Chapter 2: Qualifications and Continuing Education
The Medical Laboratory Technology Act gives the NSCMLT responsibility to define the educational requirements for MLTs practising in the province. The MLT Act also stipulates that the College identify “continuing-competency requirements, including continuing-education requirements.”
Qualifications
Individuals working as MLTs in Nova Scotia must have a practising licence granted by the NSCMLT, and this licence is renewed yearly.
The “Medical Laboratory Technologists Registration Regulations” define the minimum requirements for a licence to practise medical technology in Nova Scotia. You must have:
- A diploma or baccalaureate degree in medical laboratory technology from a Canadian institution, or deemed equivalent through a prior learning assessment from CSMLS for those educated internationally
- A current TeKnowledge.NS certificate (continuing education)
- Canadian citizenship or the legal right to live and work in Canada
- Good command of English
- Professional liability insurance (PLI)
Licensing
You can apply online at www.nscmlt.org for both your initial licence to practise in Nova Scotia, and your yearly renewal. In most cases of initial registration, you’ll have to provide proof that you have the necessary qualifications, and this can be done with electronic copies of documents. If you have worked elsewhere as a licensed MLT, obtain a letter of good standing from the previous licensing body (or, if not in good standing—i.e. your licence has expired—a letter stating that you are not, and have not been, subject to disciplinary proceedings there). If you were not licensed in your previous employment, submit a letter from your previous employer vouching for your professional good standing (to the best of their knowledge). These requirements apply regardless of where in the world you’ve previously worked.
If you have employment in Nova Scotia in an approved setting, you hold a practising licence. (The settings where MLTs can work are listed in the NSCMLT policy document “Approved Practice Hours.”) To obtain the licence, you must declare that you have not been convicted of any criminal offense, are not under investigation for professional misconduct, and are not being disciplined for professional misconduct.
Licences are renewed annually and failure to renew on time will result not only in significant financial penalty, but possibly also the loss of your job. If you don’t hold a valid licence to practise in medical laboratory science, it’s illegal for your employer to continue to employ you as an MLT.
There are many possible scenarios for individuals applying for a licence. General categories are mentioned here; however for more detail, see the NSCMLT website for policies.
Return To Practice
If you meet all the requirements for a practising licence, but you have not worked as an MLT for more than five years, you must update your skills and knowledge before you’ll be able to get a full licence to practise. Details for updating requirements are available on the NSCMLT website (“Return to Practice Guidelines for Medical Laboratory Technologists”)
Temporary and restricted licences
SCENARIO:
Colleen graduated from NSCC and worked as an MLT in clinical chemistry for seven years before leaving her job to travel for an extended period in Southeast Asia. Now she wants to return to work but she has been away for five and a half years. She knows of a job opening in clinical chemistry at a local hospital. Can she apply for the job and work as an MLT?
Because she’s been away from the profession for more than five years, Colleen must take refresher courses or demonstrate that she’s still competent to practise. She can compete for the job, but if she’s successful, she will only be granted a temporary licence. The employer will commit to providing a clinical assessment, along with continuous supervision for 500 practice hours. If the assessment reveals deficiencies in Colleen’s knowledge and skill levels, she will likely be required to update with refresher courses.
If Colleen applies for the job and doesn’t get it, she can take refresher courses on her own to prepare herself for the next job opportunity. She’ll need to contact the NSCMLT first to plan an approved course of studies for return to practice.
If Colleen waits longer before returning to work, and stays away from the profession for ten years, she will face more demanding requirements for updating her knowledge and skills.
Individuals who lack any of the educational requirements listed above (a diploma or degree and and/ or a TeKnowledge.NS certificate) may still qualify for a licence to practise, or a temporary or restricted licence to practise in Nova Scotia. This group includes new graduates, MLTs moving to Nova Scotia from another Canadian province, and MLTs trained in another country. There are specific requirements for each group; all focus on ensuring that the MLT is competent to do the work.
SCENARIO: NEW GRADUATE
Alex is a recent graduate of the medical laboratory technology program at the New Brunswick Community College. He has not written his CSMLS certification examination yet, but he has an offer of employment in Nova Scotia. Alex submits an application for a temporary licence to the NSCMLT, with all the necessary documentation.
Alex is granted the temporary licence, and begins work. Under the conditions of the licence, he must be directly supervised by a licensed MLT at all times, and can only perform procedures that he’s been deemed competent to do. This situation will last until he passes the CSMLS exams. What happens if he doesn’t pass?
In June, Alex fails in his first attempt at the CSMLS exams, but he does well enough to continue working under the temporary licence, as long as a few additional requirements are met. His duties are still restricted and clearly defined, and he’s still supervised by a licensed MLT.
As luck would have it, Alex is ill on the next examination date and he’s unable to write. He’s proved himself a valuable employee, however, and he’s given another chance. He must renew his temporary licence, which will expire at the end of December, and write the exams in February.
Alex knows that he must pass the certification exams in February if he wants to keep his job: although he can write three times, his temporary licence will be invalid one year after he first applied, and he would need to request another one.
Fortunately, Alex passes the exams in February. His licence is upgraded to a practising licence, and he can look forward to a long and rewarding career as a licensed MLT.
SCENARIO: MLT TRAINED IN ANOTHER COUNTRY
Berko is an immigrant to Canada who trained in medical laboratory technology in South Africa. He has settled in Nova Scotia and wants to work as an MLT. He’s been told that his credentials will not be accepted here but he may be able to work as a lab assistant or choose some other line of work. Is there any way Berko can prove that he’s competent to practise as an MLT in the Canadian medical system?
Internationally educated medical laboratory technologists are welcome in Canada; however, like everyone else, they must demonstrate competency in the profession. The CSMLS has addressed this challenge, and has a system for screening and certifying skilled immigrants such as Berko. His first step is to contact the CSMLS and arrange for a prior learning assessment.
If Berko is successful with his prior learning assessment, he can arrange to write the CSMLS certification examinations and begin to look for work in Nova Scotia. If he does get a job offer, the NSCMLT will grant him a temporary license while he waits to write his exams. If Berko fails the certification exam, however, he will still be qualified to work as an MLT and maintain a temporary license with restrictions until he successfully completes the CSMLS exam, but he only has 3 attempts at the CSMLS exam
Non-practising licences and reinstatement
Individuals who have all the required qualifications but are not working as an MLT can maintain a non-practising or retired licence, and must upgrade the licence to practising if they become employed in an MLT position.
If your licence has lapsed because you were not practising (less than five years) or because you were practising elsewhere, you’ll need to apply for reinstatement. The reinstatement application is available at www.nscmlt.org
Licence exemptions
There may also be individuals in your workplace who have a licensing exemption: they don’t require a licence to perform their work. These individuals have degrees at the masters or doctorate level and have expertise in the specific areas where they are working. They have applied for and received a licensing exemption from the NSCMLT.
Employer or facility restrictions
Despite being qualified and licensed to work as an MLT, most MLTs will have limitations placed on them based on their job descriptions, responsibilities, and on-the-job training in the workplace. It’s up to you to be familiar with your job description, and informed about what you are and are not authorized to do; and to delegate or ask for assistance when appropriate.
SCENARIO:
Sofia has been working in anatomical pathology for several years and is in the middle of learning to perform a new special staining procedure. A specimen requiring the special stain arrives and the technologist responsible for training Sofia tells her she’s capable of doing it on her own. Sofia hasn’t officially “checked out” on the staining procedure, but she, too, feels that she’s competent and she figures the quality control slide will verify that she’s done it correctly. She goes ahead. Is this okay?
As a licensed practising MLT, Sofia is theoretically qualified to do anything that falls within the scope of practice. The employer, however, must ensure that MLTs are trained to competently do the procedures in the lab. Before she can do any procedure on her own, Sofia’s competency in that procedure must be demonstrated and documented according to employer protocol. In this case, Sofia should have realized that although she holds a practising licence her scope of practice is limited. In this situation, she should have asked for help.
Continuing Education — The TeKnowledge.NS Program
The NSCMLT TeKnowledge.NS program is a system for earning credit for on-the-job experience and continuing education activities. A minimum of eight credits earned over four years qualifies you for a TeKnowledge.NS certificate. In turn, a valid TeKnowledge.NS certificate is required for a licence to practise as an MLT in Nova Scotia.
The TeKnowledge.NS program is designed to give technologists flexibility in their continuing education choices. Activities such as taking (or developing/teaching) relevant courses, reading (or publishing) current literature, attending lectures and conferences etc. will all earn credit toward a TeKnowledge.NS certificate.
Practice hours can account for as much as half the credits required for a TeKnowledge.NS certificate, however; a technologist not currently employed as an MLT can still earn eight credits from other activities. Transferable skills acquired in other employment and activities can be claimed, and other credits come from continuing education activities.
It is vital that you keep a detailed record of your activities, and keep certificates or other proof of attendance and/or participation on file. By the time your TeKnowledge.NS certificate is expiring and you are applying for a new one, it will be too late to repeat these activities. You may not be asked to provide documentation; however, the NSCMLT audits ten percent of Nova Scotia’s MLTs annually. If you are chosen as an audit participant, you’ll need to provide proof of your continuing education as well as confirmation of hours worked and area of practice from your employer.
Take part in continuing education regularly and keep records: if you do not hold a valid TeKnowledge.NS certificate, your licence to practise will be revoked.
Conclusion
In order to work as an MLT, you must meet basic qualification requirements, and the NSCMLT is responsible for determining who qualifies for a licence and who does not.
Each of us is unique. We have different employment backgrounds, different learning styles, different interests and career goals. Today, people move around more than ever before, spending time in different provinces and even different countries. We value the ability to take a leave of absence to travel, raise children, go back to school, volunteer, or pursue a multitude of other endeavours.
The need for mobility and flexibility calls for a variety of ways to maintain skills, qualify for a licence to practise, and enter or reenter the workforce as an MLT. The NSCMLT recognizes this and develops policies that make that sort of flexibility possible.
