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School of Medical Technology?
The WCA School of Medical Technology and the WCA Hospital Laboratory are committed to student learning and the promotion of excellence in the profession. Graduates of our program are highly successful individuals, many of whom remain in the hospital laboratory environment serving patients and directly applying their internship program-learned skills and knowledge. Some of our graduates have continued on to diverse careers as physicians, physician assistants, laboratory instrumentation technical representatives, computer laboratory information system analysts, educators and more. The solid academic- and personal-excellence foundation provided by our program has a proven record of producing successful individuals.
History of the Program
The WCA Hospital School of Medical Technology held its first class in the fall of 1979 under the founding direction of Mary Kathryn C. Kutschke, M.A., M.T.(ASCP), Program Director and Donald J. Furman, M.D., Laboratory Director. The development of a program stemmed from the desire to train quality professionals and continues today, upholding those standards of excellence.
Graduation and Placement Rates
Our graduation rate has been 100% for many years and, to date, our program has not experienced difficulties by its students in the area of job placement. All of our students that have desired to continue their work in the clinical laboratory have found employment.
Registry Pass Rate
The WCA Hospital School of Medical Technology has an excellent pass rate for the national registry examination (ASCP BOR exam). The average test score of graduates of our program routinely exceeds the national average.
The Faculty
The School of Medical Technology boasts two full-time faculty, the Program Director and Clinical Coordinator. It is the job of these individuals to make sure the program provides the best quality education WCA Hospital has to offer. Pathologists and Senior Technologists also act as primary faculty, bringing years of experience and vast knowledge into lectures and one-on-one clinical training. Additional instructors in the lecture and bench instruction of the program are Medical Technologists and Medical Technicians who bring with them a wide base of experiential knowledge along with a desire to share their knowledge and love of laboratory science.
One-on-One Bench Instruction
The clinical rotation allows a student to learn and practice their skills alongside and under the careful supervision of a professional Medical Technologist. The student works one-on-one with a technologist, performing laboratory tests on actual clinical samples and, under direct supervision, reporting those results for use by clinicians. This direct sharing of time in teaching and observing provides a highly successful learning environment.
The Student Laboratory
A large student laboratory, located within the main laboratory, is utilized by the students during the didactic phase of the program prior to entering the clinical rotation. Students are taught laboratory skills utilizing real patient specimens in a controlled environment in which results are not reported but used for learning. Each student is assigned a work area and sufficient drawer and cabinet space to store their laboratory supplies and assigned equipment.
The Laboratory Classroom
A laboratory classroom is also present in the laboratory proper. This room is used as the primary classroom and for group demonstrations and study conferences. The room is equipped with the usual instructional equipment: black board, white board, bulletin boards, television/VCR, digital projector, slide projector and projection screen, and overhead projector. The classroom is also outfitted with computer terminals for use by students for research and study.
The Library
The laboratory library is comprised of current reference texts, publications, periodicals, and audiovisual programs covering a vast array of technical aspects of clinical laboratory science as well as management and education. The materials have been acquired with an effort to maintain the viability of the information available for students and technologists alike.
In addition, the hospital maintains a large, well equipped, Health Science Library providing inter-library loan privileges and research assistance to hospital staff and students.
Computer Services
Computer and internet services are available to students for research and study purposes. Computer programs that provide supplemental educational resources are also available.
The Clinical Laboratory
The Clinical Laboratory of the WCA Hospital is located on the third floor of the Center for Imaging and Medical Arts and is attached to the main hospital facility by enclosed walkways. The laboratory encompasses approximately 12,000 square feet of space and follows an open lab concept providing an environment in which the laboratory personnel easily interact. A vast array of state-of-the-art instrumentation, interfaced with the laboratory information system, depicts the latest in modern technology.
The laboratory includes the main office, phlebotomy/specimen processing station, clinical chemistry, immunochemistry (serology), hematology, immunohematology (blood bank) and microbiology, and specialty areas including cytology, histology, pathology and the School of Medical Technology.
Under the direction of the Clinical Laboratory Manager and Laboratory Director, the laboratory employs technical, clerical and administrative personnel. The personnel staff three work shifts (7-3, 3-11 and 11-7) and many join in the lecture and on-bench training of the students.
The WCA Hospital Laboratory performs over 1.5 million tests per year, allowing students a wide range of experience in normal and abnormal clinical testing and analysis of results. The open-lab environment permits unique patient samples and results to be seen and experienced by all students in a timely manner, no matter which area of the laboratory the student is currently studying. The department of Pathology, also housed within the laboratory, provides additional experiential support in the clinical picture of disease.
The Institution
WCA Hospital is a voluntary, private nonprofit hospital founded in 1885. It is the regional medical center serving a population of more then 140,000 people in Southwestern New York and portions of Northwestern Pennsylvania. WCA has over 310 beds with services for medical, surgical, pediatric, maternity, emergency, neurological, and orthopedic patients. There also exists specialty areas for trauma care, intensive and coronary care, palliative care, renal dialysis, endoscopy, respiratory care, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, psychiatric care, cancer treatment, medical rehabilitation, occupational and physical therapy, sports medicine, wellness program, and Family Health Center (Primary Care).
The Community
The City of Jamestown (population approximately 35,000) is geo-graphically located in Western New York State in the southern part of Chautauqua County approximately 90 miles south of Buffalo, New York and approximately 45 miles north-east of Erie, Pennsylvania.
The area proudly boasts of beautiful countryside and landscapes and is known as an all-seasonal resort area offering a variety of year round activities at nearby ski resorts, state parks and lakes.
A well known, turn of the century cultural development, the Chautauqua Institution, is located on the shore of nearby Chautauqua Lake offering educational, cultural and entertainment opportunities to both area residents and vacationers.
Post secondary and graduate work can be pursued within commuting distance at nearby colleges and universities.
Unique for its size, Jamestown offers many of the advantages of larger cities while maintaining the charm of a small community.
