One of the features of the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science curriculum is that all professional subjects are completed before the student enters the fourth year. The final year is primarily dedicated to Clinical Internship, along with a few minor subjects. Therefore, by the end of the third year, students should have completed all their professional subjects and acquired the minimum competencies needed to practice the profession.
To ensure that students have met these expectations, they must take a comprehensive examination covering all professional subjects before being accepted into the Clinical Internship Program. Only students who pass this exam will be allowed to proceed to the Clinical Internship. Those who do not pass will need to wait for the next scheduled comprehensive examination, which is administered once at the end of each semester.
Only students who have passed all subjects (general education, core, and professional) from the first to the third year are allowed to take the comprehensive examination. However, a student who has not completed their academic requirements and still has pending general education subjects may apply for the comprehensive examination if the following conditions are met:
a. The student must have applied for a special subject offering within the institution or have cross-enrolled at another higher education institution with the Dean's approval.
b. The student must submit an official enrollment slip to the committee as supporting documentation for admission to the specified subject(s).
c. Upon completing the subjects, the student must pass them and submit an official copy of the grades to the committee and the college to certify that all required subjects have been completed.
If the student fails to submit the required numerical grade to the Committee and the College of Medical Technology, they will not be allowed to enter the internship, even if they have passed the comprehensive examination.
All applicants will be evaluated by the secretariat of the committee through the computation of the General Weighted Average (GWA). The GWA will be computed from the following subjects with their corresponding weights/units:
SUBJECT
UNITS/WEIGHT
Division 1: Clinical Chemistry
20 %
Clinical Chemistry 1
5 units
Clinical Chemistry 2
5 units
Division 2: Microbiology & Parasitology
20 %
Clinical Bacteriology
5 units
Clinical Mycology and Virology
2 units
Clinical Parasitology
3 units
Division 3: Clinical Hematology
20 %
Hematology 1
4 units
Hematology 2
3 units
Division 4: Immunology-Serology, Blood Banking
& Molecular Biology
20 %
Immunology and Serology
3 units
Immunohematology & Blood Banking
4 units
Molecular Biology and Diagnostics
3 units
Division 5: Clinical Microscopy
10 %
Analysis of Urine of Body Fluids
3 units
Division 6: Histopathologic & Cytologic Techniques,
MT Laws & Bioethics, and Laboratory
Management
10 %
Histopathologic and Cytologic Techniques
3 units
MT Laws and Ethics
3 units
Laboratory Management
2 units
TOTAL
100 %
Computation: Numeric Grade x Unit; (Total of Unit x Numeric Grade)/Total Number of Units per Division
Students who get a GWA of 2.25 for all professional subjects are exempted from taking the exam. They shall be automatically accepted into the Clinical Internship Program.
At the end of each semester, the Committee for Comprehensive Examination will open the application for the Comprehensive Examination.
Steps in application and evaluation:
1. Students who wish to take the comprehensive examination shall apply for the comprehensive examination by completing an online application form and waiver required by the committee.
2. The applicants’ grades shall then be evaluated by the Committee and a letter informing them of the results of their application (whether exempted, accepted or denied) will be sent via email after the evaluation.
3. For those who are qualified to take the Comprehensive Examination, a test permit will be issued with corresponding details of the exam.
4. Those who are deemed disqualified to take the exam may request for reconsideration within 48 hours from receipt of the notice.
The comprehensive examination is offered twice per academic year, once each semester, referred to as a cycle. Cycle 1 is offered at the end of the second semester of the current academic year, and Cycle 2 is offered at the end of the first semester of the next academic year.
The committee will set the date for the comprehensive examination thirty days after the last day of application (only applicable for Cycle 1 due to limited time in Cycle 2). Eligible students will take the examination on the designated dates assigned by the committee.
The comprehensive examination consists of 300 items to be completed in four hours, covering all the professional subjects mentioned earlier. Any student caught cheating will automatically receive a zero grade and face disciplinary actions, which may include expulsion from the college.
To pass the examination, a student must score 55.00%, calculated by dividing the raw score by the total number of items. No rounding off will be done, so a score of 54.99% is still considered a fail.
The results of the examination will be sent to the test-takers within seventy-two hours after the examination is completed. The comprehensive examination can only be taken once per semester. Applicants who do not pass the examination will not be admitted into the Clinical Internship program and must wait for the next semester when the comprehensive examination is offered.
Students who fail the examination three times must take and satisfactorily pass refresher courses totaling a minimum of 18 units. If the student fails to pass any of these subjects, they will be automatically debarred from the college. However, if the student satisfactorily passes all the refresher courses, they are given three more chances to pass the comprehensive examination. If the student fails the examination after three additional tries, they will be debarred.
The committee shall be comprised of faculty members from the College of Medical Technology, and is composed of one (1) Chairperson, one (1) Vice-Chairperson, two (2) Secretariat, six (6) members representing the different subject divisions, and one (1) support staff appointed by the Dean of the College of Medical Technology.
The Chairperson shall have a renewable term of two (2) semesters from his/her appointment and shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Plan for the comprehensive examination per semester which includes identification of important dates.
2. Certify students who are exempted from taking and eligible to take the comprehensive examination.
3. Assign the cases to be included in the comprehensive examination.
4. Monitor the quality and standard of questions submitted by each member.
5. Certify the roll of passers for the comprehensive examination.
The Vice-Chairperson shall have a renewable term of two (2) semesters from his/her appointment and shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Assist the Chairperson in the planning for the comprehensive examination.
2. Spearhead the evaluation of grades of the applicants together with secretariat, and submits the list of exempted and qualified applicants to take the comprehensive examination.
3. Lead the group assigned by the chairperson within the committee to check and evaluates the examination sheets and reports the result summary to the Chairperson and the rest of the committee.
4. Performs in-acting capacity all the responsibilities of the chairperson, in cases of disability, death or removal from office until a new Chairperson is appointed by the Dean of the College.
The Secretariat shall have shall have a renewable term of four (4) semesters from his/her appointment and shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Receive and evaluate all the application records, files and documents submitted by the students.
2. Manage the staff assigned by the Committee to encode the grades of the applicant for the computation of their general weighted average.
3. Assist the Vice-Chairperson in the evaluation of grades of the applicants to determine the exempted and qualified applicants.
4. Keep all the records and documents concerning the comprehensive examination whether printed or electronically filed including all printed examination sheets and the supervision on the destruction of the used examination sheets.
5. Creates the list of examinees and assigns the room and venue for each examinee including the seat assignment.
The secretariat is represented by one person but all of the assigned members of this committee must assist the secretariat with her other roles or any other responsibilities assigned to them by the Chairperson which corresponds to the tasked performed by the secretariat.
The Members shall have a renewable term of four (4) semesters from his/her appointment and shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Create examination question of the division he/she represents.
2. Evaluate the performance of questions after each cycle, and revise or replace the question according to the results obtained.
3. Assist in all necessary preparation for the comprehensive examination, including the printing and reproduction of the examination, preparation of the list and venue of examination.
4. Administer the comprehensive examination, and assist in the evaluation of examination sheets as assigned by the Chairperson.
5. Accept any responsibilities assigned to them by the Chairperson as long as it is aligned within the mandate of this committee.
The Support Staff is any member of the faculty (teaching or non-teaching), that will assist in any capacity to the committee or any responsibilities assigned to them by the Chairperson.
Any committee member found to engage in unethical actions, such as leaking examinations or facilitating cheating, will be disqualified from serving on the committee and will not be considered for re-appointment.
A committee member who has close consanguinity or affinity (up to the third degree) with a test-taker is required to inhibit from committee duties until their relative has successfully passed the examination. The Chairperson or acting Chairperson may recommend a temporary replacement if needed.
A member of the committee having a close degree of consanguinity/affinity (up to the third degree) with a test-taker must file for indefinite inhibition form the committee until his/her blood relations was able to pass the examination. The Chairperson, or acting Chairperson can recommend a temporary appointment of a member if deemed necessary.
All of the disputes, petitions and appeals will be resolved through a vote from the committee and presented to the Dean of the College of Medical Technology.