Mission Statement

The Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program at Michigan State University is dedicated to preparing clinical laboratory science leaders by providing innovative undergraduate and graduate curricula, which are responsive to the needs of the profession and delivered using modern instructional practices. The Program is committed to the generation and dissemination of scholarly information thereby enhancing the education, practice, and standing of clinical laboratory science professionals thus promoting their important contribution to the health care delivery system. The Program is committed to University outreach through quality laboratory services and professional development programs. As a result, the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program will be the pre-eminent professional resource in diagnostic laboratory science.

The Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program has been designed to assist students in the development of the following competencies:

• Perform analyses on clinical samples
• Design, evaluate and implement new methods/protocols
• Recognize a problem, identify the cause, synthesize alternatives, and determine practical solutions where no preset criteria are available
• Confirm and verify results through an in-depth knowledge of scientific methods, principles and instrumentation theory
• Correlate and interpret data based on knowledge of pathophysiology
• Establish and monitor quality assurance/improvement programs
• Establish and maintain a productive and efficient work environment that promotes interpersonal relationships and a positive work attitude
• Recognize the roles of clinical laboratory professionals within the health care system and how they contribute to a patient-focused healthcare delivery system
• Effectively teach the knowledge, attitudes and skills defined as, or contained within, the clinical laboratory scientists' body of knowledge
• Communicate effectively using a variety of modes
• Maintain laboratory services and staff committed to providing accurate and precise laboratory results to support quality patient care
• Maintain and practice ethical standards
• Determine the effectiveness of laboratory utilization
• Participate in continuing professional development and effective knowledge-seeking strategies
• Contribute to stewardship of their profession
• Apply laboratory safety and regulatory guidelines to clinical practice

In addition, at the graduate level, the program focuses on the development of scholarly activities designed to develop and/or enhance competencies related to:

• The critical evaluation of scientific/scholarly work
• The development/design of scholarly work
• Independent work, critical thinking and problem solving of skills
• The dissemination of scholarly knowledge in a variety of formats
• The identification of appropriate funding/revenue sources and responsible funding/revenue utilization
• The maintenance and practice of ethical standards
• The development of a collaborative/collegial perspective toward education and scholarly activity.