RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Medical Laboratory Science Undergraduate Management Curriculum Development Using Practitioner-reported Job Tasks
JF American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
JO Clin Lab Sci
FD American Society of Chemistry and Laboratory Science
SP 138
OP 145
DO 10.29074/ascls.2020002238
VO 32
IS 4
A1 Bishop, Susanne
A1 Honeycutt, Karen
YR 2019
UL http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/content/32/4/138.abstract
AB A Midwestern medical laboratory science (MLS) program conducted an online survey as part of a larger national study to assess what specific management skills staff-level MLS practitioners were performing as part of their job. The survey provided data that helped guide management-related curriculum development. Participants self-reported how often (ie, often, sometimes, never) they had been asked, as part of their staff-level job, to perform a list of 30 managerial tasks. Frequently performed tasks (ie, percentages represent both the “often” and “sometimes” responses) included training laboratory staff (88%); performing or participating in equipment/method validation (82%); preparing for/participating in laboratory inspection/assessment (82%); ensuring compliance of regulations/standards (76%); monitoring quality via quality indicators (64%); investigating standard operating procedure/policy deviations (65%); analyzing/reviewing inventory data (65%); planning, measuring, and evaluating process improvement projects (61%); developing competency assessment materials (61%); revising or writing policies and procedures (61%); and participating in interdisciplinary teams (61%). Least-performed tasks identified included hiring new employees (2%); preparing a laboratory/department budget (3%); performing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis (5%); negotiating vendor contracts (8%); writing job descriptions (8%); determining productivity (11%); and performing a cost analysis (14%). The reported descriptive statistics helped distinguish between frequently and infrequently performed tasks and helped develop managerial curriculum for an undergraduate and graduate MLS program. The staff-level practitioner rarely performed financial and human resources, so these tasks became the focus of the graduate-level management curriculum.