Your BOC exam

What you need to know

to be ready Renee Sutton, MLS(ASCP)cm, CPhT

Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will:

Know the requirements for eligibility for the

BOC exam

Understand the registration process, test

format, and test day procedure

Be familiar with published exam content

guidelines

One quick note:

This presentation will only cover the US

procedures for the MLS/MLT exams. If you are

an international candidate or taking a different

certification exam, please refer to ASCP.org for

specific information.

Who is the BOC?

“The ASCP Board of Certification is an administratively

independent certification agency that prepares relevant

standards and develops procedures that will assure the

competence of non-physician medical laboratory

personnel. The ASCP BOC certifies those individuals

who meet the academic and clinical prerequisites and

who achieve acceptable performance levels on

examinations.”

From ASCP.org/Board-of-Certification

A little BOC history

Founded in 1928

Most influential leader in certification of

laboratory professionals

Has certified over 500,000 individuals

Impartiality and objectivity are maintained by

having representative members from many

organizations

What does it mean to be certified?

“Certification is the process by which a non-governmental

agency or association grants recognition of competence to

an individual who has met certain predetermined

qualifications, as specified by the agency or association.

The ASCP BOC provides a mechanism (called certification)

for these individuals to be recognized as having the

necessary competence to perform the medical laboratory

roles they seek.”

From ASCP.org/Board-of-Certification

There’s a time limit!

Your BOC certification is for 3 years. To

maintain your certification, you must complete

the Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) as

outlined by ASCP.

Am I eligible (MLT)?

Route 1: Associate degree or at least 60

semester hours of academic credit AND

completion of accredited MLT program in last

5 years

Route 2: Associate degree/60 credit hours

including 6 hours each of chemistry and

biology AND CLA(ASCP) certification

Route 3: Associate degree/60 credit hours

including 6 hours each of chem and bio AND

completion of US military medical laboratory

training course in last 10 years

Route 4: Associate degree/60 credit hours

including 6 hours each of chem and bio AND

3 years full-time acceptable clinical

laboratory experience in last 10 years

Am I eligible (MLS)?

Route 1: Baccalaureate degree including

courses in biological science, chemistry, and

mathematics AND completion of NAACLS

accredited MLS program in last 5 years

Route 2: MLT(ASCP) certification AND

baccalaureate degree including 16 semester

hours of biological sciences (1 microbiology),

16 hours chemistry (1 organic or

biochemistry), 1 hour math AND 2 years full-

time clinical laboratory experience within last

10 years

Route 3: CLA(ASCP) certification AND

baccalaureate degree including 16 hours

biological science (1 microbiology), 16 hours

chemistry (1 organic or biochemistry), 1 hour

math AND 4 years full-time experience within

last 10 years

Route 4: Baccalaureate degree AND 5 years

full-time experience in last 10 years

Official documents

Applicants from NAACLS/CAAHEP/ABHES

programs must submit an official transcript

bearing the seal of the college/university,

signature of the Registrar, and the date your

degree was awarded

– Continuing education courses are NOT

acceptable to fulfill academic requirements and all

courses must be completed before exam

Verification of experience (if required)

– Download forms at www.ascp.org/certification

– Must be completed by immediate supervisor or

laboratory director and attached to signed letter of

authenticity printed on original letterhead

– Some forms may be audited and verified with

employer

– Full-time experience is defined as minimum 35

hours/week; part-time can be prorated

Verification of training

– Education received from

NAACLS/CAAHEP/ABHES program is acceptable

for 5 years

Application

http://ascp.org/pdf/BOC-PDFs/procedures/General-application-form.aspx

– You must submit transcripts and specify route

completed at this time

– You must also request testing modifications IN

WRITING at this time if you have a disability

Suggested guidelines: Apply approximately 6

weeks before the date you want to take your

exam

Fees: MLS $215, MLT $240*

Application, cont.

You’ll get an email from ASCP that your

application has been received and whenever

the status changes

– Will be processed within 45 days

Go to www.ascp.org/login

– Scroll down to BOC Activities icon

– Click View Application Status link

– Click Show Details to view current status

Go Forth and Schedule

Once ASCP has verified your eligibility, you’ll get an email Admission Notification

Contact Pearson Professional Centers to make your appointment

– Centers in Ann Arbor, Southfield, Troy, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Marquette

YOU MUST MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT WITHIN THE 3 MONTHS FOLLOWING THE DATE ON YOUR LETTER OR YOU HAVE TO START THIS PROCESS OVER, INCLUDING PAYING ANOTHER REGISTRATION FEE!!

Not that you’ll need it…

…but your application materials are good for

a total of 5 attempts

If you cancel your application, or skip/miss

your scheduled date (you can reschedule as

long as you do it more than one business

day before) you have to pay the fee again

and reapply… SO SHOW UP!

Test day: What to bring

Valid driver’s license, state/military ID, passport, or green card/visa and secondary ID with signature

– your name must match what’s on your admission letter or you have to reapply – are you sensing the pattern here?

– expired ID won’t be accepted

Non-programmable calculator (they will make you put the cover in a locker)

– No cell phone, purse, etc. You should have access to a locker, but leave it in the car just in case.

They will supply you with a white board for taking notes – don’t bring your own writing materials

What the test looks like

100 Multiple choice questions. Read the directions thoroughly to make sure you don’t have any questions before you start.

You have 2 hours 30 minutes

Computer-Adaptive Test adjusts difficulty of questions

You can flag questions for review

Questions test recall, application, or analysis

Each question is multiple choice

– Any visuals will be on-screen with the question

– Press letter key or use mouse to answer

– Change answers as many times as you want

Click ‘next’ to record answer and next question will

appear

You must answer each question

The last screen will have an END EXAM button…If you answer yes, your answers are recorded, so be SURE you don’t want to go back and look at anything again before you hit it! Once you hit YES, the test is over!

Did I pass??

Of course you did!

– You will see a preliminary result on the screen

once you submit your exam

– Notification to view your score at www.ASCP.org

will be emailed to you a few days later (you will

see only a total)

– Your program director will get your score broken

down into categories

Uh, oh. I didn’t pass.

If you don’t pass, you’ll get info on re-testing from ASCP with your exam score

Don’t reapply until you’ve received it

You can’t apply to test again until the next 3-month period

You can take the exam up to 5 times, but if you still haven’t passed after your last try, you are NO LONGER ELIGIBLE FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION VIA THE SAME ROUTE. So pass before you get to this point!!

– You can try again under a different route

I’m CERTIFIED!

You’ll get your

certificate in the

mail 3 to 5 weeks

after your exam. It

will include

information about

CMP requirements.

That’s the HOW, here’s the WHAT

http://ascp.org/PDF/BOC-PDFs/Guidelines/ExaminationContentGuidelineMLS.aspx

A total scaled score of 400 is required to pass (999 maximum)

Blood Bank (BBNK) 17-22%

Chemistry (CHEM) 17-22%

Hematology (HEMA) 17-22%

Immunology (IMMU) 5-10%

Laboratory Operations (LO) 5-10%

Microbiology (MICR) 17-22%

Urinalysis and Other Body Fluids (UA) 5-10%

http://ascp.org/PDF/BOC-PDFs/Guidelines/ExaminationContentGuidelineMLT.aspx

A total scaled score of 400 is required to pass (999 maximum)

Blood Bank (BBNK) 15-20%

Chemistry (CHEM) 20-25%

Hematology (HEMA) 20-25%

Immunology (IMMU) 5-10%

Laboratory Operations (LO) 5-10%

Microbiology (MICR) 15-20%

Urinalysis and Other Body Fluids (UA) 5-10%

Download the content outlines

They break down every subject into the exact

topics you might encounter

GREAT STUDY TOOL!!

Go through this before you study anything

else

– You can see your weaknesses and where to

focus your time

– You’ll see what you don’t need to waste time on

Tips for studying

Get a review book – This is the one I used ($90

on Amazon)

– Great overview of each subject

– Questions have full explanations of correct answers

– FYI: I found I could correctly answer about 70% of the questions in this book and I scored well on my exam

http://www.amazon.com/SUCCESS-Clinical-

Laboratory-Science-

4th/dp/0135126487/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF

8&qid=1393154259&sr=1-

4&keywords=clinical+lab+science

ASCP book also

available

– Can buy book alone

($85) or with app ($109)

This book uses

mnemonics and tables

to help you remember

– $200 on Amazon

– $60 from LSU http://alliedhealth.lsuhsc.edu/cl/reviewbook.

aspx

Be confident!!

Remember, you’ve been training for this

exam for at least 3 years. You know more

than you think you do! Go slow, read the

questions, and TRUST YOURSELF!!

Exam statistics

Year Mean SD Score RangeTotal taking exam Pass Fail

2015 469 119 100 942 4918 3533 72% 1385 28%

2014 486 111 100 894 4635 3613 78% 1022 22%

2013 485 108 101 867 4473 3504 78% 969 22%

2012 485 109 100 898 4298 3370 78% 928 22%

2011 487 105 121 978 3892 3078 79% 814 21%

2010 477 106 100 948 3960 3016 76% 944 24%

2009 473 103 120 935 3577 2712 76% 865 24%

Year Mean SD Score RangeTotal taking exam Pass Fail

2015 499 129 107 999 3445 2656 77% 789 23%

2014 485 124 100 919 3861 2833 73% 1028 27%

2013 485 120 100 960 3422 2537 74% 885 26%

2012 483 122 100 896 3244 2385 74% 859 26%

2011 485 119 139 956 2991 2219 74% 772 26%

2010 477 123 119 885 2644 1868 71% 776 29%

2009 479 121 159 968 2352 1700 72% 652 28%

MLS

MLT

My contact info

Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have

any questions (or if you want to get more

involved with ASCLS!)

reneesutton00@gmail.com