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Industry Insights

Preparing for the American Board of Bioanalysis Exams

By: Alli Hill, Recruiting Associate, Lighthouse Lab Services

One of the approved board certifications you can obtain to become eligible as a high-complexity CLIA lab director (HCLD) is from the American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB). There are five different levels of this board certification:

  • Bioanalyst Clinical Laboratory Director (BCLD)
  • High-complexity Clinical Laboratory Director (HCLD)
  • Public Health Laboratory Director (PHLD)
  • Embryology Laboratory Director (ELD)
  • Andrology Laboratory Director (ALD).

It is important to note that three of these certifications will automatically qualify you as a CLIA lab director (BCLD, HCLD, PHLD), while the ALD certification is only offered to certified HCLDs who additionally pass the Andrology and General Knowledge examinations. If you are looking to sit for the ELD examination, you should be aware that embryology laboratories have yet to be specifically categorized and overseen by CLIA; thus, solely obtaining this certification does not currently qualify you as a high-complexity CLIA lab director and, instead or in addition, you must obtain either the BCLD, HCLD or PHLD certification.

Because this guide is meant to assist in offering education regarding those qualifications that qualify one as a high-complexity CLIA lab director, we will only be exploring the BCLD, HCLD, and PHLD certifications in-depth below.

 

How to apply

All applications for the American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB) must be completed online at the American Association of Bioanalysts (aab.org). With this application, you must have the following information/documents ready:

  • Education information
  • Employment history
  • License or certification (if applicable)
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • List of scientific papers/awards received
  • Academic transcripts
  • Accepted credit card

(Note: be sure to select ALL the specialties in which you wish to be certified. Failure to do so will result in needing to resubmit your application for those additional specialties)

 

How to prepare for the ABB exam(s)

After successful processing of your ABB application, you will receive an approval letter that allows you two exam administrations (fall and spring) to complete the exam. You will also receive a content outline and a list of reference material. Finally, you will receive an examination confirmation form. To ensure you have a saved seat on exam day, please fill out the examination confirmation form with the exam date you wish to take your exam. The three tools you should use to help guide your studying are the following:

  1. The content outline and reference material mailed to you by the ABB after application
  2. AAB study guides and publications: AAB Online Store
  3. AAB online course offerings: AAB Online Courses

 

Bioanalyst Clinical Laboratory Director (BCLD) qualifications

(as stated by the American Board of Bioanalysis website BCLD – American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB) (aab.org))

  1. Hold a doctoral degree with a focus on chemical, physical, biological, or clinical laboratory science
  2. Have four years of experience within the last ten years on human specimens in an acceptable clinical laboratory gained at the minimum level of a medical technologist.
  • A minimum of 2 years of experience must include directing or supervising high-complexity testing in a clinical setting

AND

  • A minimum of four years of experience in at least three of the following clinical laboratory disciplines are required:
  1. Chemistry
  2. Diagnostic Immunology
  3. Hematology
  4. Microbiology or Public Health Microbiology
  5. Molecular Diagnostics
  6. Pass an ABB examination in General Knowledge and at least 3 of the clinical laboratory disciplines mentioned above.

 

High-Complexity Clinical Laboratory Director (HCLD) qualifications

(as stated by the American Board of Bioanalysis website HCLD – American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB) (aab.org))

  1. Hold a doctoral degree with a focus on chemical, physical, biological, or clinical laboratory science.
  2. Have a minimum of four years of experience in the last ten years that includes directing or supervising high-complexity testing in a clinical setting and at least one year of experience in the technical disciplines on which the exam is based
  3. Pass an ABB exam in General Knowledge and at least one of the following laboratory disciplines or specialties:
  • Andrology
  • Chemistry (urinalysis, endocrinology, and toxicology)
  • Diagnostic Immunology
  • Embryology
  • Hematology (flow cytometry)
  • Microbiology (bacteriology, parasitology, virology, and mycology)
  • Molecular Diagnostics
  • Public Health Microbiology

 

 

Public Health Laboratory Director (PHLD) qualifications

(as stated by the American Board of Bioanalysis website PHLD – American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB) (aab.org))

  1. Hold a doctoral degree with a focus on chemical, physical, biological, or clinical laboratory science.
  2. Have a minimum of four years of experience in the last ten years that includes experience with human testing on non-human material for a diagnosis and/or identification of diseases/pathogens related to human or human disease/pathogen AND a minimum of two years of experience in the last ten years directing or supervising high-complexity testing in a clinical setting
  3. Pass an ABB exam in General Knowledge and Public Health Microbiology

 

Scores and certifications

After completion of the exam(s) you should receive a secure email. The login to obtain your results will be the same as your application login. This email will state if you passed your exam, and you should receive it 4-6 weeks after the exam period. The letter will give you the percentage of answers you answered correctly in each area. Those who are a member of the AAB will receive their ABB certification shortly after this letter. Those who are not AAB members must either join or pay the ABB Continuing Education fee to obtain their certification.

If you are unsuccessful in passing the exam, you are eligible to retake the exam up to three times. After your second attempt, the board requires you to take a year of continued education to sit for a third attempt. After the third attempt and if you are still unsuccessful, you will need to reapply with the ABB and show that more training and/or education was completed in order to retake this exam again.

 

Next steps

If you’ve successfully completed your American Board of Bioanalysis exam and are now seeking new career opportunities, Lighthouse is happy to assist you! We have an extensive network of clients in need of lab directors to fill full- and part-time positions, including remote opportunities. Reach out to us at any time to schedule a free consultation with our Lab Director Services Team!

 

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