Volume 97 - Winter 2007	Download

President's Report by By Cheryl Caskey, MA, CLS, CLSplH(NCA) President, Board of Directors

      I was elected to serve by the NAACLS Board of Directors after nomination by ASCLS as a candidate for the ASCLS/manager representative. What does a manager bring to an accreditation board comprised of all educators except for the Public Member and me? Why would a manager want to sit on a Board on which he/she has to first learn the processes and acronyms being used in discussions and activities? Does a manager bring substance to this Board? 

       Before I answer these questions, I would first like to briefly introduce myself to you. I live in Shreveport, Louisiana, and work for an independent regional, hospital-based laboratory. My current job title is Compliance Officer, but I am technical consultant for a number of client laboratories and have served as Director for some of them. I am a blood banker by origin so I am very process and detail oriented. I am quiet, but reflective and am passionate about Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) and what the profession brings to the healthcare table.

        Managers represent the laboratory workplace and are major consumers of graduates from NAACLS accredited programs. We bring "real" life laboratory perspectives to the Board. As non-educators we also see the NAACLS accreditation process through different sets of eyes. We question processes that educators accept as "the way it has always been." We ask "why" and, in doing so, stimulate our educator colleagues to consider issues more globally. We see program standards from a different perspective, too. We want the standards to frame a process in which programs will graduate students with entry level competencies regardless of the education delivery mode. Laboratories operate in an outcomes environment and laboratory managers bring that mindset to the processes of NAACLS program accreditation and approval. Managers place value on the final product - competent graduates - as the important outcome, more so than on "inputs" including teaching style, education delivery mode, or highly sophisticated course materials.

       Managers and educators must "talk" to each other to effectively structure CLS education and generate the type of graduates laboratories need to hire. Managers and educators must be passionate about CLS and what we do. We have to be proud of our chosen profession and want to socialize students and new graduates effectively into the profession. I think managers and educators often feel disconnected from each other, which makes it vitally important to make the effort to communicate and stay connected. While it is important for educators to understand the real laboratory world, it is equally important for managers to understand the pressures and issues of the educators' world. Only this type of relationship will bridge the professional socialization issues we currently have in our profession. Professional socialization is the process of acculturating a profession's attitudes, values, and behaviors. Professional culture is absorbed by students and new graduates from those in both the education and laboratory arenas. Roles ultimately become internalized and a new graduate forms a professional identity. Right now, the laboratory often falls short in its role in professional socialization; incumbent professionals question why new graduates chose this profession and/or are negative about their careers. 

      Educators must teach students about professionalism and the prevailing laboratory environment. Managers must role model professionalism for their staffs and expect nothing less from each employee. All of us must understand why professional socialization is important to the student and to the new graduate. Didactic and bench learning and knowledge are expected of graduates, but there is more to becoming a well-adjusted and happy Clinical Laboratory Scientist/Medical Technologist (CLS/MT) than knowledge and technical competencies. If the student or new graduate is in an environment where the educator, manager, or CLS/MT is negative about the role we play in healthcare, our professional recognition (or lack of it), or the profession in general why would he/she want to commit to the profession? We must model professionalism and mentor CLS/MT students and graduates into entering a profession and not just securing a job. A job occupies one's time whereas a profession is a vocation requiring advanced training and commitment. Professionals recognize they have a responsibility to help positively advance and change the profession. Professionals feel a personal sense of accomplishment when the profession takes a step forward.  

      Managers and educators alike have a role in advancing the profession. Advancement of the profession starts with the programs and the education of future practitioners. Managers must understand it does not stop there and must continue in the laboratory.
      Empowerment is synonymous with professional status and without it we lack a sense of autonomy, recognition, and advancement. Over the years, Myer-Briggs testing of CLS/MTs has shown we expect to have internal, not external control and are judging, not perceiving.¹ In Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, most CLS/MTs are at the self-actualization needs level.¹ If these needs are not satisfied, we feel externally controlled, do not feel a sense of achievement, and feel a lack of independence. By teaching professionalism and properly socializing students and new graduates into CLS, we empower them as professionals and enhance their satisfaction with CLS. Managers and educators need to expect professionalism as an entry level competency. 
Does a manager bring substance to the NAACLS Board? I think so. A different perspective creates a positive tension in deliberations, challenges the status quo, and helps generate more global decisions. The laboratory perspective keeps the process "grounded" in reality. For example, when looking at a process or form, managers usually want to understand how outcomes are impacted-such questions can help create new and/or improved approaches to these requirements. 
I am proud to serve on the NAACLS Board and look forward to serving as its President. I hope I can make a difference and I encourage you to contact me with any questions or if I can help you in any way.  

Reference:
1.    Wyatt, D. Empowerment Strategies for Clinical Laboratory Science. Clinical Laboratory Science 1993; Vol. 5, No. 3: 177-180.
 

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