We already know you’ll be in demand when you graduate from this program because many of our graduates (nearly 100 percent) have a job lined up when they graduate or within three months of graduation.
The majority of our graduates find their first job in the San Antonio area. They find positions with clinical laboratories at University Hospital, Methodist Hospital or Baptist Medical Center.
Your clinical practicums offer an opportunity to determine which area of the clinical laboratory most interests you. This also gives employers an opportunity to see how you will fit into the work environment.
Because we know you’ll have a lot of ways you can use your degree, we’ll help you navigate the job market by providing you with a variety of clinical experiences in a mix of situations so that you can find your fit.
You will have 13 weeks of clinical practicums. Consider your practicum your job: You will work five days a week, eight hours a day. The hours of your clinical practicums will usually occur between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. This may vary with different clinical sections.
We have a variety of clinical affiliates, from large to small specialty:
- University Hospital
- The Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital
- The CTRC
- Southwest Immunodiagnostics
We also have clinical affiliates outside of the San Antonio area including Uvalde Regional Medical Center and Doctor's Hospital of Laredo.
Graduates from the School of Health Professions Medical Laboratory Science program are clinical laboratory scientists within:
- University Hospital: Approximately 50 percent of the clinical laboratory scientists are our graduates. Within some departments of the clinical laboratory, the percentage is 80 to 90 percent
- Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital: Approximately 35 percent of the clinical laboratory scientists are our graduates
- The CTRC: 95 to 100 percent of the clinical laboratory scientists are from our program
- Baptist System Hospitals
- Christus Santa Rosa System Hospitals
- Methodist Healthcare System Hospitals
- START Center
- Southwest Immunodiagnostics
During each clinical practicum, you are on a job interview.
Not only are you looking at the site as a potential employment opportunity, but the clinical faculty, laboratory supervisors and laboratory managers also are looking at you as a potential employee. Be prepared: You are evaluated at how well you work with current employees, your work habits and the like.
Our graduates often go into public health or medicine. Many pursue master’s of business administration, master’s of public administration or master’s of public health degrees. These graduates move into laboratory management positions. Graduates can further their education by obtaining specialty certifications. These certifications are available after a certain number of years of work experience and/or additional education. An example of a specialized certification would be Specialist in Blood Bank.
Others may pursue careers in sales or become technical representatives within the clinical laboratory industry.
A significant number of our graduates are accepted into a military medical laboratory officer program. These individuals move up the ranks quickly. They are offered further education, such as master's or doctoral degrees, and gain positions of significant responsibility.
Interested in learning more about the Clinical Laboratory Sciences profession? Explore the following links: