Cells are minute in size, but can be big indicators of healthfulness — or disease.

For students in Flathead Valley Community College’s medical laboratory technologist program, it’s their job to find out exactly what’s going on under the microscope. Medical technologists are key players in the diagnostic puzzle — testing blood and other bodily fluids using sophisticated procedures and equipment. They analyze the results and pass their findings to physicians, who rely on these tests to chart the course of their patients’ care.

The medical technologist program is in its second year at FVCC, and was born out of a partnership between the college and Kalispell Regional Medical Center, which recognized the growing demand for the profession. From 2014 to 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor projects an 18% increase in demand for medical technologists. Medical technologists have an average starting salary of $47,900, according to Glassdoor.com, based on 4,446 salaries, and with the program being only two years long, it’s a lower barrier of entry into the medical field.

Instructor and medical laboratory scientist Denise Pacovsky said the career was a popular choice for the baby-boomer generation, but now those workers are aging out of the workforce, creating a vacuum in the lab.

“All four of last year’s graduates had jobs before they even took their national certification exam,” Pacovsky noted.

Kasidy Zimmerman, of Creston, said the program appealed to her because lab work was a way to help others without getting too close.

“I really like helping people, but I also get really attached to people so when I was working as a CNA, I was like, this is too hard,” she said. “This [medical technologist career] is a really great way to be helping people without having to have that super personal connection — and I get to do a lot more research.”

Students spend their first year at FVCC completing prerequisites, followed by three semesters at Kalispell Regional where they focus on lab work and clinical rotations at KRMC, North Valley Hospital or Glacier Medical Associates. The inaugural class graduated in 2019, and three students are currently enrolled in the two-year program, which covers topics like hematology, urinalysis and immunology.

When it comes to blood testing for example, students learn how to look at cells and recognize abnormalities, along with blood banking where they determine blood types, look for antibodies and match donor blood to individual patients.

“It’s a big part of medicine — clinical lab test results are responsible for 70% to 80% of diagnostic decisions,” Pacovsky said. “We can learn if they have cancer, we can learn if their bone marrow is working appropriately, we can learn if they have an infection.”

She said the students spend a significant amount of time learning how to analyze cells and noted the job can be very detail-oriented.

“We spend hours and hours and hours at the microscope learning to differentiate them [cells[,” she explained. “By the time they’re through the program they’re pretty well-versed.”

Student Katherine Vonderahe, of Columbia Falls, said she finds looking at cells exciting and humbling at the same time because of the diagnosis her findings might be associated with.

“You have to find that balance between being able to do this and knowing that you could potentially be changing somebody’s life by giving that information to the physician,” Vonderahe said.

But fellow classmate Brooklan Silliker, of Whitefish, added that sometimes finding an abnormality can be a good thing.

“You’re potentially catching something that they could get help for … before it gets too late or too bad,” she said.

The field is constantly changing, according to Pacovsky, so future medical technologists should expect to take continuing education to keep up to date with the latest testing platforms and methodologies. “We learn new things all the time,” she said. “I think it’s exciting.”

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss can be reached at mreiss@dailyinterlake.com or (406) 758-4433.