Nurses' Perceptions of Medical Laboratory Scientists: Mistaken Identity and Misplaced Regard.

INTRODUCTION: The medical laboratory science (MLS) profession is an integral part of the healthcare team, providing diagnostic laboratory results used to determine directives in the treatment and management of disease processes. There is a scarcity of literature describing other healthcare professionals' perceptions of medical laboratory scientists. Research also suggests MLS professionals feel unrecognized for contributions to patient care. PURPOSE: A pilot study to describe intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' perceptions of medical laboratory scientists and their role in healthcare. METHODS: Five ICU nurses were interviewed using open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using phenomenological research inquiry to develop themes. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: professional practice, visibility, professional entry, and interprofessional learning. DISCUSSION: While participants were aware of the medical laboratory, they were unaware of the scope of practice, educational requirements, and professional credentials of medical laboratory scientists. Findings also showed misconceptions of the MLS scope of practice that overlaps with phlebotomists and medical laboratory technicians (MLTs). CONCLUSION: This study found that the intensive care nurse participants demonstrated an overall positive perception of medical laboratory scientists but a low level of knowledge of the MLS profession and expertise. Implications for interdisciplinary education to create a more comprehensive healthcare delivery team were presented.

Clinical Experiences: Navigating the Intricacies of Student Placement Requirements.

Clinical apprenticeships, also called clinical experiences, are integral to most allied health (AH) student professional education. Clinical experiences begin the process of enculturating students into a healthcare profession where higher cognitive mastery of learned skills is supported through social interaction and scaffolding with an AH professional. In AH programs, clinical experiences for students are a necessity for programmatic accreditation; however, clinical sites have developed a range of requirements for students, which lead to a myriad of issues. These requirements may include drug screens, criminal background checks, and HIPAA training prior to a student beginning their clinical experience. Because of differing interpretation of policy, there is variability of requirements imposed on students before beginning these clinical experiences. This variability can create a financial burden on the student, who likely pays out-of-pocket for criminal background checks, vaccines, or drug screens. It also creates an administrative burden for clinical coordinators, who must know what each of the hundreds of clinical sites require, and they must follow up with each site to determine if these requirements have changed. Some strategies exist that may help clinical coordinators to manage clinical site requirements for student placement.

The Current Conundrum of State Authorization for Online Education Programs and Clinical Placement.

Postsecondary education institutions have enjoyed increased access to student populations with the advent of online programs. Diploma mills have also been able to proliferate in this newly realized and ever expanding academic market. In response, the US Department of Education implemented new regulations in 2010 that require institutions to adhere to state authorization requirements to continue eligibility to receive Title IV funding. The regulations were challenged in federal court and the regulations were rescinded, due to a failure to properly vet the regulations. The Department of Education has drafted and vetted a new set of regulations that have yet to be implemented. State authorization has left institutions scrambling to find a pragmatic solution to conform to the regulations, which has led to the creation of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements. These agreements permit states to acknowledge the accreditation merit of institutions from other states and satisfy federal requirements. It will likely be several years before the full effect of state authorization and online education will be realized.