Goals and Entry-Level Competencies

Program Goals

Upon completion of the UNC-Chapel Hill Bachelor’s of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science, CLS graduates will be prepared to:

1. Work as entry-level clinical laboratory scientists.
2. Continue to learn throughout their professional careers.
3. Use ethical standards to guide professional behavior and judgments.
4. Communicate effectively with other health care providers.
5. Serve as leaders in the clinical laboratory profession in technical, educational, research and administrative roles.

Entry-Level Competencies:

The educational experiences in the UNC-CH CLS program are designed to ensure that students are well prepared to enter the profession of Clinical Laboratory Science and continue to learn throughout their professional career. At the completion of the UNC­ CLS program, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate professional and ethical behavior along with effective interpersonal communication skills when engaging with various stakeholders.
2. Establish effective interprofessional working relationships with other health care professionals, demonstrating comprehension of and respect for their roles and patient welfare.
3. Recognize and appreciate the importance of engaging with an inclusive workforce through
4. collaboration.
5. Value and advocate for a workplace environment that fosters inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
6. Comply with government regulations and accreditation standards relevant to the respective discipline.
7. Adhere to prescribed protocols for overall laboratory safety, biohazard containment, and waste disposal.
8. Implement quality assurance principles to ensure the validity and accuracy of laboratory generated data.
9. Acknowledge and respond to individual requirements for continuing education and development to foster growth and maintain professional competence.
10. Provide instruction to users of laboratory services regarding appropriate procedures, test utilization and interpretation.
11. Evaluate clinical research studies and data sets to assess applicability and validity.
12. Employ a logical and systematic problem-solving approach when identifying errors and/or technical issues with laboratory procedures and instrumentation.
13. Apply principles of data security to safeguard laboratory and hospital information systems.
14. Apply principles of quality assurance to ensure validity and accuracy of laboratory data.
15. Recognize principles and practices of laboratory management as applied to clinical laboratory science.
16. Evaluate specimen collection, processing, and storage procedures in accordance with standard operating procedures.
17. Ensure specimen integrity is maintained throughout the sample procurement process.
18. Adhere to written policies, processes, and procedures for analytical testing, analysis, and instrumentation maintenance.
19. Evaluate and provide rationale for troubleshooting protocols in analytical testing when appropriate.
20. Perform routine procedures in accordance with standard operating procedures.
21. Apply quality control principles to analytical testing procedures, including instrument calibration, statistical analyses of control results, Westgard rules, and verification of reference ranges.
22. Perform basic calculations, dilutions, and statistical analyses for procedures and analytical testing in the respective discipline.
23. Apply theoretical principles of instrumentation to current methods of analysis.
24. Perform all post-analytical procedures in accordance with quality assurance protocols and regulatory standards.
25. Evaluate results for accuracy relative to quality control, patient history, specimen integrity, and overall clinical correlation.
26. Report test results, including abnormal, STAT, and critical values, in accordance with the laboratory’s standard operating procedures.