Volume 93 - Spring/Summer 2006	Download

NAACLS Committee Review: by Karen Madsen Myers, MA, MT(ASCP)SC, CLS(NCA) Chair, Programs Approval Review Committee

Recently, a program director inquired of our committee whether practice experiences in a "student laboratory" setting would fulfill in whole or part the Standard requirements for applied (clinical) experience. The answer is, "It depends."

Across programs Standard 9A states, "Instruction must follow a plan which documents a structured curriculum composed of . professional courses including applied (clinical) education." The necessity of an applied education component in preparing students for practice is elaborated further in Standard 9C: "The learning experiences needed in the curriculum to develop and support entry level competencies must be properly sequenced and include laboratory sessions, supervised practice and experience". Standard 9C2 prompts for consistency in applied experience for all students in the curriculum: "Student experiences at different clinical sites must be comparable to enable all students to achieve entry level competencies."

Nowhere in the Standards of NAACLS approved or accredited programs, is there a prescription for what constitutes an applied (clinical) experience. The definition of applied education from the NAACLS website states: "Applied education includes educational activities carried out in a clinical or student laboratory and in which the student participates actively in laboratory procedures."¹ In 2001 the term "applied experience" was used in new versions of the Standards as a way of recognizing that students can gain practice experience in ways other than traditional "clinical experience".²

The "clinic" has always been the laboratorian's site of practice, and traditional curricula include a clinical component as a mechanism for preparing students for practice and enculturation into the profession. In the mid 1990s programs experienced a decline in both the quality and number of clinical settings available for applied educational experiences. This trend was attributed to downsizing, the closure and merger of hospitals and laboratories, workforce reduction and an increased utilization of non-certified personnel in laboratory settings.³ While program closures over the past decade have helped alleviate the clinical site shortages, educators are still turning to alternative models for developing student practice competencies.

The role of approval and accreditation review committees (including those individuals who perform self-study reviews and site visits) is to make recommendations regarding a program's educational practices, as evidenced from the documentation submitted to committee members and reports gathered during site visitations. Reviewers work to ascertain whether practices are in alignment with the published Standards.

The charge of review committees is to assess whether the educational activities that constitute the curriculum follow a structured plan that supports the development of practice competencies that enable a graduate to enter the work force as a fully functioning team member. Review committee members look closely at curriculum (Standard 9), at faculty, the input from advisory committee members, and fiscal and physical resources (Standards 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8), in addition to program evaluation and outcomes that say something about the success of graduates once they enter the workforce (Standards 18-21).

Wearing my educator's hat, I have been involved for over a decade in alternative applied (clinical) education. Regardless of approach, there are some guiding questions we can ask about the experiences we provide our students. I share these with you not as a NAACLS program reviewer but as a fellow educator. Perhaps you will add to the list.

• Does the applied educational experience include a broad enough range of experiences that will provide opportunities for students to develop the practice competencies that will enable their success in the workplace?
  Are we using appropriate equipment and testing resources to simulate the "clinical" experience? Does our program have adequate fiscal support to maintain these resources?
  
  
• If the experience requires exposure to a variety of patient types and clinical settings, how are we meeting this requirement?
  
  
• Are there opportunities to build skills beyond technical abilities that are valued by employers such as team work, an awareness of and responsiveness to workload, performance under stress, an ability to communicate with co-workers, patients and other clients?
  
  
• Are there adequate faculty numbers and faculty expertise to support this type of student engagement?
  
  
• Do we have adequate feedback from advisory committee members regarding this experience?
  
  
• What are our graduate outcomes telling us about the success of the applied (clinical) experience?
  

Top of the News
			CEO's Corner Changing Attitudes Toward Accreditation by Olive M. Kimball, PhD, EdD Chief Executive Officer
			NAACLS Appoints a New Chief Executive Officer by Shauna Anderson, PhD, MT(ASCP)C, CLS(NCA) President, Board of Directors
			Newly Accredited and Approved Programs April 2006
			Notification of Changes in Affiliates by Gwen James-Oriaikhi Accreditation Specialist
			President's Report by Shauna Anderson, PhD, MT(ASCP)C, CLS(NCA) President, Board of Directors
Features
			Dr. Olive Kimball Completes 13 Years at NAACLS by Joeline Dillard Davidson Past President, 1997 - 2001
			NAACLS Committee Review: by Karen Madsen Myers, MA, MT(ASCP)SC, CLS(NCA) Chair, Programs Approval Review Committee
Other News
			Dr. NAACLS Advice for Accredited and Approved Programs
			Fall/Winter 2006 Site Visit Schedule
			Introducing New Committee Members
			NAACLS Board of Directors Update
			NAACLS Graduate Task Force Continues its Work and Seeks Your Input

	Select an Issue   Vol 109 - Fall 2011 Vol 108 - Summer 2011 Vol 107 - Spring 2011 Vol 106 - Volume 106 - Fall NAACLS News Vol 105 - Summer 2010 Vol 104 - Spring 2010 NAACLS News Vol 103 - Fall 2009 NAACLS News Vol 102 - Summer 2009 Vol 101 - Spring 2009 Vol 100 - Winter 2008 Vol 99 - Summer 2008 Vol 98 - Spring 2008 Vol 97 - Winter 2007 Vol 96 - Summer 2007 Vol 95 - Spring 2007 Vol 94 - Winter 2006 Vol 93 - Spring/Summer 2006 Vol 92 - Special Edition Vol 91 - Winter 2005 Vol 90 - Fall 2005 Vol 89 - Spring/Summer 2005 Vol 87 - Fall 2004 Vol 86 - Spring/Summer 2004 Vol 85 - Fall 2003 Vol 84 - Spring/Summer 2003 Vol 83 - Winter 2003 Vol 82 - Fall 2002 Vol 81 - Spring / Summer 2002 Vol 80 - Winter 2002 Vol 79 - Fall 2001 Vol 78 - Spring / Summer 2001 Vol 77 - Winter 2001 Vol 76 - Fall 2000 Vol 75 - Spring / Summer 2000 Vol 74 - Winter 2000 Vol 73 - Fall 1999 Vol 72 - Spring / Summer 1999 Vol 71 - Winter 1999 Vol 70 - Fall 1998 Vol 69 - Spring / Summer 1998 Vol 68 - Winter 1998 Vol 67 - Fall 1997 Vol 66 - Spring 1997 Vol 65 - Winter 1996 Vol 64 - Summer 1996 Vol 63 - Spring 1996 Vol 62 - Winter 1996 Vol 61 - Summer 1995 Vol 60 - Spring 1995 Vol 59 - Fall 1994 Vol 58 - Summer 1994 Vol 57 - Spring 1994 Vol 56 - Fall 1993 Vol 55 - Summer 1993 Vol 54 - Spring 1993 Vol 53 - Fall 1992 Vol 52 - Summer 1992 Vol 51 - Spring 1992 Vol 50 - Fall 1991 Vol 49 - Summer 1991 Vol 48 - Spring 1991 Vol 47 - Fall 1990 Vol 46 - Summer 1990 Vol 45 - Spring 1990 Vol 44 - Fall 1989 Vol 43 - Summer 1989 Vol 42 - Winter 1989 Vol 41 - Fall 1988 Vol 40 - April 1988 Vol 39 - December 1987 Vol 38 - September 1987 Vol 37 - Spring 1987 Vol 36 - Winter 1987 Vol 35 - October 1986 Vol 34 - November 1985 Vol 33 - November 1984 Vol 32 - July 1984 Vol 31 - November 1983 Vol 30 - November 1982 Vol 29 - November 1981 Vol 28 - December 1980 Vol 27 - August 1980 Vol 26 - September 1979 Vol 25 - August 1979 Vol 24 - June 1979 Vol 23 - February 1979 Vol 22 - October 1978 Vol 21 - July 1978 Vol 20 - April 1978 Vol 19 - October 1977 Vol 18 - July 1977 Vol 17 - April 1977 Vol 16 - February 1977 Vol 15 - November 1976 Vol 14 - September 1976 Vol 13 - June 1976 Vol 12 - December 1975 Vol 11 - October 1975 Vol 10 - August 1975 Vol 9 - July 1975 Vol 8 - June 1975 Vol 7 - April 1975 Vol 6 - February 1975 Vol 5 - December 1974 Vol 4 - November 1974 Vol 3 - September 1974 Vol 2 - August 1974 Vol 1 - June 1974