HealthForce Minnesota Partner News
Teamwork Makes Accreditation and Clinical Laboratory Sciences Program a Reality
Allina Hospitals is piloting a new on-line clinical laboratory sciences program to help employees advance their education. To do this, Winona State University (WSU) is seeking accreditation through the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) to offer a four-year degree in clinical laboratory sciences (CLS) beginning in fall 2010. Winona has had a medical technology program for many years, which required their graduates to complete their clinical requirements at other NAACLS accredited facilities. This restricted the number of students based upon limited available clinical sites. By seeking their own NAACLS accreditation, WSU realized they could service many more students educationally. The addition of partnering with Allina clinics and hospitals completes the necessary clinical experience for the NAACLS accredited Clinical Laboratory Science program. “The CLS education commitment will serve the workforce,” said Dr. Judith Loewen, program director for WSU. “It is based on HealthForce Minnesota’s financial assistance, nationwide health industry requirements and WSU support.”
Allina saw a tremendous response for the program when more than 200 employees attended the introductory meetings. Allina employees who choose to pursue their four-year degree will be given competency equivalencies based upon their professional certifications, their job description and areas of work experience. Using those individual criteria and work skill evaluations for each student, means students will not have to take unnecessary courses.
“To complete their four-year degree, employees will take on-line courses, but they also will learn needed, specific skills through concentrated lab sessions during certain weekends,” Loewen said. “Although students may take a couple of years to complete their four-year degrees, they’ll be treated individually as each one takes courses unique to their requirements. WSU will come to the metro area to accommodate the laboratory component of the coursework. We’re working with St. Paul College to offer lab sessions at their facilities.”
This is a key program for Allina and its employees as they look forward to address retention and anticipated future retirement of their clinical laboratory science staff. Allina is showing commitment to its employees by offering this advanced education program and working with flexible work schedules. In addition to advance clinical course work, theory and clinical levels of practice, employees will be taught laboratory management skills, supervisory and administrative skills, and critical thinking outcomes. Employees will also have the potential to enhance their earning power and will be qualified for future job opportunities.
This educational program will be beneficial for other laboratory personnel that are not Allina staff. Since it has such an individual approach, any laboratory professional or science graduate who wants to pursue the CLS degree could participate in the WSU CLS program. An articulation agreement with St. Paul College begins in 2011. It will allow their certified MLT and CLT students the opportunity to continue their education towards a four-year CLS degree.
The enhanced opportunities through the program are beneficial statewide and can become a model program for the nation, too. “There can be some disparity of having enough certified laboratory personnel available to deliver quality care throughout the state,” said Loewen. “Having more accredited clinical laboratory scientists in the workplace regionally especially will benefit small hospitals in rural Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Without a clinical laboratory scientist on staff, hospitals and clinics across the nation are forced to close. Instead, having increased the number of clinical laboratory scientists improves healthcare delivery everywhere.”
This program is a winning example of how HealthForce Minnesota, industry and educational partners are working together to assist industry employees and advanced healthcare education. Learn more about the CLS program by contacting Jane Foote, Director of HealthForce Minnesota or Dr. Judith Loewen, CLS Program Director for Winona State University. Allina employees should contact Connie Grauds, Director of Allied Health with Minneapolis Community and Technical College with questions about the fall program.
Judith Loewen — CLS program director at Winona State University
JLoewn@winona.edu, 507-457-5270
Jane Foorte — Director of HealthForce Minnesota
JFoote@winona.edu, 507- 285-7339, 612-673-5137
Connie Grauds — Allied Health Programs Consultant
Contance.Grauds@minneapolis.edu, 612-659-6461
Note: WSU uses Quality Matters Program guidelines and deliverables from the University of Maryland to meet quality standards for programs offering classes on-line.