Health ProfessionsTest + Skills

Clinical Laboratory Science / Medical Laboratory Scientist

A 50-question clinical lab test, then bench skills such as ABO grouping, blood smears, urinalysis and streaking an agar plate for the top scorers.

The AI judge does not score skill stations. Use the practice test for Round One.

About this event

Clinical Laboratory Science, renamed this year to add Medical Laboratory Scientist, is a solo two-round event for the Secondary and Postsecondary/Collegiate divisions, sponsored by Charles River Laboratories. Round One is a 50-question multiple-choice test in 60 minutes drawn from Basic Clinical Laboratory Techniques (Estridge and Reynolds) and the OneLab REACH safety and microscopy modules. Immunology, hematology and hemostasis, clinical chemistry and clinical microbiology carry the most weight, with smaller sections on lab professions, biological safety, lab math, urinalysis and parasitology. Top scorers move to Round Two, a secret scenario built from eight approved skills: identifying 15 lab instruments by name and purpose (this one may be given alongside the written test), infection control and transmission-based precautions, using a microscope, ABO grouping, preparing and staining a blood smear, physical examination of urine, and inoculating and streaking an agar plate. Skills run 5 to 15 minutes each. You bring your own eye protection, gown, two pairs of non-latex gloves, face shield and masks. A 70 percent skill score is required to place; the final rank adds test and skill scores, with the higher test score breaking ties.

Test day

What to expect

Round One test, then skill stations

Round One is a 50-question test in 60 minutes; the top scorers advance to Round Two, the skill stations. Official format: 50-question test, 60 minutes, then Round Two skill scenarios of 5 to 15 minutes each for top scorers.

Written from the test plan

Questions follow the event's published test plan, section by section, and are written from the listed reference texts. Practice questions here are drawn in the same proportions.

How you advance

How many advance from regionals to states and on to the International Leadership Conference (ILC) depends on your association's rules. Study the official test plan: it lists each section and its share of the test.

What judges score

Skill I: Identifying Laboratory Instruments/Equipment, name, spelling and purpose of 15 items (15 minutes)Skill II: Infection Control and Transmission-Based Precautions (5 minutes)Skill III: Using a Microscope (10 minutes)Skill IV: ABO Grouping (6 minutes)Skill V-A: Preparing a Blood Film or Smear (5 minutes)Skill V-B: Staining a Blood Film or Smear (10 minutes)Skill VI: Physical Examination of Urine (6 minutes)Skill VII: Inoculate and Streak Agar Plate (5 minutes)

What's on the test

Clinical Lab Professions · 8%Biological Safety · 12%Laboratory Math · 6%Hematology and Hemostasis · 14%Immunology · 16%Urinalysis · 8%Clinical Chemistry · 14%Clinical Microbiology · 14%Parasitology · 8%

Study resources

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