The Council on National Certification (CNC) is the body charged with the guardianship of the CSMLS certification program. They are responsible for establishing CSMLS policy on issues of certification and for ongoing maintenance of the certification process.

In the 1990s, CSMLS made a transition from a syllabus-based to a competency-based certification to prepare future medical laboratory technologists to meet the demands of an increasingly complex health care system. CSMLS currently offers entry-level medical laboratory technologist certification in three areas: General Medical Laboratory Technology, Diagnostic Cytology and Clinical Genetics.

The CNC develops competency profiles in consultation with employers, practitioners and educators. The profiles are designed to provide a certification process which assures employers that graduates of Canadian accredited training programs and other candidates deemed equivalent by the CSMLS have met specific learning outcomes and have developed broader-based skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving. The competency profiles are reviewed on a regular basis and when necessary, are revised to keep them current.

The outcomes of learning identified by the competency profiles give medical laboratory technologists the knowledge and skills required to provide the health care system with high quality laboratory services both now and in the future. It is the position of the CNC that fragmenting the competency profiles is not a solution to human resource shortages in the field of medical laboratory science.

The CSMLS competency profiles prepare medical laboratory technologists to function as members of multi-disciplinary health care teams, thereby enhancing the quality of patient care for all Canadians. The CNC is confident that with careful planning, the human resource needs of the health care system can be met without fragmenting the competency profiles.

Initially approved March 7, 2001
Revised November 5, 2005