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Show . , ,.. --.-..v. v.- . . .-. s.-.-.-.-V?!" I 1 ..-.'.. i -'.'"' i t: s .: ' -s - -:s I :; : , i?-. " -V1 " : :'-v: k :' ' " - V -.. : ., .J I ' ': '.: :"--'r i -v """ - " . . ' j. s: . . v. g: i -.-nj.v.. t $' & '.. ... ."' x x-. " - ;S'V . : ' ' . -.v , ,. .-'v I ,- -,-' - . .. . ': ': ' -':. ' I i' i. . . " - ,,t -' : ; x 1 r 1 J -Y , rfJfc :A?j ' ' ; . I V&I m trl - " - MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY By TOM BUSSELBERG OGDEN Students and faculty fa-culty at Weber State College are more than satisfied with results re-sults of the medical technology program that helped bring national na-tional honors to some program students. FIVE STUDENTS, including includ-ing Lance Carpenter of Clearfield, Clear-field, were national winners of student bowl competition, outdoing out-doing schools from around the country in a knowledge skills contest similar to the college bowl. Three students, including one from Bountiful, and a faculty fa-culty member tie that recent success to a unique program that gives students actual on-the-job exposure from the beginning be-ginning while most programs limit that to the fourth year of training. DEBBIE SHIGLEY, a graduate gra-duate of the two year program that enables her to work as a medical lab technician, is a Bountiful resident. She gave her impressions along with Sue Bowen, a New Hampshire native na-tive now living in Ogden working work-ing to obtain her four-year degree de-gree and Crys Park, the cap- tain of the winning student bowl team and a medicsl technology tech-nology graduate, from northern north-ern Idaho. All three said they were attracted to the program because be-cause it gives them continual practice along with theory. Ms. Bowen said she had attended school for two years elsewhere but came to Weber because of thequality program. "I LIKE the whole program, prog-ram, '? Msf Shigley said. "It's so interesting to see what's in your blood. Hike microbiology and chemistry." Both subjects are heavily treated in the program. Medical technologists work in hospital and other laboratories laborator-ies running tests requested by doctors ranging from urinaaly-. urinaaly-. sis to blood drawing. MS. PARK called the program prog-ram "excellent" and said it does prepare students for the working world. "It also gives you a thorough background. Most hospital programs you have to learn all in one year and there's no way you can learn all of it. Most students (at other schools) go for three or four years and take general classes and then apply for an internship and get it pretty much (training) in one year. "Here, sure you take a lot of (general science) classes, but we also take medical technology technolo-gy classes and do practicums on each subject area. That's how we get clinical experience." experi-ence." "THAT'S HOW you get to know if you like it," Ms. Shigley Shig-ley said. Both Ms. Bowen and Shigley Shig-ley work in the laboratory at the Ogden Clinic while Ms. Park is employed at St. Benedict's Be-nedict's Hospital in Washington Washing-ton Terrace. "If you don't like it in the lab, then what's it worth," the Bountiful resident asked, noting not-ing she first considered medical medic-al technology during a career day at Viewmont High School. "I read up on it and I've always al-ways been interested in science scien-ce and liked to look in the microscope mic-roscope but didn't want to be a nurse or a doctor. "I chose this school because it is smaller and offered a two year program," she said. INSTRUCTOR Nichols said the school changed its program from the traditional seven years ago. "We integrate (medical technology) into the freshman year and have both a two (MLT) and four year (MT) program and they start in their major the first year. Graduates of the four year program perform a wider range of tests and can act as supervisors. super-visors. "IN THE old days they took a major of microbiology, for instance, and wouldn't see a lab until their third or fourth year. That's a little late. They are in the lab the first quarter (at WSC)." Noting the attrition rate is "relatively high" for new students stu-dents he explained, "We don't have a selection proces- Weber State College medical technology students Sue Bowen, left, Debbie Shigley of Bountiful and Crys Park check slide in microscope as part of training in unique, nationally-recognized program. s...they get actual clinical experience ex-perience usually during the breaks or the summer. They spend a regular day in the lab with working technologists. "THEY ARE given specific things they have to do and are graded on how well they perform, per-form, given credit or no credit," cre-dit," Mr. Nichols said. "This is our ninth year and so far we've been able to place all our graduates." A veteran of 12 years in the "field" as a "bench tech" and seven as an educator, he said the field is far from static, and called technical advances "just staggering." A potential med tech should concentrate on science, he said, in high school, especially chemistry, biology, physics and algebra. "WE FIND that students in high school are not well-prepared, well-prepared, generally. We also find them not prepared in basic scientific knowledge and their command of English." He said students change as they successfully complete the program. "The reward to me is to take a freshman who is beginning be-ginning and he blossoms and becomes trained (in the discipline)." disci-pline)." HE SAID the program has gained such a reputation hospitals hos-pitals from throughout the In-termountain In-termountain region seek gra-duages. gra-duages. The ratio of graduates is about ab-out one man for every three women and while the salary level "used to be very low, even below nurses, it's up now to where a man can support a family it's improving," he said. ALL THREE students mentioned men-tioned stress and lack of recognition recog-nition from anyone but their coworkers and Mr. Nichols echoed those comments. "You're turning out results that directly affect the health and treatment of patients, such as the blood bank." Noting the Weber State program "received a lot of criticism" cri-ticism" when it first started he looked at the recent national bowl win as indicative of the quality training students are receiving. "Since I've been here it has turned around and is very respected. |