On February 4, the ASCP Board of Registry (BOR)/Board of Certification (BOC) was awarded the contract to be the sole provider of licensure examinations for Medical Technologists (MT)/Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS) and Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT) for a period of five years by the New York State Education Department.
It is a continuation of a previous one-year sole-provider contract that began in December 2007. The anticipated start date for the new contract is July 1, 2009. An amendment to extend the previous contract will cover the interim months.
The ASCP-BOC was chosen, in part, because the state of New York was looking for an organization that demonstrated a "wide acceptance of its examinations for these two professions as shown by the number of candidates taking them and the number of jurisdictions using the examinations for certification or licensure purposes."
"The ASCP Board of Certification is proud to have been chosen by the State of New York," said Kathleen Becan-McBride, EdD, MT(ASCP)CM, Chair of the ASCP-BOC Board of Governors. "For 80 years, ASCP Board of Certification certification has been the gold standard of laboratory scientists dedicated to quality patient care and continued education."
The ASCP will provide four main services as required by the state:
- Pre-Examination Procedures - a step-by-step candidate processing system, including online application forms, and scheduling of examination dates.
- Examination Administration - the means to administer a secure examination, including a system for hiring and training the examination administration team, and procuring an examination site.
- Reporting of Examination Results
- Job Analysis - evaluation and description of entry-level professional positions in terms of the actual tasks that new licensees can perform safely and competently.
Approximately 800 people per year will be become licensed medical technologists and medical laboratory technicians in the state of New York.
The ASCP-BOC currently has a five-year contract as the provider of cytotechnology exams in New York and has previously been approved by the state of California for medical technology, medical laboratory technician, phlebotomy, chemistry, and microbiology licensure exams.
For more information about the New York State licensure process, visit www.ascp.org/FunctionalNavigation/certification/GetStateLicensure/NewYorkStateLicensure.aspx.