Some educational institutions require all students to take a required set of courses in the field of humanities, arts and social sciences. This broadens your knowledge, teaches you how to think and equips you with a set of skills to use as you take on more advanced courses in your curriculum.
Future medical lab technicians should have a strong foundation in the basic sciences before moving to the more technical subjects. You will take basic chemistry and higher subjects such as organic chemistry and biochemistry, biology with an emphasis on animal and human biology, basic physics and mathematics. These subjects are crucial in understanding the underlying processes that go on in the laboratory.
After taking up the essential science subjects, you will be able to apply what you have learned to the more technical subjects such as microbiology, hematology, anatomy, parasitology and clinical chemistry. At this stage of your education, you will be spending more time in the laboratory performing activities such as analyzing specimens under a microscope, making a culture of body fluids to detect bacteria and analyzing the chemical composition of blood.
Educational institutions may require students to take courses in non-medical and non-science related fields. In Bismarck State College for example, second-year students are required to take courses in professional writing, psychology and public speaking. These institutions also may require students to take a certain number of electives in other fields of study.