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Allied Health’s new chemistry analyzer brings state-of-the art technology to MLT students

By Chris Caldwell

Senior medical laboratory technician students stand with Southwest Tennessee Community College President Tracy D. Hall and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Kendricks Hooker while Associate Professor of Allied Health Shilpa Desai demonstrates how a Randox chemistry analyzer works.
Senior medical laboratory technician students stand with Southwest
Tennessee Community College President Tracy D. Hall and Vice
President of Academic Affairs Dr. Kendricks Hooker while Associate
Professor of Allied Health Shilpa Desai demonstrates how a Randox
chemistry analyzer works.

Allied Health Science students earning a degree in Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) will be better prepared for the workforce, thanks to the department’s acquisition of a new automated Randox chemistry analyzer made possible through a Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Perkins V grant.

Associate Professor of Allied Health Shilpa Desai applied for the federal Career Technical Education (CTE) grant to help fund the purchase of the analyzer in March 2021 and was approved in April 2021. CTE programs focus on improving the academic and technical achievement of students, strengthening their skills for secondary and postsecondary education. 

“Providing students with state-of-the-art equipment that reflects real world applications is necessary,” President Tracy D. Hall said. “We want our students to be ready on day one when they leave our programs.” 

The analyzer is a fully automated machine that will allow MLT students the ability to run different clinical laboratory tests quickly and precisely. These tests are critical in helping physicians correctly diagnose patients who have diabetes, kidney failure, liver failure or have suffered a brain stroke or heart attack.

“This equipment will give our students the hands-on experience to work with an automated chemistry machine before they go on their clinicals,” Desai said. “All the hospital labs where they have their clinicals use automated instruments.”

Southwest’s MLT program trains about 50-60 students annually and is offered at the Allied Health Science building on the Union Avenue Campus. The program offers training leading directly to licensure and employment. Students within the program have opportunities to do their clinicals with partner corporations such as Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, American Esoteric Laboratories (AEL), Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and Regional One.

Desai said the purchase of the new laboratory equipment is a major recruitment tool for the program. “Prospective students and employers alike are impressed with the training and advanced technology we use in the MLT program,” Desai added. We are grateful for this funding that allows us to stay on the forefront of technology and equips our chemistry lab to meet the demands of current and future students.”