New health career programs available this fall
Beginning fall semester, Saddleback College will offer two new career and technical programs: a medical laboratory technician program and a mental health worker certificate/associate degree program.
The medical laboratory technical program will prepare students for employment as MLTs in a clinical medical laboratory setting. The MLT program is a two-year program that leads to an associate degree.
In the program, students will learn to perform routine laboratory procedures in phlebotomy, microbiology, clinical chemistry, hematology, and more in preparation for work in both public and private laboratories serving the health care sector.
Not only will this program benefit students, but the community will also profit through gaining highly educated candidates for available local jobs.
“Saddleback College has always been committed to creating jobs in our community,” Saddleback College President Tod Burnett said. “These new programs will help our students start work on an admirable career path, bringing them success and personal fulfillment, and bringing the South Orange County community qualified health care professionals who have the best education and training available.”
Students in the mental health worker certificate and/or degree program will be eligible to transfer to a four-year university in human services or a related field. They will also be able to enter the workforce as a paraprofessional in community-based mental health programs or related health science disciplines.
Interim Dean of the Division of Health and Sciences and Human Services Tamera Rice is excited about the addition of these two programs and is confident that the programs will greatly benefit students wishing to enter these fields.
“It is a pleasure to offer programs that will help students reach their educational and professional goals,” said Rice. “These programs also come at a time when students are specifically pursuing an education that has career possibilities. I am happy that we not only offer such programs, but that we do so with services to help our students succeed.”
For more information on these programs and others offered by the division of health sciences and human services, contact the department at (949) 582-4701 or visit www.saddleback.edu/hs.