Volume 80 - Winter 2002	Download

President's Report What Are Our Roles? by Kathy Waller, PhD, CLS(NCA) President, NAACLS Board of Directors

In this column I am addressing primarily the CLS/MT professionals and the Standards recently approved. However, the context may also be of interest to all who support program accreditation through NAACLS.

For at least the past decade, CLS/MT educators have examined and debated the future roles and accompanying education and curricula needed for clinical laboratory professionals. At several Clinical Laboratory Educators Conferences we have heard from some of our best including Glenda Price, Brenta Davis, Diana Mass and Kathy Doig. They have challenged us to look at what we must do in the future, not only in educating competent practitioners, but also in securing the profession itself. Craig Lehmann issued a call to arms in MLO (February 1996) stating it is time to change medical technology education. Recently, Betty Ciesla and Robert Currie shared their thoughts with us in ADVANCE for Medical Laboratory Professionals (12/24/01 and 1/14/02) concerning the need to get out from under the basement mentality of this profession.

In September 2000, NAACLS hosted a Futures Conference to help set the stage for our profession in the years 2005 and 2015. The current NAACLS Standards for the CLS/MT reflect, in part, both the input to and results from this conference. 2005 will be here before we realize it. The 2001 Standards thus provide direction such that our graduates will possess the needed knowledge, skills and attitudes to perform proficiently in the workplace and to move the profession forward.

These are exciting times that will provide expanded opportunities for those who accept the challenge. The NAACLS Standards offer a framework such that our graduates can function as scientists, consultants and managers. We are the experts in laboratory medicine, and it is time we share this expertise with the rest of the healthcare team, and with consumers as well.

As scientists, CLS/MTs continue to complete a science-based curriculum comparable to that in pharmacy, even medicine. While most of our grad-uates do not conduct research in the basic sciences, the vast majority conduct applied research. Our clinical analyses (together with their evaluative components) are just as important - or even more important - than those analyses performed by basic scientists because they have immediate impact on patient diagnosis and treatment. We truly are scientists in the best sense of the word.

As consultants, CLS/MTs need considerable communication skills to interact with physicians concerning test selection, utilization and data interpretation. We are the individuals who can correlate knowledge of disease processes with laboratory information. In some healthcare facilities the CLS/MT participates in rounds. If 70 percent of diagnoses are based upon laboratory results, we are doing our patients an injustice by not sharing our expertise.

The CLS/MT also functions as a consultant responsible for point of care testing oversight. Here the laboratory consultant participates in clinical problem solving, quality control of testing, and interacting with staff.

In addition, consumers are taking a more active role in their health. These individuals are seeking assistance in data interpretation as related to their health or disease processes. This is especially critical once a diagnosis has been made. We are the experts in laboratory data interpretation. For example, at the ASCLS website, consumers can submit questions about their laboratory results. I am a member of the consumer response team that replies to these individuals. It is indeed a rewarding experience to utilize my knowledge to help consumers understand the meaning of their laboratory results.

As a manager, the CLS/MT graduate is responsible for monitoring outcomes such as proper reimbursement for CPT and ICD-9 codes, medical necessity and cost-benefit ratios. Other management concepts required by the current Standards include coursework in critical pathways, performance improvement, dynamics of healthcare delivery system, human resource management, and financial management. A management course in the curriculum, utilizing local experts in these areas, can address these important topics. During a clinical internship, students can then participate in management projects that apply these principles to real laboratory scenarios.

Finally, the NAACLS Standards encourage innovations in curricula, instruction and evaluation. Each of our programs has special strengths, whether in faculty and student research projects, analysis and writing of case studies, development of educational texts, internet coursework, CD-ROMs and the like. Many of our educators are fine mentors and role models. Their institutions and programs must value such faculty, staff and administrators, and showcase their talents, both within and outside their organizations. Examples include instruction in quality control/assurance at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a special program in molecular diagnostics at Michigan State University, the development of three CD-ROMs in hematology at the University of Minnesota, and special group projects in management at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Finally, to fulfill our new roles we need to empower our students, educators, administrators and those practicing in the field. For too long we have remained secluded in the laboratory, while allowing pharmacists to be the consultants in glucometers, nurses to perform point of care testing, and respiratory therapists to perform blood gas and electrolyte testing. But only we can create our future. Using the 2001 NAACLS Standards, our unique Scope of Practice, and each education institution's special strengths, we can educate graduates who will create that future.

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			President's Report What Are Our Roles? by Kathy Waller, PhD, CLS(NCA) President, NAACLS Board of Directors
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