---
title: "Medical laboratory scientist"
chunk: 6/7
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_laboratory_scientist"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:47:55.874604+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Health Administration, Doctor of medical laboratory science for specialization, education and management roles.
Doctor of Philosophy for management and directorship roles in the clinical laboratory as well as for academic research and professorship. Doctors of Philosophy holding a degree in a biological science, and who are board certified by a CLIA-approved entity, are qualified as a medical laboratory director.
Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of clinical laboratory Science - this is the position that qualifies an individual to oversee or direct almost all types of clinical laboratories. Under U.S. CLIA laws, a requirement of at least year of clinical laboratory experience (any MD) or pathology residency must be met.
In the United Kingdom the Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC) programme sets out for the first time a comprehensive training and career framework for the whole healthcare science workforce inclusive of the more than 50 different scientific professional specialisms. In its conception it aimed to provide a coherent framework that was accessible, affordable and designed specifically to both capture scientific and technological advances and to provide improved outcomes for patients, the service and professionals. A key aspect of the framework from the start was the formalisation of training to develop talented clinical scientists to undertake quality assured Higher Specialist Scientist Training (HSST) programmes to prepare them for roles as consultant clinical scientists. It is envisaged that consultant clinical scientists will work synergistically and in partnership with their medical colleagues and within multiprofessional clinical teams to support clinical scientific practice aimed at quality improvement, innovation and world-class outcomes for patients. This scientific expertise and leadership will provide important benefits and added value to patients and to the service as it moves forward through the 21st century. This will bring to fruition the vision of science and realise the potential of scientific and technological advances for both translational and personalised medicine.
Training through the Higher Specialist Scientist Training pathway is discipline specific. For life science disciplines (immunology, microbiology, virology, haematology, biochemistry) the training curriculum and formal examinations are administered by the Royal College of Pathologists. The life science training pathway for clinical scientists follows a similar pathway to that undertaken by medically qualified specialist registrars in pathology. Clinical scientists are therefore the only discipline of non-medical healthcare professionals examined by a Medical Royal College. Clinical scientists who attain both part 1 examination certification and part 2 certification are awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath) and are deemed to have the knowledge and expertise expected of a consultant level scientist. Consultant clinical scientist posts generally require candidates to have completed FRCPath qualification to be eligible.
All clinical scientists regardless of seniority or specialisation may have other responsibilities including academic appointments, responsibilities as clinical lead for a pathology service, or may have wider hospital responsibilities such as directorship of Infection Prevention and Control, or responsibility for the hospital's Research and Development strategy. Junior clinical scientists may become involved in academic research, working towards a Ph.D. or DClinSci.

== Job title ==

The informal abbreviations of job titles may be a source of confusion. In the United States, medical laboratory scientist (ASCP) and medical technologists (AMT) or (AAB) are often called "med techs" (based on the era in which they were known as "medical technologists"), but this shorthand term is shared by other healthcare employees, including pharmacy techs, radiographers (also known as radiologic technologists), and respiratory therapists.
In the United States there is a formal distinction between an MLT and a MT/MLS. Often, MT/MLS have at least a bachelor's degree, while MLT have an associate degree. However, due to grandfathering rules and certification requirements between the boards of registry, some MT/MLS may only have an associate degree. Scientists and technologists generally earn a higher income than technicians, have more responsibilities, and have more opportunities for advancement.
In the United Kingdom, there are defined training pathways leading to professional registration as either a clinical scientist, or as a biomedical scientist. The role descriptions for these healthcare scientists are very different, where clinical scientists generally undertake non-routine research and development, as well as improving and providing clinical service using scientific expertise. Biomedical scientists in the United Kingdom are similar to the role of MLT and MT/CLS described above, and have similar regulatory requirements for professional regulation. Clinical scientists in the United Kingdom may struggle with a lack of professional recognition. This is in part due to the myriad job titles used to describe them, including clinical physiologists, medical physicists, and clinical biochemists, which generally mean the public and other healthcare workers assume clinical scientists to be medically qualified doctors, due to the sometimes complex nature of the role.