About Us
History - The Health Science Technologies Department builds on the foundation of the Medical Laboratory Technology programme which was established under the NIHERST, College of Health Sciences. The MLT programme was introduced to strengthen and upgrade national capacity in the highly technical discipline of medical laboratory technology. In the 1980s, the MLT diploma was the highest qualification available. However, in 1990, the programme was revised and upgraded to a pilot associate degree programme, with the first intake of full-time students graduating in 1993. The Department’s offerings have since been expanded to include certificate programmes in Health Records Science and Pharmacy Assistant. A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree programme in Medical Laboratory Technology is scheduled to be introduced in 2009.
Teaching and Learning - Among the instructional innovations of the new associate degree programme in medical laboratory technology was the introduction and institutionalization of formal ‘bench’ training as part of the academic process.
Continuous quality improvement is also ensured through the oversight of our Advisory Committee, comprising health science professionals and other stakeholders from public and private agencies who constantly review our programmes and courses with a view to implementing best practices in teaching and learning.
Our students received the highest personalized attention from the department chair who sets an example and lives by it, to all staff and the faculty. While the department prides itself on being student-centred, teaching faculty--most of whom are present or past practitioners in the field--expect and uphold rigourous performance standards for student learning and ethical behavior. The benefits of this approach are evidenced in the high employment rate of our graduates, most of whom are recruited by employers even before they graduate.
Through our longstanding partnership with the prestigious Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences in Canada, we have also been at the forefront of providing continuous education and professional development courses for our faculty and MLT practitioners in Trinidad and Tobago.
Broadening Access - For mature persons seeking to upgrade their current qualifications or pursue tertiary education studies for the first time, the Department also offers Prior Learning Assessment Recognition (PLAR) services through which applicants’ workplace experience, knowledge and skills are verified and can be transformed into college credits. In 2007, no less than forty (40) students graduated with the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Medical Laboratory Technology. The Department proudly graduated students based on the implementation of the PLAR programme.
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