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SOCIETY OF MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGISTS OF SOUTH AFRICA
Medical Technicians Examination
The Medical technician’s examination is administered by administered by the Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists of South Africa (SMLTSA) and is a prerequisite for registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), previously known as the South African Medical and Dental Council. Candidates must therefore familiarise themselves with the registration requirements as prescribed by the HPCSA. The National Administrative Office of the SMLTSA is based in Cape Town and all correspondence regarding the Examination should be addressed to:-
The Registrar
SMLTSA
PO Box 6014
Roggebaai
8012
Telephone: 021 419-4857
Fax: 021 4 21-2566
E-mail address: dalexander@iafrica.com
Please ensure that all documents are submitted by registered mail. The SMLTSA accepts no responsibility for items lost in the post. All documents will be returned by registered mail. Please note that original or certified copies of the necessary documents must accompany your application. .
EXAMINATION SUBJECTS
The examination is offered in the following categories
Blood
Transfusion Chemical Pathology Clinical Pathology
Microbiology Cytology
Haematology
Histology Virology
ENROLEMENT FOR THE EXAMINATION
Students are required to register with the SMLTSA before 31 May. In addition it is imperative that original or certified copies of the originals must accompany their application.
1. Candidates must submit the following documents to the Registrar, SMLTSA in support of their application:
a) A registration form (available from the SMLTSA)
b) A certificate of Registration with the HPCSA.
c) A letter of appointment as a full time Medical Technician in a registered training laboratory in the discipline they are going to write.
d) A copy of their Identity document.
e) The examination fee. This can be deposited directly into the Standard Bank account indicated on the registration form and the deposit slip attached to the application.
2. On receipt of the application the SMLTSA will issue candidates with a registration
number and a syllabus guide.
EXAMINATION PREREQUISITES
1. A minimum age of 18 years.
2. Have completed Grade 10
3. HPCSA registration as a student Medical Technician
3. Have completed two years, full-time practical training in the relevant discipline, in a registered training laboratory. Students may write the examination after 18 months post registration as an student Medical Technician, but do not qualify until they have completed 24 months.
1. Communication between candidates is not allowed in the examination room.
2.
Supporting material (including blank paper, books, notes and electronic
equipment) is not allowed in the examination room, unless the
use of
particular items is expressly allowed or prescribed. Only hand held
non-programmable calculators may be used.
3. Parts of answer books may not be removed.
4. Complete in full the front cover of each answer book you use.
5. If you use more than one answer book, place the second and further books inside the first when handing in.
6. Before leaving the examination room all answer books must be handed to the invigilator.
7. Latecomers will not be given extra time.
8. Candidates are not allowed to leave the examination room within the first 45 minutes of the examination session.
9. Any candidate causing a disturbance or disrupting the examination will be disqualified, and then asked to leave the examination room.
10. The following disciplinary steps will be taken in the event of cheating:
10.1 If a candidate is caught doing anything irregular, their examination script will be taken away immediately and the time entered on the front cover. He/she will be issued with another answer book and the time recorded and signed by the invigilator. All relevant evidence will be handed in with the examination script removed from the candidate.
10.2 If the candidate persists in committing a violation his/her examination
script will be taken from them and he/she will be asked to
leave
the examination room.
10.3 The invigilator
and the candidate must both complete a written declaration, which will be handed
in with the examination script in
question to
the SMLTSA Admin office.
11. No smoking, eating or drinking is allowed in the examination room.
12. Read all the instructions on your examination paper.
13. Cell phones are not permitted into the examination room.
REGISTRATION AS A MEDICAL TECHNICIAN WITH THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS COUNCIL OF SOUTH AFRICA.
To register as a Medical Technician with the HPSCA the following documents must be submitted to:
The Registrar
Health Professions Council of South Africa
PO Box 205
Pretoria
0001
1. The prescribed application form (obtainable from the above address.)
2. The prescribed registration fee.
4. A certificate issued by the SMLTSA indicating that the student has passed the registration examination for Medical Technicians
5. .A certificate from the employer indicating that 2-years of training as a Medical Technician has been completed.
PLEASE
NOTE THAT ORIGINAL OR NOTORISED COPIES OF THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS MUST ACCOMPANY
YOUR APPLICATION. CERTIFIED COPIES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AND WILL BE REJECTED.
EXAMINATION GUIDELINES FOR MEDICAL CYTOTECHNICIAN CANDIDATES
3-HOUR THEORY EXAMINATION (in August of each year) Total marks: 180
Theory component: 2/3 of marks = 120
Candidates can expect a mixture of short questions, comparisons, drawings, etc.
“Practical” component: 1/3 of marks = 60
Candidates can expect to be tested on any general (e.g. lab organization, safety, etc.) or practical aspect of the syllabus (e.g. preparatory techniques, fixation, staining, etc.) in this section.
Note: Multiple-choice questions will no longer be included in the examination.
A pass mark of 50% must be achieved by the candidate in the theory examination before admittance to the practical examination.
3-HOUR PRACTICAL EXAMINATION (in October of each year) Total marks: 200
Twenty unmarked smears with appropriate clinical histories will be provided. About twelve gynaecologic and eight non-gynaecologic cases can be expected. Candidates must screen and report on each slide in nine minutes.
When examining these cellular samples, technician candidates are mainly tested on their detection/ recognition skills, rather than diagnostic/ interpretation skills. More marks are thus awarded for the adequate description of cellular changes/ microorganisms (7 marks out of 10), than the final diagnosis (which counts 3 marks out of 10). Coverslips used are usually 50x24mm or 40x24mm, but may be smaller in fluid specimens (to cover cytospin preparations).
Recommended format for reporting:
Statement of adequacy.......... Preservation; Staining;
Endocervical component (gynaecology smears)
Background............................ Blood (fresh/ altered); Inflammatory/ tumour diathesis
Microorganisms..................... Candida sp; Trichomonas sp; Schistosoma sp; etc
Other findings........................ Contaminants; Artefacts, etc
Cells/ cellular changes.......... Number occasional/ numerous, etc
Arrangement single/ sheets/ syncytia, etc
Relative nuclear area normal/ increased
Nuclei: Position: central/ eccentric
Size: small/ enlarged
Membrane: irregular/ interrupted
wrinkled/ well demarcated
Chromatin:
hyper-or hypochromatic,
finely or coarsely granular
Nucleoli: number, size, shape
Other: e.g. bi-/ multinucleation; karyorrhexis
Cytoplasm: Amount: scanty/ abundant
Staining: eosino-/ baso-/ ampho-philic
Membrane: distinct/ indistinct
Consistency: dense/ vacuolated
Other: e.g. inclusions
Final diagnosis.......................
Note: A pass mark of 60% must be achieved by the candidate in the practical examination.