When patients receive a diagnosis or begin treatment, there’s a strong chance a medical laboratory technician, or MLT, helped make that possible.
In fact, 70 percent of medical decisions are based on lab test results, placing MLTs at the heart of patient care. As health care needs continue to grow along the Grand Strand, Tidelands Health is investing in the future of this in‑demand career field through hands‑on student training in partnership with Horry-Georgetown Technical College.
For many students, medical laboratory technology offers a meaningful way to help people without providing direct bedside care.
“I wanted to be able to help patients,” says Brooke Morgan, a medical laboratory technician student. “Hands-on with the patients was not for me, but I still wanted to make a difference.”
That difference happens every day in the lab, where MLTs generate the results providers rely on to confirm diagnoses and guide treatment. Students in HGTC’s Medical Lab Technology program build core skills on campus before advancing into clinical rotations at Tidelands Health facilities.
“The relationship between HGTC and Tidelands Health is so crucial because our area is growing,” says Sandra Wetter, medical laboratory technician program director at HGTC. “Tidelands Health has been so good to work with us by providing clinical sites for MLT and all of our health science programs, and it gives them people locally who typically stay and work here.”
These clinical experiences are invaluable, not only for students but for the health system and the community.
“Our educational programs can’t exist without clinical partners who support the hands‑on aspect of education,” says Caitlyn Green, student and volunteer program manager at Tidelands Health. “It fuels our pipeline for future recruits. As an organization, we truly enjoy providing these teaching and educational moments to students.”
At Tidelands Health, senior lab technicians and team leads work closely with students to create a supportive learning environment while maintaining high standards of patient care. During their rotations, students gain experience in three key lab areas: blood bank, chemistry and hematology.
“We take the basic skills students learn on campus and bring them into real-life clinical experiences,” says Michelle Gervais, medical laboratory manager at Tidelands Health. “When they’re hired, that experience is so important. They want familiarity and confidence before reporting results on their own.”
Tidelands Health offers a wealth of opportunities for nursing graduates and students to experience what a health care career can offer, such as nursing internships, job shadowing for students and the chance to gain practical hours through our volunteer services, clinical rotation and registered nurse apprenticeship programs. For those passionate about a career in health care, start by exploring student programs at Tidelands Health.
