The department shall issue a clinical laboratory bioanalyst‘s license to each person who is a lawful holder of a degree of master of arts, master of science, or an equivalent or higher degree as determined by the department with a major in chemical, physical, biological, or clinical laboratory sciences. This education shall have been obtained in one or more established and reputable institutions maintaining standards equivalent, as determined by the department, to those institutions accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or an essentially equivalent accrediting agency, as determined by the department. The applicant also shall have a minimum of four years’ experience as a clinical laboratory scientist performing clinical laboratory work embracing the various fields of clinical laboratory activity in a clinical laboratory certified under CLIA. The quality and variety of this experience shall be satisfactory to the department and shall have been obtained within the six-year period immediately antecedent to admission to the examination. The applicant shall successfully pass a written examination and an oral examination conducted by the department or a committee designated by the department to conduct the examinations, indicating that the applicant is properly qualified. The department may issue a license without conducting a written examination to an applicant who has passed a written examination of a national accrediting board having requirements that are, in the determination of the department, equal to or greater than those required by this chapter and regulations adopted by the department. The department shall establish by regulation the required courses to be included in the college or university training.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 341, Sec. 3. (AB 940) Effective January 1, 2016.)