MLS Resource Hub

A comprehensive resource website for MLS graduates preparing for their licensure exam.

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Inspiration

Our group is comprised of individuals of varying backgrounds. One of our members graduated with a Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) degree in December 2023 and consistently noticed the lack of awareness of the field, which echoed when attempting to find resources to help her prepare for her licensure exam. In an attempt to bring more awareness to the field, provide free accessible resources to her fellow MLS graduates, and build a community, the MLS Resource Hub was created.

What it does

The MLS Resource Hub serves as a website where users can browse between tabs to learn more about MLS in the About MLS tab, view the upload form in the Upload Resources tab, and most notably, access a chatting feature in the Discuss tab where users can chat with fellow users about everything MLS.

How we built it

Utilizing the MERN stack, a webpage had been created on the front-end using React while Node and Express were used for the back-end development of the chat feature.

Challenges we ran into

  1. Varying time zones made it difficult to consistently meet at times (EST, CST, and NST)
  2. Huge learning curve for some members implementing MERN stack
  3. Completing the backend and integrating it

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Naseha: Coming from a non-traditional background in tech, and only a few months into a data science boot camp. I am proud to have been able to take the learning curve and utilize the JavaScript programming language for front-end development.

Shamima: Typically participating in hackathons alone, I am proud to have taken on the challenge of working in a team and helping my teammates learn the MERN stack as fast as possible.

  • search functionality
  • discuss functionality
  • backend integration in 20 minutes :)

Manisha: I am proud of taking part in my first-ever hackathon and attempting to utilize backend development architecture like Node.js which I have never used before.

What we learned

Due to our varying backgrounds we've learned various aspects ranging from programming development to how to work well together as a team. Most of the team was not familiar with the MERN stack used and therefore, this was our first time completing a full-stack development project along with using languages we had never used before.

What's next for MLS Resource Hub

  1. We would like to integrate AI into the uploaded resources where they would be analyzed and practice questions may be complied for users.
  2. Editing our user interface design to match the rest of the site would be helpful for user experience.
  3. Integrate a login feature so materials can be protected from malicious third-party attributes.
  4. Complete back-end integration and development

References:

  1. Licensure Exam Statistics: https://www.ascp.org/content/docs/default-source/boc-pdfs/boc_statistical_reports/international-exam-stats-2022.pdf?sfvrsn=4
  2. Front End UI Templates: https://tailwindui.com/components#product-application-ui
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