UAMS Medical Technology Program Hosts Open House in Fort Smith

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – The medical technology program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will host an open house from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 22, at St. Edward’s Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith to discuss the laboratory sciences profession and the growing demand for new technologists.


 


The open house will offer information on earning a Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology. There also will be information on a distance education program available in collaboration with Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville.


 


The event will be held in the Hennessy Center and include a tour of the hospital’s clinical laboratory. The hospital is at 7301 Rogers Ave. Registration is not required. For information about the event or the medical technology program, call 1-800-981-4427.


 


Medical technologists use laboratory techniques to analyze blood and other body fluids. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 1998 to 2008 the demand for lab tests will jump 17 percent, and approximately 10,000 more laboratory science professionals will be needed in hospitals each year to perform those tests. 


 


“Public awareness is rising about medical technology and the career opportunities available thanks to TV shows like “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” where laboratory tests play a vital role in criminal investigations just as in medical procedures,” said Kathleen Mugan, director of the UAMS medical technology program. “In real life, it was a medical technologist, for example, who first recognized and identified anthrax as the specific bacteria during the anthrax scare in Florida in 2001.”


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,320 students and 690 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with almost 9,000 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the VA Medical Center. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.3 billion a year.