Running tests in a hematology lab no longer was enough for Florence Morris.

"I wanted to work more in-depth," she said.

She knew how the tests worked and how to perform them. She wanted more meaning from her work.

This desire took her to the Internet and a search for medical lab technician programs. She wanted an accredited program with an internship built in, at an affordable price, she said.

She found what she wanted at Bismarck State College. She left her home in Trinidad, an island in the Caribbean, and started the program in January 2004.

The BSC clinical lab technician program trains people to perform and read lab tests that analyze body fluids and cells.

"It is an intense field. It changes almost daily because of technology," program director Angie Uhlich said.

Graduates of the program can go on to take one of two board certification exams and seek work or go on to finish a bachelor's degree at another institution.

With clinical lab technology covering a broad area, the program takes a generalist approach instead of specializing in one of the many areas. Students get experience with microbiology, clinical chemistry, hematology, immunohematology and phlebotomy.

Among the job opportunities available to students include hospitals, private labs, public health and crime labs.

The bureau of labor statistics projects this field to have faster than average employment growth.

In addition to working in a lab, students also can work with research and development, consulting and technology, Uhlich said.

Working in a hematology lab at a hospital Trinidad made some of Morrisâ€' skills in other areas rusty. She earned an associate's in laboratory sciences in 1996. Since then, she hasn't had to use what she learned of microbiology, she said.

But during her microbiology rotation in the BSC program, she discovered she liked it, Morris said.

Students go through the clinical lab technician program by studying each specialization in a four- to six-week block. They work their way through clinic rotations in six to seven departments, Uhlich said.

The internship, by comparison, lasts six to seven months. This was important to Morris so that she could put into practice what she learned in the textbook.

"It shows us in the real world what we deal with on a daily basis," Morris said.

Morris completed the program Friday and headed back to Trinidad Sunday. She plans to spend the next month focusing on the board exam she'll take in March and spending time with her husband.

Students can take exams from one of two agencies, the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Morris will take the American Society for Clinical Pathology board exam.

She also intends to complete a bachelor's degree. She is awaiting word from admissions departments.

Admission to the program at BSC is limited because of limits on enrollment for clinical space. Enrollment is generally first come first serve, Uhlich said, but they look for students with a high grade point average and a strong science background.

For students who do not have a strong science background, it takes those students an extra semester or so to complete other classes to meet the requirements.

For more information about the BSCclinical lab technician program, contact Uhlich at 224-5669 or 323-5482 or by e-mail at Angela.Uhlich@;bsc.nodak.edu.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)