University of Iowa, Kirkwood Community College partner on new degree program
Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa are partnering to offer a new medical laboratory sciences degree for students. (Photo courtesy of Kirkwood Community College)A new partnership between Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa will allow students to use programs at both institutions to earn their degree in medical laboratory science.
The four-year degree program will launch this fall, according to a news release, and will be available to students starting their education at either college.
Kirkwood students will spend two years in the community college’s medical laboratory technology program before transferring to the UI for the remainder of the program. UI students will enter into the medical laboratory technology program, housed at the Kirkwood Regional Center at the UI Coralville campus, after finishing two years at the university.
No matter where they started, all students in the program will participate in clinical rotations in different lab departments at the UI or other affiliated hospital labs, according to the UI’s medical laboratory science program website. Upon completion, graduates will receive their medical laboratory science degree from the UI Carver College of Medicine and be eligible to take the medical laboratory science certification exam, the news release stated.
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Kizer Friedley, program director for both the medical laboratory science and medical laboratory technician programs, expressed excitement for the partnership in the news release, saying it will help fill gaps in vital parts of the health care industry.
“Our program is tailored to provide students with real-life, hands-on experiences so they enter the workforce equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in today’s clinical laboratories,” Friedley said in the release. “Medical laboratory scientists are the backbone of diagnostic medicine, providing accurate and timely test results that are essential for diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases. As passionate educators, we’re committed to guiding and inspiring future laboratory professionals who will have a major impact in health care.”
Once they’ve graduated out of the program, students will have the skills to work in various lab departments, according to the release, including immunology, clinical chemistry and clinical microbiology, among other areas.
UI graduate Olivia Bowden will be among the first cohort of students in the program this fall after earning a degree in biology. She said in the release she was previously unsure of where to start after realizing she wanted to work in a microbiology or developmental biology lab, but was excited to learn that she could get the training she needs without having to leave the area.
Bradley Ford, medical director of clinical microbiology at UI Carver College of Medicine, said in the release that lab testing has become more complicated and critical than ever, with areas of health care like blood banking and cancer therapies relying on accuracy and quality in results.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24,000 job openings for medical laboratory scientists are expected to come from a predicted 5% increase in demand.
“Unfortunately, many MLS training programs have disappeared over the years, leaving a gap in the laboratory workforce,” Ford said in the release. “We are fortunate the University of Iowa is providing the core coursework needed for a four-year MLS degree with the excellent lab space, curriculum, and instructors from Kirkwood’s MLT program, leveraging the strengths of two great institutions.”
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