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| General Articles :: Featured School of the Week :: Health Care Schools |
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| The American College of Medical Technology: CollegeSurfing.com Featured School of the Week - March 3, 2008 |
| by Genevieve Blaber |
Not everyone realizes the full extent to which technology is involved in the health care field. From computers to X-ray machines, the allied health industry of today requires professionals versed in the latest medical technologies and programming. And that's exactly what students at The American College of Medical Technology in Gardena, California, are working on.
Founded in the early '70s, the American College of Medical Technology, or ACMT, was originally known as the American School of X-Ray and focused on preparing students to enter the workforce as limited x-ray technicians. In the years since, the medical technology school has undergone both a change of ownership and a change in the programs available, and has been approved by the Accrediting Commission of career Schools and Colleges of Technology as well as the Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.
In addition to its Limited Permit X-ray program, which is now combined with a medical assisting program, the school also offers a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) program, Laboratory Technician program, Medical Office Management program (which involves instruction in medical billing and coding, and the Medical Technician program (which focuses on phlebotomy and clinical skills). Ranging from 1570 hours to 14 months in length, each of these medical technology programs is taught on a four-days-a-week basis, with both day and night classes offered.
While none of the courses at the school culminate in an associate degree, they do prepare students for entry-level positions in the field of allied health. In fact, most of the medical technology programs will award you with a certificate of completion and/or diploma while also preparing and qualifying you to take the professional/certification exam in your area of study. The MRI program, for example, makes students eligible to sit for the American Registry of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists (ARMRIT) registry exam. The Laboratory Technician program, meanwhile, qualifies students to take the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel (NCALP)'s certification exam.
In order to accommodate the needs of students and the various medical technology programs, the American College of Medical Technology's facility consists of individual classrooms which are themselves comprised of laboratories, lecture areas, and mock work sections. Students also get a taste of the health care field thanks to the mock patient examining room. The career school also provides its students with a computer lab; a resource center that is home to an array of medical technology manuals, books, and periodicals; and a lounge where they can relax between classes.
But class isn't the only place where students learn when they enroll in this medical technology school. Each of the American College of Medical Technology's five programs requires that a student spend a prescribed amount of time with an externship at an affiliated clinical site. Whether it's two months, as in the Laboratory Technician program, or 1000 hours for the MRI program, students will get first-hand experience in the world of health care.
About the author:
Genevieve M. Blaber is a staff writer for The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.
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