Alabama Administrative Code
Title 420 - ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH
Chapter 420-5-8 - INDEPENDENT CLINICAL LABORATORIES
Section 420-5-8-.03 - Personnel Qualifications
Universal Citation: AL Admin Code R 420-5-8-.03
Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024
(1) Director.
(a) A director shall meet one of
the following requirements:
1. Is a physician
licensed to practice medicine in Alabama with at least two years of pertinent
laboratory experience.
2. Holds an
earned doctoral degree from an accredited institution with a chemical,
physical, or biological science as his major subject, and
(i) Is certified by the American Board of
Medical Microbiology, the American Board of Clinical Chemistry, or other
national accrediting boards with equivalent standards accepted by the State
Health Department in one of the laboratory specialties and may direct only that
division or subspecialty for which he is certified, or
(ii) Has four or more years of general
clinical laboratory training and experience, of which at least two years were
spent acquiring proficiency in one of the laboratory specialties in a clinical
laboratory, under a director at the doctoral level, of a hospital, a health
department, a university or a medical research institution or in a clinical
laboratory providing equivalent training accepted by the Alabama Department of
Public Health.
(2) Supervisor.
(a) A supervisor shall meet one of the
following requirements:
1. Is a physician
licensed to practice medicine in Alabama and has had at least two years of
pertinent laboratory experience; or
2. Has earned a doctoral degree from an
accredited institution with a chemical, physical, or biological science as his
major subject and has had at least two years experience in one of the
laboratory specialties in a clinical laboratory of a hospital, a health
department, a university, or a medical research institution or in a clinical
laboratory providing equivalent training accepted by the Alabama Department of
Public Health; or
3. Holds a
master's degree from an accredited institution with a major in one of the
chemical, physical, or biological sciences and has had at least four years of
pertinent laboratory experience of which not less than two years has been spent
working in one of the laboratory specialties in a clinical laboratory of a
hospital, a health department, a university, or a medical research institution
or in a clinical laboratory providing equivalent training accepted by the
Alabama Department of Public Health; or
4. Holds a bachelor's degree from an
accredited institution with a major in one of the chemical, physical, or
biological sciences and has had at least six years of pertinent laboratory
experience of which not less than two years has been spent working in one of
the laboratory specialties in a clinical laboratory of a hospital, a health
department, a university, or a medical research institution or in a clinical
laboratory providing equivalent training accepted by the Alabama Department of
Public Health; or
5. Successful
completion of three years of academic study (a minimum of 90 semester hours or
equivalent) in an accredited college or university with a chemical, physical,
or biological science as a major subject and meets the requirements of a
technologist under AAC Rule 420-5-8.03(3) and has at least six years of
experience in a clinical laboratory of a hospital, a health department, a
university, or a medical research institution or in a clinical laboratory
providing equivalent training accepted by the Alabama Department of Public
Health.
6. Achieve a satisfactory
grade on a proficiency examination for technologists approved by the United
States Secretary of Health and Human Services and have six years of full-time
laboratory experience obtained after passing the examination.
(b) An exception in AAC Rule
420-5-8.03(2) may be made when emergencies arise outside regularly scheduled
hours of duty, an individual who qualifies as a supervisor is not required to
be on the premises provided that the technologist performing tests is qualified
to perform such tests, the supervisor who is responsible for the results of the
work reviews them during the next duty period, and a record is maintained to
reflect the actual review.
(3) Technologist.
(a) A technologist shall meet one of the
following requirements:
1. Successful
completion of a full course of study which meets academic requirements for a
bachelor's degree in medical technology from an accredited college or
university; or
2. Successful
completion of three years of academic study (a minimum of 90 semester hours or
equivalent) in an accredited college or university which meets the requirements
for entrance into and the successful completion of a course of training of at
least 12 months in a school of medical technology approved by the Council on
Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association;
or
3. Successful completion in an
accredited college or university of a course of study which meets all academic
requirements for a bachelor's degree in one of the chemical, physical, or
biological sciences and at least one year of pertinent laboratory experience or
training covering the specialties or subspecialties in which tests are
performed, provided the combination has given the individual the equivalent in
those specialties or subspecialties of the education and training described in
AAC Rule 420-5-8.03(3)(a)1, and 2.
4. Successful completion of three years of
academic study (a minimum of 90 semester hours or equivalent) in an accredited
college or university with a chemical, physical, or biological science as a
major subject and at least one year of experience in a clinical laboratory of a
hospital, a health department, a university, or a medical research institution
or in a clinical laboratory providing equivalent training accepted by the
Alabama Department of Public Health; or
5. Achieve a satisfactory grade on a
proficiency examination approved by the United States Secretary of Health and
Human Services.
(4) Technician.
(a) A technician shall meet one of the
following requirements:
1. Successful
completion of two years of academic study (a minimum of 60 semester hours or
equivalent) in an accredited college or university and have an associate's
degree in Medical Technology; or
2.
Graduation from high school and subsequent to graduation has had two years of
experience as a technician trainee in a clinical laboratory of a hospital, a
health department, a university, or a medical research institution or in a
clinical laboratory providing equivalent training accepted by the Alabama
Department of Public Health; or
3.
Graduation from high school and successful completion of an official military
laboratory procedures course of at least 12 calendar months of study and has
had at least one year of experience as a technician trainee in a clinical
laboratory of a hospital, a health department, a university, or a medical
research institution or in a clinical laboratory providing equivalent training
accepted by the Alabama Department of Public Health.
(b) No clinical laboratory technician
performs procedures in the absence of a qualified clinical laboratory
technologist, supervisor, or director.
(5) Supervisor, Cytotechnologist. If the laboratory performs only anatomical procedures, a cytotechnologist meeting qualifications under AAC Rule 420-5-8.03(6) and having four years of experience as a cytotechnologist may supervise other cytotechnologists and histotechnicians.
(6) Cytotechnologist.
(a) Cytotechnologists shall
meet one of the following requirements:
1.
Has successfully completed two years in an accredited college or university
with at least 12 semester hours in science, 8 hours in biology, and
(i) has had 12 months of training in a school
of cytotechnology accredited by an accrediting agency and approved by the
State, or
(ii) has received six
months of formal training in a school of cytotechnology accredited by an
accrediting agency and six months of full-time experience in cytotechnology in
a laboratory acceptable to the pathologist who directed such formal six months
of training, or
2. Prior
to January 1, 1969, has:
(i) been graduated
from high school,
(ii) completed
six months of training in cytotechnology in a laboratory directed by a
pathologist or other physician recognized as a specialist in cytology,
and
(iii) completed two years of
full-time supervised experience in cytotechnology, or
3. Achieved a satisfactory grade in a
proficiency examination approved by the United States Secretary of Health and
Human Services; however, after December 31, 1977, initial certification as a
cytotechnologist must be in accordance with AAC Rule 420-5-8.03(6)(a)1, or
2.
(7) Technician Trainee.
(a) A "technician
trainee" shall mean an employee who is a high school graduate or equivalent,
who is gaining the required two years of clinical laboratory on-the-job
experience to qualify as a technician, and who is participating in a structured
training program approved by the State Health Department and designed to
provide the trainee with a broad range of laboratory procedures of progressive
technical difficulty.
(b) A
technician trainee performs only repetitive procedures which require a minimal
exercise of independent judgment and may perform such procedures only under the
personal and direct supervision of a qualified supervisor or technologist.
L. O'Neal Green, Patricia E. Ivie, Rick Harris
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 22-2-2(6), 22-21-28.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Alabama may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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