Four exam content areas, including preanalytic procedure; analytical procedure for bacteriology; analytical procedure for virology, mycology, parasitology, and mycobacteriology, and lab operation.
In the microbiology exam content area, you will find detailed information regarding each subject, with key topics and sub-topics.

The ASCP Board of Certification presents two microbiology certification exams: M ASCP (Microbiology Technologist) and SM ASCP (Microbiology Specialist).

The board offers almost the same ASCP microbiology exam content area for both exams.

This exam content is also the same for both United States and international microbiologists who want to become ASCP-certified in the microbiology category.

Here we are going to cover the ASCP microbiology exam content area that helps you understand the syllabus clearly.

Preanalytic Procedure Of ASCP Microbiology Exam Content

The ASCP Board of Certification chooses 10-15% of questions for M ASCP and 5-10% for SM ASCP.

The classifications of Preanalytic procedures are: Specimen Collection & Transport, Specimen Processing, Stains: Principle, Procedure, and Interpretation.

Specimen Collection & Transport

Sample labeling and patient identification
Sample collection (Sterile technique, Sites with flora (like sputum, stool, wounds, and throat))
Transport systems of specimen conditions for all organisms (Atmosphere, temperature and time, transport devices)

Specimen Processing

Specimen rejection criteria and prioritization
Personal protective equipment and biosafety cabinet
Specimen applications and preparation methods (DNA/RNA extraction, concentration, sterile technique, tissue homogenization, decontamination/digestion, cross-contamination prevention).
Inoculation of media: Semiquantitative, Quantitative, Automated plating instrument
Incubation conditions: temperature, duration and atmosphere
Slides used preparation methods for stains
Media:Components, fungi and mycobacteria recovery media, selection of organisms and specimen types, application/use

Stains: Principle, Procedure, and Interpretation

Trichrome
Modified acid-fast
Gram
Acridine orange
Giemsa
KOH & calcofluor-white
Acid-fast
Modified trichrome (SM ONLY)

Analytic Procedure for Bacteriology Of ASCP Microbiology Exam Content

It overcomes the huge part of the ASCP microbiology exam content area.

45-55% of exam questions are chosen from this part for the ASCP M exam and 30-40% of questions are selected for the SM ASCP exam.

Categories of Analytic Procedure for Bacteriology are Blood and Bone Marrow, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Body Fluids from Normally Sterile Sites, Lower Respiratory, Upper Respiratory, Gastrointestinal, Skin, Bone, and Soft Tissue, Genital Tract, Urine, Identification Methods, Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing & Antibiotic Resistance, ESBL/CRE, MRSA/MSSA, VRE Screening, and BSL-3 Pathogens & Select Agents.

Blood and Bone Marrow

Monitoring systems (continuous))
Specimen sources: peripheral, intravenous catheter, etc.
Resistance detection process and rapid identification
Major pathogens identification (e.g., Staphylococcus spp. (coagulase-negative staphylococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae, beta-hemolytic streptococci)
Clinical significance and species consisting of skin flora
Bone marrow infection agents (Salmonella spp., Brucella spp.)
Endocarditis’s common agents.

Cerebrospinal Fluid

Pathogenicity of organisms, like virulence mechanisms, etiology, and transmission.
Molecular methods and antigen detection
Lab results correlation
Shunt infections infection common agents like other Staphylococcus spp. (Propionibacterium spp., Cutibacterium spp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria meningitides, and Haemophilus influenzae)
Specimen sources like shunts, lumbar punctures, and reservoirs

Body Fluids from Normally Sterile Sites

Specimen sources like amniotic, pericardial, peritoneal, vitreous & aqueous humor, and synovial.
Indigenous organisms associated with skin and mucosal surfaces.
Pathogen identification (like Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Clostridium perfringens, Enterobacteriaceae) and colony morphology.
Molecular methods
Organism pathogenicity, like virulence mechanisms

Lower Respiratory

Sample sources like bronchial brush, bronchial wash, endotracheal aspirate, and bronchoalveolar lavage.
Consequence of quantitative & semiquantitative results’s reporting
Comparison of oral flora colony and Gram stain morphology species
Colony morphology and pathogen identification (Healthcare-associated pneumonia (Enterobacteriaceae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Legionella pneumophila, Staphylococcus aureus, etc.,), Cystic fibrosis (Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, etc), and Community-associated pneumonia (Haemophilus influenzae, Legionella pneumophila, etc)
Molecular methods
Organism pathogenicity, like transmission

Upper Respiratory

Specimen sources, e.g., nasopharynx, throat, sinus, middle ear
Gram stain morphology & indigenous flora colony
Pathogen identification, including sinusitis and otitis media (Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus
pneumoniae), Pharyngitis (Streptococcus pyogenes, Arcanobacterium spp., Bordetella pertussis [SM ONLY], Corynebacterium diphtheria [SM ONLY])
Molecular methods and Antigen detection (e.g., Bordetella
Pertussis).
Pathogenicity of organisms (e.g. virulence mechanisms)

Gastrointestinal

Major pathogens pathogens (e.g., toxigenic Escherichia coli, Aeromonas spp., Plesiomonas shigelloides, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Vibrio spp.) and colony morphology.
Molecular methods and antigen detection, including Shiga toxin, and Clostridioides difficile.
Serotyping of Shigella spp., Escherichia coli, and Salmonella
Spp.
Helicobacter pylori detection methods
Organism pathogenicity

Skin, Bone, and Soft Tissue

Specimen sources, including wound, biopsy, and abscess.
Gram stain morphology and indigenous flora colony
Identification of major pathogens, including skin (e.g., Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus aureus, beta-hemolytic streptococci), soft tissue (e.g., beta-hemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, anaerobes), Bite wound (e.g., Eikenella corrodens, and Pasteurella multocida), Zoonotic infections (e.g., Francisella, Brucella spp., Yersinia spp.) and colony morphology.
Organism pathogenicity like transmission, etiology, etc.

Genital Tract

Sample sources (e.g., endocervical, vaginal, urethral, and cervical)
Gram stain morphology & indigenous organisms' colony
Pathogen detection methods associated with vaginitis, include bacterial vaginosis, Candida spp., Trichomonas vaginalis.
Molecular detection (e.g., Streptococcus agalactiae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma spp.)
Organism pathogenicity like virulence mechanisms

Urine

Specimen sources include suprapubic, midstream clean-catch, nephrostomy, catheterized, and and suprapubic.
Pathogens identification ( Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus spp.,) and colony morphology
Clinical significance associated with correlation of colony counts
Urinalysis results in culture correlation

Identification Methods

Colony morphology
MALDI-TOF MS
Sequencing (e.g., 16S)
Commercial kits
Molecular methods
Automated methods
Presumptive identification rapid tests (e.g., catalase, oxidase, PYR)
Biochemical identification (Conventional )

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing & Antibiotic Resistance

Application, theory, interpretation, and method (Gradient diffusion, Disk diffusion, Micro broth dilution)
Resistance phenotypic detection (e.g., inducible clindamycin
resistance, ESBL, carbapenamases)
Major antibiotic classes' action mechanisms
The detection method of resistance‘s genetic determinants (blaKPC, vanA, mecA)
Common species' intrinsic resistance patterns

ESBL/CRE, MRSA/MSSA, VRE Screening

Molecular method
Culture method
Specimen sources

BSL-3 Pathogens & Select Agents

Sample sources include lymph nodes, sputum, blood, and tissue.
Role of regional lab & Lab Response Network
Organism pathogenicity, including, etiology, virulence mechanisms, etc
Colony morphology & presumptive identification rapid tests (Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis)

Analytical Procedure for Virology, Mycology, Parasitology, and Mycobacteriology Microbiology Exam Content

This content area navigates 20-30% of the M ASCP exam and 30-40% of the SM ASCP exam.

Classification of Analytical Procedure for Virology, Mycology, Parasitology, and Mycobacteriology ASCP Microbiology Exam Content: Mycobacteriology and Nocardia spp, Virology, Parasitology, Mycology, and Serology.

Mycobacteriology and Nocardia spp

Specimen sources include soft tissue, blood, and lower respiratory.
Colony morphology, Acid-fast reaction, and
growth characteristics ( Major pathogens (M. kansasii, M. tuberculosis, and M. abscessus group), Common contaminants (M.
gordonae), Mycobacterium pathogens (M. scrofulaceum, M. leprae) (SM only)
Molecular methods of direct detection
Method of identification (MALDI-TOF MS)
Antimicrobial therapy ( Rapid growers (SM ONLY), M. marinum, M. kansasii, MAI (SM ONLY), M. tuberculosis (XDR)
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (Critical concentration, Broth microdilution, resistance markers, direct detection) (SM only)
Organism pathogenicity (e.g., transmission, etiology, virulence mechanisms)

Virology

Sample sources
Disease state and major pathogens (e.g., epidemiology, etiology, transmission) Lesions and vesicles (e.g., VZV, HSV), Meningitis (e.g., enterovirus, HSV), Gastroenteritis (e.g., adenovirus, rotavirus, norovirus), Hepatitis (e.g., HCV, HAV, HBV), Respiratory (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, parainfluenza virus, influenza virus, RSV), Immunocompromised host (e.g., BKV, EBV, CMV, HSV), other viruses (e.g.,West Nile, MERS, Zika, HTL) ( SMonly)
Pathogens direct detection
Antiviral agents resistance and mechanisms of action

Parasitology

Specimen sources (e.g., tissue, blood, stool, respiratory)
Disease state and major pathogens (transmission, epidemiology, etiology) (Urogenital and intestinal protozoa ( Entamoeba spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp.), Blood and tissue protozoa (Trypanosoma spp., Plasmodium spp., etc), Intestinal & tissue helminths (e.g., Enterobius spp., Ascaris spp., Strongyloides spp., Diphylobothrium spp., Trichinella spp.), Brain (Acanthamoeba spp., Toxoplasma spp.), Arthropods and insects ( bed bugs, scabies, ticks, and mites) and additional parasites including flukes and filaria)
Macroscopic and microscopic identification
Molecular detection and Direct antigen

Mycology

Specimen sources: Systemic and deep (e.g., tissue, bone, respiratory), Systemic (e.g., bone marrow, blood), Superficial (e.g., nails, hair, skin)
Disease states and major pathogens: Hyaline molds (e.g., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp., Scedosporium apiospermum complex, Fusarium spp.), Mucorales (e.g., Rhizopus spp., Mucor
spp.), Dermatophytes (e.g., Microsporum spp., Trichophyton spp.), Dimorphic fungi ( Sporothrix schenckii, Blastomyces spp., Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidiodes spp.), Yeasts (e.g., Malassezia spp., Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp.)
Colony morphology
Pathogen growth characteristics (temperature, length of
Incubation, growth rate)
major pathogen's microscopic identification
Molecular detection and direct antigen
Other methods of identification (e.g., automated methods, biochemical, MALDITOF MS)

Serology

Immunoglobulin reaction to infection (IgA, IgG, and IgM)
Antibody-antigen interactions: testing methods (chemiluminescence, nontreponemal, agglutination, immunofluorescence, EIA), principles.
Epidemiology of viral pathogens, serodiagnosis, and clinical significance (CMV, measles, EBV, hepatitis [A, B, C], rubella)
Tuberculosis infection of Serodiagnosis (interferon-gamma release assay)
Serodiagnosis of Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum and stages of infection.

Laboratory Operation ASCP Microbiology Exam Content

The ASCP BOC selects the 10-15% questions for M ASCP and 20-25% for SM ASCP from lab operation.

It is categorized into following types: Postanalytic Procedures, Quality Assessment/Troubleshooting, Safety, Laboratory Mathematics, Instrumentation, and Laboratory Administration (SM ONLY)

Postanalytic Procedures

Issuing right reports
Critical and urgent value reporting
Auto verification and result review
Reporting to infection & public health
Documentation practices
Antibiogram preparation and antimicrobial stewardship (SM only)

Quality Assessment/Troubleshooting

POCT (Point-of-care testing)
Root-cause analysis
Quality control
Postanalytical, analytical, and preanalytical
Regulations (e.g., competency assessment, proficiency testing,
accreditation standards)

Safety

Practices and safety programs (Safe work practices, Safety data sheets used for reagents and chemicals, usages of PPE ( personal protective equipment)
Transportation and packaging of microorganisms and specimens
Emergency methods (needlesticks, fire)

Laboratory Mathematics

Volume, concentration, and dilutions
Standard curves
Molarity, normality
Predictive value, specificity, and sensitivity
Confidence intervals, median, mode, and mean

Instrumentation

Centrifuge
Thermocycler
MALDI-TOF MS
Spectrophotometer
blood culture system continuous-monitoring
Automated susceptibility antimicrobial system
Microscope

Laboratory Administration (SM ONLY)

Quality management: Continuous quality improvement, medical-legal issues, risk management, individualized Quality Control Plan.
Personnel: Conflict resolution, disciplinary action, and counseling; Performance standards; productivity and staffing
Financial: Capital equipment acquisition; Budgets; inventory, purchasing; reimbursement, cost analysis
Operations: Test validation/verification; Information technology; customer service; Facility management (design, laboratory, utilities); customer service

Interested in ASCP Microbiology, Check Exam Contnet?

FAQs for ASCP Microbiology Exam Content Guidelines

How many exams does ASCP conduct for microbiology experts?

The ASCP BOC conducts two exams for microbiology: M ASCP and SM ASCP.

Does the ASCP BOC determine the different exam content areas for M ASCP and SM ASCP?

No, the BOC presents the same exam content area for M ASCP and SM ASCP.

What is the difference between the M ASCP and the SM ASCP?

The M ASCP is for technologists and the SM ASCP is for specialists in microbiology.

Elshawadfy Abdelhalim, PhD, MLS(ASCP), SM, MB

Abdelhalim Elshawadfy is an ASCP certified Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS ASCP), Specialist in Microbiology (SM ASCP), and Molecular Biology Technologist (MB ASCP) with a distinguished career marked by expertise, continuous learning, and a commitment to elevating the standards of clinical laboratory science. As an ASCP Certification Expert and American Board Certification Expert, Abdelhalim Elshawadfy continues to make invaluable contributions to the field, leaving a lasting impact on the medical community.

www.drhalim.com

Sources: ASCP BOC.

ASCP Microbiology Exam Content Guidelines Per ASCP BOC