Ceremony Celebrates Medical Lab Techs

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Published: Monday, May 16th, 2022 @ 11:34 pm
By: Attila Nemecz ( More Entries )

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Press Release:

Cutline: (Left to right) Alex White, Carla Thomas, Alyssa Tankard, Michael Senn, Charmeko Bryant, and Zoe Slade (not pictured: David Duncan).

    WASHINGTON, NC     Seven students were pinned in celebration of their completion of Beaufort County Community College's medical laboratory technology program. The ceremony lauded the successes of Charmeko Bryant, David Duncan, Michael Senn, Zoe Slade, Alyssa Tankard, Carla Thomas, and Brittany Alex White. While the students held their own ceremony, they also participated in the Class of 2022 Commencement Ceremony at Washington High School on Thursday, May 12.

    The medical lab tech program is a two-year Associate of Arts and Science program in which students learn to work in a clinical laboratory setting. Students study topics such as blood typing and transfusions, how to identify and count red and white blood cells and how to measure chemicals within the blood. Not only do they deal with blood work, they also learn how to identify infectious bacteria, viruses and fungi.

    Often when a patient visits a doctor's office or hospital, from routine check-ups to serious illnesses, there is lab work involved. Blood and urine samples are used to diagnose and monitor diabetes, heart, liver and kidney diseases. Without the work of lab technicians, doctors would have little to talk about with their patients besides their symptoms and outward appearance. Lab work helps narrow down the diagnosis.

    Students from this class coped with full remote classes during the Spring 2020 semester, and then the restrictions on in-person classes. Students in allied health programs were some of the first to return to campus in 2020. Their work during the pandemic has moved to the foreground as testing for COVID became essential to the safe functioning of businesses and institutions, as well as helping combat the public health crisis.

    Additionally, the program saw a change in leadership, with Josh Maynor coming on as the new lead professor in February.

    During the pinning ceremony, Erica Caracoglia, Director for Medical Laboratory Technology, highlighted the accomplishments of Alex White, who received the Outstanding Student Recognition Award. White is graduating with at 4.0 grade point average.

    Caracoglia also acknowledged Zoe Slade as recipient of the Art Keehnle Award, given to outstanding graduates of Beaufort's medical lab tech program. The new mother commuted from Goldsboro to complete the program.

    Graduates of the medical lab tech program may work in a hospital or physician's office laboratory, public health agencies, veterinarians' offices, and industrial, research, and pharmaceutical laboratories. To complete the program, students must take four semesters of coursework on campus and complete one semester of clinical rotations at local hospital affiliates.

    Future students have until July 14 to apply for the medical lab technology program. For more information about the medical lab tech program, contact Joshua Maynor at (252-940-6285) or Allied Health Admissions Coordinator Olivia Francis (252-940-6221).