BMS Labs

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General Information

Students that are planning to complete the Medical Laboratory Sciences submajor enroll in all Senior Year Spring Semester – Professional Training courses listed in the Curriculum page (unless otherwise determined by the Program Director and/or Program Advisor). The Senior Year Spring Semester occurs entirely during the MLS clinical rotation period when students are off campus at a clinical site. This page focuses on the entire MLS clinical rotation period, which spans the fall, winter, and spring semesters (November-May). Information about the pre-rotation period and courses enrolled in during the fall semester can be found on the Senior Year Fall Semester – Professional Training page.

Assignment of a clinical placement at one of our clinical affiliates does not guarantee graduation from the Medical Laboratory Science submajor. Once clinical rotations begin, completion of the program is still contingent upon the following:

Minimum Grade and Course Requirements – Students must complete all required courses, tasks assigned during the rotation period by the clinical site, complete and submit any required paperwork or evaluations, complete the UWM rotational exams, and continue to meet minimum grade requirements throughout their clinical rotations. Students that do not meet minimum grade requirements during this time may be placed on academic probation and/or dismissed from the program at the discretion of the Program Director. See the admission criteria page for more information on minimum grade and course requirements.

Professionalism – Students must demonstrate professionalism during the clinical rotation period. This includes being in attendance on all required rotation days, being at your assigned bench on time, displaying respect for trainers and employees, ensuring specimen integrity, taking care when handling patient specimens, and all values taught in the UWM campus lab courses. During clinical rotations, the clinical sites may be relying on students to begin quality control, analyzer maintenance, or patient testing. Any delays or errors may now have an impact on real patients. If problems arise, trainers, employees, and site education coordinators may report any issues to the program director, and corrective actions may be required if there are frequent occurrences. Persistent issues related to professionalism during the clinical rotation period may result in professional probation and/or dismissal from the program at the discretion of the Program Director and Biomedical Sciences Program.

Courses

This page primarily addresses courses enrolled in during the Senior Year Spring Semester – Professional Training. See the Senior Year Fall Semester – Professional Training page for information about courses enrolled in during the fall semester.

BMS 531: Advanced Lectures in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences

BMS 549: Professional Development in Clinical Laboratory Sciences

These two courses are taught in a primarily online format and students are typically not expected to be on-campus to complete them (students may be expected to physically come to campus once per month, but this may not occur each month).

BMS 548: Clinical Lab Practicum (enrolled in during the fall semester)

BMS 524: Advanced Clinical Hematology Practicum

BMS 532: Advanced Clinical Immunohematology

BMS 538 Advanced Clinical Microbiology Practicum

BMS 544: Advanced Clinical Chemistry Practicum

These courses are placeholders for grades earned during the clinical rotation. Due to the nature of the clinical rotation spanning multiple semesters, the grade for BMS 548 will be initially entered as NR in the fall and will not be official until the completion of clinical rotations after the spring semester. This may have an impact on financial aid. If this does, the financial aid advisor typically will reach out to the program director in early January to confirm that the student is in good-standing with the course, and there is no ultimate impact on financial aid. If students have any questions or concerns, they should reach out to the program director.

Clinical Training

The first day

The site coordinator will communicate information to the student that includes where and when to meet on the first day of rotations. If the dress code is unknown, it is recommended that students wear business casual or scrubs to this first meeting. Many students are excited, and many are nervous – keep in mind that the sites know that you are students, and you are not expected to know everything or just jump on a bench and perform tasks. The first day typically includes an orientation, a tour of the site, and students receive basic information about their rotation. Some sites may begin training on a bench right away, while others start with the orientation and ease students in to bench work.

Rotation schedules and bench assignments

Sites will provide the student with a rotation schedule that will outline each week of the entire rotation period, including each individual bench assignment. Students will spend different amounts of time in each area, depending on the size of content (i.e. more time is spent in microbiology than in urinalysis). Though each content area is graded independently, the breakdown of rotations varies by lab.

Larger sites often times break up rotations cleanly, with students spending time in dedicated chemistry, microbiology, hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, or other areas. With smaller sites, there may not be enough volume for all work to be broken up in clear, dedicated areas (coagulation and urinalysis are examples of this), so areas may be combined, and students may perform testing in more than one area at once (i.e. may perform chemistry and urinalysis together).

All students receive the same entry level training in each major content area, but some sites may also include additional rotations in areas that they have available to them such as flow cytometry or bone marrow processing. Additional professional experiences that students gain during the rotation period varies by lab size, specialty, and test availability at that site. Some sites may also offer optional experiences outside of the clinical laboratory, such as time in Histology or viewing of an autopsy. We highly encourage students to take advantages of everything that their specific clinical site offers beyond the required training that all students receive at each site.

Competency Checklists

Clinical rotations are not based on hours spent at the clinical site, rather they are based on competency. This competency is assessed using competency checklists that are specific to each area (i.e. blood bank, microbiology, etc.). Students will work with their respective instructors to complete the competencies listed on each checklist, in which the trainer will provide feedback and indicate the level of achievement for each competency. Students are expected to bring these checklists with them each day of rotation to be filled out, and the specific checklists can be found on the BMS 548 Clinical Laboratory Practicum Canvas site. Once completed, these checklists are submitted to the clinical site coordinator.

Professional evaluation forms

Students are expected to display professionalism during the clinical rotation, and to follow all policies set out in the Biomedical Sciences Policies & Procedures for the Professional training Year document. A professional evaluation form for each department rotation will be completed by the clinical instructor(s), reviewed and signed with the student, and submitted to the clinical site coordinator. Students are expected to bring the professional evaluation form with them to be filled out, and a copy of this form can be found on the BMS 548 Clinical Laboratory Practicum Canvas site. The professional evaluation score will count toward both BMS 548 and your individual practicum courses.

Comprehensive exams

Along with an open-book pre-rotation quiz, each major rotation area includes a comprehensive exam that will count towards the final practicum grade. These exams are in the form of multiple choice quizzes, can be accessed through the BMS 548 Clinical Laboratory Practicum Canvas site, and will be taken throughout the clinical rotation. It is important for students to continue to study throughout their rotation, as a score of 75% or better is required to successfully pass each comprehensive exam. Failure to complete these exams on time may interfere with other content areas and make it hard to catch up due to the need to study multiple topics at once. It is highly recommended that students complete these exams near or at the end of each respective rotation related to the specific exam content.

Sick days/unexpected absences/Tardiness

Students are expected to follow their individual clinical site policies regarding any potential absence. As most absences are unexpected, it is recommended that students speak with their clinical site coordinator at the beginning of the rotation so that they know what to do if they experience an illness, injury, or emergency that requires an absence from their rotation. It is also recommended that students ask for the contact information (phone number) for each rotation area so that they can call to inform them directly if they will be absent or late.

Unless otherwise stated by their individual site coordinator, students that have any unexpected absence (full day or partial day due to tardiness) must communicate this information as soon as possible to the following:

Notify the area that you are currently working with as soon as you know you will be absent or late (this is typically a phone call to the bench to notify them that you will be absent or late).
Notify the specific site coordinator (this is typically via email)
Notify the MLS Program Director via email (lunak@uwm.edu)

Vacation time

Flexibility with the student rotation schedules varies by clinical site year to year, and vacation hours are not built in to the student schedule during the clinical rotation period. Students should not plan or schedule any vacations during the rotation period, and should not expect to be accommodated for vacation requests.

When in clinical rotations, students are scheduled based on the individual sites staffing and availability, scheduling around other student rotations, and workflow. Rotations are generally short, and missing rotation time may result in missing a required area that could prohibit the student from completion of the submajor. Clinical sites are not prohibited from granting vacation requests for students, but we discourage students from making requests during their rotation period unless their site coordinator discusses this as a possibility prior to or at the beginning of rotations.

Closures due to weather

Once rotations begin, students no longer follow the UWM schedule. This includes campus closures due to weather, and students will rely completely on the policies outlined at their individual clinical site. Site locations vary greatly, so local weather conditions requiring the closure of the UWM campus may not apply to all sites. Similarly, the UWM campus may be open, while a remote clinical site may cancel clinical rotations due to weather. This is at the discretion of the clinical site.

Hospitals are open regardless of the weather, so it is recommended that students speak with their clinical site coordinator at the beginning of the rotation so that they know what to do if there is a weather emergency that may require an absence. Some sites may give a blanket policy stating that students do not need to attend if the UWM campus or the public school system is closed, while others may still expect students to attend and require a phone call if a student is unable to attend. This is determined by each individual clinical site.

Along with the site policy, it is also recommended that students ask for the contact information (phone number) for each rotation area so that they can call to inform them directly if they will be absent or late. Even if there is a blanket policy that a student does not need to attend if UWM is closed, we still recommend calling the rotation area to inform them that you will be absent (unless the site coordinator determines this is not necessary).

Notify the area that you are currently working with as soon as you know you will be absent or late (this is typically a phone call to the bench to notify them that you will be absent or late).
Notify the specific site coordinator (this is typically via email)
Notify the MLS Program Director via email (lunak@uwm.edu)

Communication

Communication with the clinical site coordinator, individual training areas, and program director is key during the rotation period. Some site coordinators may work remotely and have little contact with students, while others may be in direct contact daily. This varies from site to site, so students must make sure that they keep everyone informed if there are any issues.

If a student runs in to a situation that impacts the bench that they are working on that day (absence, tardy), students must make sure to inform that bench directly (typically a phone call), as well as the individual site coordinator and UWM Program Director (these notifications are typically via email).

If a student has an issue or questions regarding a site policy, an employee, or anything that is specific to that clinical site, they should speak with their individual site coordinator. If they do not feel comfortable speaking with the site coordinator, they may contact the UWM Program Director first for guidance.

If a student has an issue or questions regarding a UWM policy, course materials, Canvas, grades, rotational exams, or anything that they feel uncomfortable speaking with their individual site coordinator about, they should contact the UWM Program Director for guidance.