Medical Laboratory Assistant

Behind almost every diagnosis is a blood or tissue sample that someone collected, labelled and prepared with care. Medical Laboratory Assistant is a one-year Ontario College Certificate, delivered over three semesters at Cambrian College’s Barrydowne campus in Sudbury, that makes you job-ready for that work in just one year, with limited enrolment and accreditation from Accreditation Canada.

Semester one covers Anatomy and Terminology, Quality, Lab Equipment and Safety, Specimen Collection and Handling, Lab Mathematics and Research & Writing/Health Sciences. Semester two moves into the laboratory disciplines with Lab Techniques - Microbiology, Lab Techniques - Hematology, Lab Techniques - Chemistry, Introduction to Transfusion, Molecular Techniques and Specimen Collection and Handling Lab. These courses give you theoretical and lab training in clinical hematology, transfusion science, chemistry, microbiology and histotechnology.

Experienced faculty deliver hands-on training in Cambrian’s labs, where you practise specimen collection, processing and quality procedures before the third semester Clinical Internship. For seven weeks you work under supervision as a member of the clinical laboratory team at an accredited hospital or private laboratory, and you must accept a placement at any affiliated site. Graduates can apply to Cambrian’s Medical Laboratory Technology (MDLY) diploma with advanced standing, although minimum grades apply and entry is competitive.

Graduates work as medical laboratory assistants, phlebotomists, specimen processors, laboratory technical assistants, accessioning clerks and patient service centre staff. The certificate suits steady-handed, detail-focused people who are comfortable with needles and body fluids and want a fast route into hospital and community laboratories. Its three-semester format takes you from your first lecture to a clinical laboratory team in about a year.