Volume 63 - Spring 1996	Download

President's report by Cynthia Wells, EdD, CLS(NCA), MT(ASCP) President, Board of Directors

Spring is about over and summer will soon be upon us. This means that NAACLS has completed its winter cycle of program accreditation and approval. In early April, the Board of Directors took formal action upon programs reviewed during the past months. Based upon these actions, NAACLS accredits 647 programs and approves 75 programs in the clinical laboratory sciences. The following tables show updated program data:

Number of Accredited Programs

Number of Approved Programs

Over the past year, 21 Clinical Laboratory Scientist/Medical Technologist (CLS/MT) programs have closed. Among reasons for closure were: lack of financial support; the impact of managed care; decreased laboratory staffing; changes in institutional mission; a decreased scope of testing; consolidation of institutions within a specific geographic area, and conversion to a clinical affiliate.

There is encouraging news, however, about new programs. At the present time, there are 17 new clinical laboratory technician/medical laboratory technician-associate degree (CLT/MLTAD) programs and nine new histotechnology (HT/HTL) programs that have achieved serious applicant status. In addition, several programs for Pathologists' Assistants are in the process of applying for Initial Accreditation with NAACLS.

The Board of Directors continued to adopt changes in policies and procedures related to implementation of the new Essentials and to meet the requirements of the United States Department of Education (USDE). We have received the USDE's written analysis of our petition and will be providing further comments and information to the USDE. This process is analogous to a program's response to a Self-Study Report Paper Review. We expect to complete the review in June.

In my last article, I discussed the adoption of revised terminology for the professional designations of our programs. The Board of Directors adopted new terminology for "medical technologist" and "medical laboratory technician" programs. The NAACLS designations for these programs are: Clinical Laboratory Scientist/Medical Technologist and Clinical Laboratory Technician/Medical Laboratory Technician. The changes in designations, in alphabetical order, were adopted after lengthy review of the written and oral comments received from the public hearings conducted in Chicago, at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science in Anaheim, California in late July 1995 and at the mid-September 1995 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.

Since adoption of the 1995 Essentials, you have received letters or seen articles discussing the NAACLS designations or making recommendations for the name of your program. Many of you have requested clarification about what you should call your programs. Accrediting agencies such as NAACLS set standards and options available based upon input from the communities of interest. Programs make adjustments as necessary to be consistent with the standards. The name of your program is and always has been the prerogative of your institution. You may use either a single designation or the dual NAACLS terminology.

The Allied Health and Rehabilitation Professions Education Directory for 1996-97 was recently published by the American Medical Association (AMA). NAACLS is continuing to collaborate with the AMA in the collection and dissemination of the data. Unfortunately, the NAACLS program designations are not used consistently throughout this publication despite our efforts to correct errors that appeared last year. NAACLS was not provided an opportunity to proof all the information for the new edition. The narrative section, which we saw, does contain the correct terms. The designation in front of your program's name and the data table are not complete. We are sorry that this has happened again as the omissions last year caused significant misunderstandings. NAACLS does not control production of this directory; it is a publication of the AMA. We have been assured by the AMA that the next directory will be correct.

We are excited about our World Wide Web page. It provides easy access to NAACLS information and publications. In the future, we will make updates and linkages to give you a network to other information. For those of you not on the Web, we will continue to provide data and information by conventional means.

From my discussions at educators' meetings in February and April, I know that you and your program are under tremendous pressure. It is a difficult time for all of us in the education business. Change seems to be constant and I hope that each of us can continue to provide education that is accessible and of high quality. Some of your concerns are related to administrators making program closure decisions without your input. My recommendation is that you assume a proactive, ongoing role in keeping the appropriate people knowledgeable about the value of your program to the institution and community.

Thanks for your continued support in these difficult times. If you have concerns or suggestions, please call or write to me or other board members. Our telephone and fax numbers are available from NAACLS staff.

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			President's report by Cynthia Wells, EdD, CLS(NCA), MT(ASCP) President, Board of Directors
			Schedule of upcoming NAACLS meetings

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