The University of Cincinnati Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) Pre-Medicine is a unique program and track that will allow you to complete the standard program while substituting and adding some additional courses in order to fulfill common pre-med requirements with flexibility to take any specific prerequisite courses needed for targeted graduate programs. For example, the pre-med track replaces Biochemistry with Organic Chemistry and adds Physics. You should work with your academic advisor to determine any specific courses required for the programs you are applying.
After graduation, you will be prepared to enter medical and other professional health care programs while also being prepared to enter the in-demand Medical Laboratory Science profession. Entering medical school or related programs as an MLS gives you the advantage of a professional foundation in diagnostic laboratory testing, which factors heavily in the majority of physicians' decisions regarding patient care.
There are many benefits of entering a Pre-Medicine curriculum within the Medical Laboratory Science program. You will have the opportunity to have health-specific undergraduate education, get to learn and engage with other allied health majors allowing you to have exposure to other health disciplines. Your final clinical year gives you experience in a hospital/medical laboratory.
Graduates of the Pre-Medicine track are still graduating from a NAACLS* accredited Medical Laboratory Science program and will be well-prepared for the Board of Certification (BOC) exam sponsored by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) for the Medical Laboratory, MLS (ASCP) credential.
Medical laboratory scientists are allied health professionals who participate in patient care by performing laboratory procedures that assist in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The analysis performed by medical laboratory scientists uses advanced biomedical and instrumentation and technology to perform laboratory testing on blood and body fluids in the area of chemistry, microbiology, hematology, immunology, toxicology, blood banking and molecular procedures.