title: Molecular pathology curriculum for medical laboratory scientists: A report of the association for molecular pathology training and education committee.
abstract: Molecular diagnostics is a rapidly growing specialty in the clinical laboratory assessment of pathology. Educational programs in medical laboratory science and specialized programs in molecular diagnostics must address the training of clinical scientists in molecular diagnostics, but the educational curriculum for this field is not well defined. Moreover, our understanding of underlying genetic contributions to specific diseases and the technologies used in molecular diagnostics laboratories change rapidly, challenging providers of training programs in molecular diagnostics to keep their curriculum current and relevant. In this article, we provide curriculum recommendations to molecular diagnostics training providers at both the baccalaureate and master's level of education. We base our recommendations on several factors. First, we considered National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences guidelines for accreditation of molecular diagnostics programs, because educational programs in clinical laboratory science should obtain its accreditation. Second, the guidelines of several of the best known certifying agencies for clinical laboratory scientists were incorporated into our recommendations. Finally, we relied on feedback from current employers of molecular diagnostics scientists, regarding the skills and knowledge that they believe are essential for clinical scientists who will be performing molecular testing in their laboratories. We have compiled these data into recommendations for a molecular diagnostics curriculum at both the baccalaureate and master's level of education.
authors.affiliation: Medical Laboratory Scientist Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Training and Education Committee, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Tarleton State University, Fort Worth, Texas. Electronic address: sataylor@tarleton.edu.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Medical Laboratory Scientist Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Training and Education Committee, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of Laboratory Sciences and Primary Care, Molecular Pathology and Clinical Laboratory Science, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas.
authors.forename: Katie M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: Medical Laboratory Scientist Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Training and Education Committee, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Joshua L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Deignan
authors.affiliation: Medical Laboratory Scientist Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Training and Education Committee, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of Laboratory Sciences and Primary Care, Molecular Pathology and Clinical Laboratory Science, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas.
authors.forename: Ericka C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Hendrix
authors.affiliation: Medical Laboratory Scientist Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Training and Education Committee, Bethesda, Maryland; Diagnostics Division, Metabolon, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Orton
authors.affiliation: Medical Laboratory Scientist Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Training and Education Committee, Bethesda, Maryland; Division of Molecular Genetic Pathology and Hematopathology, Clarient, Inc., Aliso Viejo, California.
authors.forename: Shalini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.affiliation: Medical Laboratory Scientist Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Training and Education Committee, Bethesda, Maryland; Laboratory Services, St John's Hospital and Medical Center, Grosse Point Woods, Michigan.
authors.forename: Ted E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Schutzbank
mesh_terms: D064790:Clinical Laboratory Services; D003406:Credentialing; D003479:Curriculum; D006801:Humans; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel / Q000193:education*; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods; D057089:Pathology, Molecular / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods