Senior Year Summer Semester – Professional Training

BMS Labs

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General Information

Students that are planning to complete the Medical Laboratory Sciences submajor enroll in all Senior Year Summer Semester – Professional Training courses listed in the Curriculum page (unless otherwise determined by the Program Director and/or Program Advisor). Courses administered during the summer session are compressed, and with the exception of the first two weeks, occur one topic at a time.  This results in the ability for students to focus on a single topic, which many students find a more effective way to learn.  The short nature of each course, however, results in an increased emphasis on attendance.  Students must make attendance to each required lecture and lab session a priority, as one single class period may be up to 25% of the total class time.  Shorter courses also gives less time overall to study, so students are encouraged to complete assignments as soon as possible and continue to study during the entire period in order to avoid an accumulation of work at the end of each course.

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

  • Minimum Grade and Course Requirements – Students must complete all required courses and continue to meet minimum grade requirements throughout the summer session, fall semester, and during 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.

 

  • Completion of all clinical site on-boarding requirements – Students attending clinical rotations will be required to complete a health screening, complete required vaccinations and submit proper documentation, complete a background check, complete and pass a drug screen, maintain health insurance during the professional training experience, meet any additional requirements set by their assigned clinical site, and will need to be cleared/accepted by a clinical site for training.  Information on specific requirements can be found on this page.

 

  • Professionalism – Students must begin to prepare for clinical rotations by demonstrating accountability during the summer session.  This includes being in attendance at all required lecture and lab sessions, as well as being at your bench on time.  Some lab sessions rely on group work, and frequent tardiness may impact other students learning.  Once in clinical rotations, the clinical sites may be relying on students to begin quality control, analyzer maintenance, or patient testing, and a delay in this due to tardiness can impact real patients.  Laboratory instructors during the summer session will begin to report any attendance/tardiness issues to the program director, and corrective actions may be required if there are frequent occurrences.  Persistent issues with attendance and/or tardiness during the summer session courses or clinical rotations may result in professional probation and/or dismissal from the program at the discretion of the Program Director and Department of Biomedical Sciences.

 

Clinical Placements

Clinical placement decisions are ultimately determined by the BMS Program, and are typically announced on or around the first day of the summer session.  Students that identify any issues with their clinical placement location should contact the program director and clinical education coordinator.  A password to view the clinical placements page will be sent to students by email once placement locations are finalized.

Check back soon!  Clinical placements for the class of 2025 will be available HERE at the beginning of the Senior Year Summer Semester.

 

Pre-Clinical On-Boarding Requirements

All students must complete variety of on-boarding requirements prior to attending clinical rotations.  These requirements have been set by our clinical affiliates as a condition of acceptance for a rotation, and students must complete all steps in order to attend a clinical rotation.

On-boarding consists of two phases – general requirements that all students must complete, and site-specific on-boarding requirements that are dependent on the clinical rotation site/organization (i.e. Froedtert Health, ACL Laboratories, etc.).  Students will begin the general on-boarding requirements on the first day of the summer session, and typically complete the site-specific requirements at the beginning of the fall semester.

Phase I – General On-Boarding Requirements (June-August)

General on-boarding requirements are the same for all students, regardless of clinical placement site.  This includes a physical examination, background check, drug screen, HIPAA and Bloodborne Pathogens training, paperwork, and proof of immunization to select infectious diseases that are requirements of most or all clinical sites.  These items are based on information provided to the UWM MLS program by each clinical affiliate, and have been consolidated and standardized in order to ensure compliance with all individual site health and policy requirements.  The BMS Program utilizes an online compliance tracker, CastleBranch, in order to track compliance with these general program requirements.

Students are encouraged to download and utilize the CastleBranch Checklist in order to ensure all requirements are completed prior to the start of clinical rotations.

Visit the General On-boarding Requirements page for information and instructions on how to complete each requirement.

Visit the CastleBranch page for instructions on how to sign up for a CastleBranch account and upload documents.

 

Phase II – Site Specific On-Boarding Requirements (August-September)

Along with the general on-boarding requirements, each clinical site has their own policies and procedures that students must follow prior to the start of their clinical rotation.  These policies may include specific training and/or additional forms that need to be submitted, and must be completed and submitted to the Clinical Education Coordinator no later than 4 weeks prior to the start of clinical rotations (6 weeks for ACL Laboratories).

See the Clinical Site On-Boarding Instructions page for information and instructions on how to complete additional requirements for each clinical site.

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