SCYM ASCP Specialist in Cytometry Certification: Eligibility Routes, Exam Content Area, Study Material, Reading List and Exam Preparation

SCYM ASCP Specialist in cytometry is a powerful certificate that works extraordinarily to give you an elite identity in your medical lab field. Many other medical lab certificates are present that are valuable, but no one can be an alternative to the SCYM ASCP credential.

You become a highly demanded person for any hospital by getting this certificate. Because this credential enhances your experience, skills, and reputation many times more.

In this article, we will explain all about this specialist certificate including the exam content area, reading list, study material, and prep course. Besides this, you will get the best tricks to pass BOC exam.

What Does SCYM (ASCP) Mean?

The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) offers many certificates to medical lab professionals to add advancement to their certifications. One of these certificates is the ASCP cytometry specialist, awarded to candidates who are specialists in cytometry.

SCYM ASCP has advanced knowledge in research and clinical experience in the area of flow cytometry. With their experience, they can lead the implementation and development of new cytometry assays. They are responsible for solving any issues with flow cytometry, including technical, regulatory, and quality.

To get an ASCP cytometry specialist certificate, you must have extensive knowledge of instrumentation, applications, laboratory operations, panel/experiment design, and data.

SCYM ASCP Vs. SCYM ASCPi

ASCP BOC offers technologist, specialist, and technician credentials to medical professionals all over the world. Therefore, these certificates are divided into two categories, ASCP and ASCPi due to the candidates' residence.

The SCYM ASCP certificate is for U.S. candidates, and the SCYM (ASCPi) is for international candidates. The exam format, reading list resources, and exam syllabus are similar for both, but the application fees and eligibility requirements are separate.

Requirements for an SCYM ASCP Cytometry Specialist?

The ASCP Board of Certification (BOC) determined some eligibility criteria that are vital to meet before applying. These eligibility criteria are called eligibility routes in the ASCP world. Following are the eligibility routes for U.S. and international candidates.

Eligibility Route for U.S. Applicants

• Route 1: Baccalaureate degree in engineering, physics, or other related field or baccalaureate degree in physics, biology, or chemistry with a combination of 30 semester hours in each. And flow cytometry four years of clinical experience from an acceptable lab. Or four years of veterinary, industry, or research flow cytometry lab experience in Canada or the U.S.

• Route 2:  ASCP technologist or specialist certification and a baccalaureate degree. And flow cytometry lab clinical experience of three years. Or flow cytometry lab research, veterinary, or industry experience in the U.S. or Canada.

• Route 3: Master’s degree in physics, biological science, engineering, or a relevant field. And clinical experience of three years in a flow cytometry lab. Or three years of veterinary, industry, or research experience in a flow cytometry lab in the U.S. or Canada.

• Route 4: A doctorate in biological science, engineering, or physics from an approved institution. And flow cytometry laboratory with two years of clinical experience. Or industry, veterinary, or research experience in a flow cytometry laboratory in Canada or the U.S.

Eligibility Route for International Applicants

• Route 1: Baccalaureate degree in biological/life science, engineering, physics, or a related field, or a bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in physics, biology, or chemistry. And flow cytometry laboratory: four years of clinical experience or industry, veterinary, or research experience in flow cytometry lab.

• Route 2:  Specialist (ASCP or ASCPi) or Technologist (ASCP or ASCPi) certification and a baccalaureate degree. And flow cytometry, three years of clinical experience, or industry, research, or veterinary experience in a flow cytometry lab.

• Route 3: Master’s degree in physics, engineering, biological/life science, or another field. And three years of flow cytometry laboratory clinical experience or three years of veterinary, research, or industry experience in a flow cytometry lab.

• Route 4: Doctorate in engineering, physics, biological/life science, or another related field. And flow cytometry laboratory: two years of clinical experience or two years of industry, research, or veterinary experience in flow cytometry lab.

Laboratory Experience for SCYM (ASCP/ASCPi)

Candidates must have lab experience in at least one of the following.

Flow Cytometry Applications

• Therapeutic drug monitoring
• Functional assays
• Imaging cytometry
• Multiplex bead assays
• Microparticle/Microorganism analysis
• Rare event analysis
• Progenitor cells
• Apoptosis
• Cell sorting
• DNA Ploidy/cell cycle analysis
• Analysis of red blood cell
• Immunophenotyping

Cytometric Analysis

Candidates must have experience in three of the following

• Specimen analysis
• Interpretation of results
• Specimen processing
• Data management
• Instrument set-up

Quality Assurance

Experience required in three of following

• Safety
• Proficiency testing and quality control
• Documentation, validation, and assay selection
• Specimen collection, storage, and processing
• Instrument maintenance and operation
• Reagent preparation, selection, disposal, and storage

SCYM ASCP Exam for Specialists in Cytometry

SCYM ASCP/ASCPi comprises 100 MCQs each come with one correct answer. ASCP BOC fixed a 2-hour and 30-minute time frame to complete this test.

Laboratory operations (10–15%), applications (25–30%), panel/experiment design (25–30%), data (15–20%), and instrumentation (15–20%) are BOC-determined exam content areas with question percentages for ASCP specialists in cytometry.

The total score range for the ASCP specialists in the cytometry test is 0-999, and 400 is the minimum score that is necessary to earn the certificate.

CAT is the format for ASCP specialists in cytometry tests that shows easy or tough questions based on the candidates' previous answers.

SCYM ASCP Exam Content Guidelines & Study Guide

The ASCP Board of Certification determines the study guide (exam syllabus) for the ASCP cytometry specialist exam. This study guide describes all about the exam syllabus including topics, sub-topics, and subjects.

Laboratory Operations Study Guide

• Safety
• Quality control
• Laboratory administration
• Assay validation

Applications Study Guide

• Immunophenotyping
• DNA ploidy/Cell cycle
• Rare event analysis
• Mass cytometry
• Cell sorting
• Solid organ transplant
• Stem cell analysis
• Stem cell analysis
• Fetal hemoglobin assay
• Multiplex bead assays
• Imaging cytometry

Instrumentation Study Guide

• Electronic instrumentation
• Troubleshooting
• Optical
• Fluidic

Date Study Guide

• Data standards
• Troubleshooting
• Data modeling techniques
• Statistical methods
• Quantitative cytometry
• Data display
• Signal processing

Panel/Experiment Design Study Guide

• Sample source
• Sample preparation & staining
• Sample integrity
• Cell enrichment
• Assay development
• Fluorochrome selection
• Assay controls
• Assay optimization
• Spectral overlap & compensation

BOC Reading List for SCYM ASCP

ASCP BOC also recommends exam preparation resources in the form of textbooks, journals, and online associations.

Journal

• International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC) flow cytometry shared resource laboratory (SRL) best practices
• Guidelines for the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting in immunological studies (second edition)
• Special Issue: Validation of Cell‐Based Fluorescence Assays: Practice Guidelines from the International Council for Standardization of Haematology and the International Clinical Cytometry Society
• MIFlowCyt: The minimum information about a flow cytometry experiment
• Flow Cytometry
• MIFlowCyt-EV: a framework for standardized reporting of extracellular vesicle flow cytometry experiments
• Modern Flow Cytometry: A Practical Approach

Textbook

• Flow Cytometry: First Principles 2nd Edition
• Flow Cytometry Protocols (Methods in Molecular Biology, 1678) 4th ed. 2018 Edition
• Immunophenotyping: Methods and Protocols (Methods in Molecular Biology, 2032) 1st ed. 2019 Edition
• Flow Cytometry in Clinical Diagnosis eBook
• Validation of Assays Performed by Flow Cytometry, 1st Edition
• Color Atlas of Flow Cytometry Hardcover – January 30, 2023
• Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods 24th Edition
• Flow Cytometry in Hematopathology: A Visual Approach to Data Analysis and Interpretation (Current Clinical Pathology) 2nd Edition
• WHO Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues Revised Edition
• Advanced Flow Cytometry: Applications in Biological Research 2003rd Edition
• Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 6th Edition
• Laboratory Management, Principles and Processes, Fourth Edition

Online Association

• The Single Cell Omics Group
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (includes CLIA regulations)
• Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)
• Clinical Cytometry Education Network (CCEN)
• Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA)
• College of American Pathologists (CAP)
• International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC) Cyto University
• International Clinical Cytometry Society (ICCS)
• International Clinical Cytometry Society (ICCS) Quality and Standards Committee
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

Study Material for ASCP Specialists in Cytometry

Your secret to getting an ASCP cytometry specialist certificate is hidden in your study material. If you choose perfect, your success is guaranteed; otherwise, it becomes a challenge for you to pass the SCYM (ASCP) exam. Hence, be informative in selecting reading material for exam preparation. Your learning material has the following features;

Conclusive (Offer all essential details)

Your selective material must offer details about the total exam content area. ASCP BOC offers many preparation resources that cannot be covered in a limited amount of time. Therefore, your study material must describe BOC resources in order to offer complete details for exam preparation.

Comprehensive

A comprehensive study material does not waste your time by offering unwanted content. It emphasizes only the crucial information.

All-in-One Solution (Unified Study Material)

It covers all exam syllabuses in one unified study material. It must be a complete source and reduce the need to choose another one.

Budget Concise

It must be budget-concise so that everyone can approach it.

Easy-to-Understand

It must simplify the content via images, graphs, and diagrams.

The study material that has all these features, not someone else, is only MLSIA's study material.

Practice Test for SCYM ASCP Specialists in Cytometry Certification

What is the role of practice questions in exam preparation? A practice test is a very effective weapon that gives you a better idea of important exam questions. Practice tests give you high confidence to sit in the exam.

With the help of a practice test, you know about your weaknesses, and you can overcome them by practicing on practice tests.

Where can you get practice tests for the ASCP cytometry specialist test? You must subscribe to the MLSIACADEMY prep bundle, which offers practice tests along with study material.

Question Bank for SCYM ASCP Exam

Question banks are a collection of the most important questions that are likely to appear in the final exam.

MLSIACADEMY.com prep bundle also offers a question bank in its prep bundle. This is why MLSIA offers you a 100% success guarantee.

Pass Rate of ASCP Specialists in Cytometry Exam

Exam Prep for ASCP Cytometry Specialist

An excellent preparation course takes care of students' needs. It offers all that is essential to passing the exam. It arranged the ideal tutors, the most effective resources, and the most efficient method to deliver content.

The MLSIACADEMY prep bundle offers incredible services to its students that help them pass the exam on their first attempt. MLSIA experts stand with students from the first day (sign-up) to the last of the exam.

What services of MLSIA offer

• ASCP specialists in cytometry live online classes
• Recordings of the classes are also available for those students who cannot attend live classes on time.
• All-in-one solution study material (covering the BOC recommended reading list and exam content area for ASCP cytometry specialists)
• Practice questions and questions bank
• Sign-up bonus

How To Become an ASCP Cytometry Specialist

FAQs for the ASCP Cytometry Specialist