This dissertation dealt with the problem of devising more relevant chemistry instructional materials for potential medical laboratory technicians. The investigation was designed to determine: 1. competencies needed by medical laboratory technicians in the of their jobs; and 2. the chemistry topics and/or concepts which would aid in the achievement of these needed competencies. A questionnaire consisting of fifty items written in performance terms, was developed and sent to approximately 400 persons located in the following four groups: 1. chemistry teachers at community colleges having medical laboratory technician programs in operation as of 1970; 2. designers of medical laboratory technician programs at community colleges; 3. supervisors of medical laboratory technicians working in hospitals or clinical laboratories; and 4. medical laboratory technicians who graduated from a community college and had worked a minimum of two years on the job. The respondents were asked to indicate the importance and the frequency of application of each skill. From the literature and through interviews and observations, a list of chemistry topics and/or concepts was developed for each item. The were asked to indicate those chemistry topics which they would aid in the achievement of the skill contained in each item. Several conclusions were drawn as a result of the information collected from the questionnaire. First, many professional persons in the area of medical technology were completely ignorant of the relatively new career in medical technology--that of medical laboratory technician. Second, the responses of the chemistry teachers indicated that, as a group, they had a negative attitude about the study. Most indicated that they did not know what skills a medical laboratory technician needed to be able to perform or how often the technician would perform these skills. The medical laboratory technicians who answered the questionnaires were pleased that such an investigation was being conducted. Most agreed that much of the chemistry they had received was irrelevant to their needs. Results of a chi-square statistical test performed on each item indicated that differences of opinions occurred among the four groups. In general, more differences of opinion were found for the frequency of application of skill rather than its importance. The chemistry teachers disagreed significantly more on various items than did the other three groups. This investigation was a successful effort to use questionnaires to determine the competencies needed by medical laboratory technicians and the chemistry content needed to achieve these competencies. The major product of this investigation was an outline of competency-based chemistry instructional materials for the preparation of medical laboratory technicians. / Ed. D.