Risks In Moving to Post Baccalaureate Entry for CLS/MT


Risks more likely to result in reality:

• All accredited hospital based programs will close*

• Some Baccalaureate Degree programs will close*

• Administrators and faculty in closed programs will lose jobs or be reassigned*

• Further fractionation of CLS/MT practitioners,
educators, managers from philosophical differences

• Number of graduates will decrease further exacerbating the workforce shortage

• Initially, Post Baccalaureate Degrees will not be appropriately recognized by laboratory employers and will not result in newly assigned staff roles with increased compensation for several years

• NAACLS will lose significant income

• CLS/MT’s without Post Baccalaureate Degrees will feel threatened and alienated

• Accusations that NAACLS is trying to elevate the level of the profession by artificially raising the educational standardsat the expense of employers who will be expected to pay higher wages

*COMMENTS: While many programs will likely close, it is quite possible that these programs will close anyway for many other reasons. Therefore the future of existing programs in today’s environment is totally unpredictable.


Risks less likely to result in reality:

• Applicant pool will decrease because potential students will choose to pursue other professions because of increased costs and time to enter the workforce

• Relationships between clinical and academic institutions may become more distant and strained


Barriers To Overcome In Moving to Post Baccalaureate Entry for CLS/MT


Perceived Barriers That Are Not Likely Real:

• Programs will have to completely overhaul and revise their curriculum

• Employer costs for laboratory services will increase (If staffing shifted to more CLT/MLT’s and fewer CLS/MT’s, and if CLS/MT’s were utilized appropriately, total laboratory costs could decrease even with increased salaries for both CLT/MLT’s and CLS/MT’s)

• There are not enough CLS/MT’s with post Baccalaureate Degrees to serve as faculty in post Baccalaureate Degree programs. (There are few CLS/MT’s with doctoral level degrees, but many have graduate level degrees and are currently teaching in CLS programs)

• Certification agencies may not support accreditation changes with changes in exam content. (Certifying bodies, by their nature and historically, react to changes in accreditation after they are implemented. While this may be a perceived barrier initially, it will not be a permanent barrier).

• Assumption that the number of graduates will decrease because of fewer programs and fewer applicants


Barriers That Are Likely To Be Real:

• Employer attitudes about and poor understanding of the knowledge and skills of CLS/MT’s and how they should be used effectively in the clinical laboratory

• Majority of practitioners, educators, and managers do not see a need for post Baccalaureate Degree accreditation and certification

• Organized opposition from AHA, AMA and other non laboratory and laboratory organizations(AACC, ASM, CLMA,etc.) because of turf and wage issues

• Existing and future legislation and regulations that require less then a Baccalaureate Degree for clinical practice

• Inflexibility and/or inability of academic institutions to convert Baccalaureate Degree programs to post Baccalaureate Degree programs

• The attitudes of higher education administration about whether or not educational institutions or accrediting bodies should dictate curriculum and define program standards. (This has always been an issue for NAACLS with deans of AD and Baccalaureate Degree programs and will likely be even more of an issue at the graduate degree level.)

• The perception among many non laboratory professionals that minimal education is needed for CLS/MT’s because of the ease of operating automated test systems

• Increased costs to students with less financial aid availability

• Lack of laboratory managers’ authority to structure their laboratories and make final purchasing and personnel staffing/qualification decisions