-solving abilities.

Analytical skills

Lab technician should have good analytical skills in order to get the complete data. A person should be able to handle the data.

Organisational skills

One should be well organised to keep the records safe. Well organised work spaces save the time and improve the productivity.

Time-management skills

Lab technicians should have good time management skills to ensure good work life balance. Lab technician should be able to manage the time to improve the productivity.

Lab Technician Course Roles and Responsibilities

After finishing a lab technician training, a medical lab technician would have the following roles and responsibilities:

1. Blood, urine, faeces, sputum, semen, tissues, and other bodily fluids are collected for a variety of biochemical, microbiological, pathological, blood banking, and other examinations.
2. Early illness detection: Body fluid and tissue samples are cultured to look for bacteria, viruses, fungus, etc.
3. Conduct investigations to aid in differential diagnosis.
4. Halt the spread of infectious illnesses
5. Using samples of human cells, conduct complicated protein and nucleic acid tests.
6. Collect, cross-match, and type blood, then get the components ready for transfusion.
7. Take part in national campaigns to eradicate illnesses like HIV and polio.
8. Medical emergency planning
9. Keeping data up to date and creating statistics
10. Senior professionals instructing and educating recent MLT grads
11. Making DPT, meningitis, anti-snake venom, and other vaccines and antibodies
12. Testing and certifying pharmaceuticals, reagents, anti-sera, and other products

Lab Technician Courses in India

There are two study options to gain a degree for Laboratory Science:

Colleges for Lab Technician Course

Lab Technician Courses require a lot of knowledge. Hence, it is important to choose the right Lab Technician College. Here is a list of colleges-

Jobs after Lab Technician Course

After finishing a lab technician course after receiving a 12th-grade science diploma, MLT/MLS professionals may find work in the following fields:

1. Central and State government hospitals/ health institution
2. Private hospitals/ clinics/ health institutions
3. Research institutions like CSIR, ICMR, ICAR, BARC, etc
4. Autonomous and other bodies like AIIMS, PGI Chandigarh, Red Cross Blood Bank etc.
5. Clinical/Diagnostic and research laboratories.

Popular Courses-

After successfully finishing the course, you can start working as a Medical Laboratory Technologist, however additional job profiles (in increasing order of rank) need a few years of experience, such as:

1. Technical Officer/ Senior Technical Officer (MLS)/ Chief Technical Officer (MLS)
2. Medical Laboratory Scientist/ Deputy Technical Manager/ Technical Manager/Clinical Laboratory Demonstrator
3. Assistant Professor/ Associate Professor/ Additional Professor/ Professor
4. Deputy Quality Manager/ Quality Manager
5. Director Laboratory Services/ HOD