Who is a Medical Laboratory Scientist? - General Overview

Who is a Medical Laboratory Professional?
Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS) — also known as Clinical Laboratory Scientists(CLS) in the U.S are healthcare professionals who perform laboratory tests on patient samples to provide information needed to diagnose or monitor treatment. Examples of common laboratory tests include tests to detect anemia, diagnose diabetes and strep throat, and provide a transfusion to an accident victim.

Professional duties include:

Operating computerized instruments
Identifying abnormal cells
Assuring safe transfusion of blood products
Culturing and identifying bacteria and viruses
Correlating test results with patient's condition
Selecting and evaluating lab equipment
Selecting, orienting and evaluating employees
Monitoring the quality of testing

A medical laboratory scientist (MLS) also perform diagnostic analyses on body fluids such as blood, urine, sputum, stool, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and synovial fluid, as well as other specimens. Medical laboratory scientists work in clinical laboratories at hospitals, reference labs, biotechnology labs and non-clinical industrial labs.