What a consortium of MT educators can do - medical technology

Medical Laboratory Observer, June, 1988 by Sally A. Voland, Cheryl J. Oliver

What a consortium of MT educators can do

A large number of accomplishments, including national certification of phlebotomists and a media blitz promoting lab careers, belies the small size of this state association.

Our small band of medical laboratory educators has come a long way since forming a consortium in Indiana nearly six years ago. Just look at some of the things that followed: a statewide preference matching service bringing together most student applicants with the medical technology programs of their choice, recruitment of students for laboratory careers through advertising and publicity, mock registry exams to help students prepare for the real thing, continuing education seminars for faculty and coordinators of MT programs, and nationwide phlebotomy certification exams.

All of these efforts were goals of the Consortium of Indiana Medical Laboratory Educators from the outset. CIMLE grew out of a 1981 meeting of Indianapolisbased MT program directors who had worked together for a number of years. These directors had in the past jointly received grant money for production of educational videotapes and other purposes.

CIMLE was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in September 1982 after we elected officers and developed a constitution and bylaws. Incorporation simplified financial and legal matters; the group's structure also provided continuity and a central authority in the form of a decision-making board.

We started with 17 members (12 hospitals with MT programs, five individual allied health educators) and at present have 15 members (seven institutional, eight individual). The membership decline is attributable to the closing of four MT programs in recent years.

Annual membership fees, unchanged from the first year, are $325 for institutions participating in the student-MT school preference matching service, $150 for other institutions, and $25 for individuals. An individual membership does not carry voting privileges.

Most of the consortium's work is done by committees. To fulfill one of CIMLE's primary goals, the committee in charge of the preference matching service went to work immediately. Members gathered information about existing services in other states, investigated the feasibility of CIMLE itself operating the service versus contracting with another organization, drew up a protocol for the computer program, and presented the alternatives to consortium members.

Members voted to pay for a contractor-provided service and offer it at no charge to students. An Indianapolis health career organization did the matches for the first two years, but then we decided it would be more economical to perform them ourselves on a microcomputer.

Figure I shows student-MT school preference match statistics for the past six years. Eleven out of 16 hospital-based medical technology programs in the state participated in the matching service in 1983, six out of 12 in 1988. Student applicants for our MT programs primarily come from college affiliates in Indiana and other parts of the Midwest.

Some hospitals attract enough student applicants from a local pool and do not benefit from a statewide matching service. A hospital in Gary, for example, will draw many applicants from the nearby Chicago area.

The number of qualified student applicants has shrunk in recent years, leading to a decline in the number of MT programs and in positions available. In 1983, 139 applicants sought 105 slots, while in 1988, only 50 applicants sought 48 slots. The proportion of applicants placed peaked in 1987 and 1988--at levels of 78 and 74 per cent, respectively-but the proportion of programs filled hit a low of 29 percent in 1987.

One thing hasn't fluctuated much from year to year. Consistently, 75 to 80 per cent of the students placed through the preference matches have landed a position at the school of their first choice.

The shortage of laboratory personnel and qualified students interested in laboratory careers recently spurred CIMLE to conduct a regional survey of clinical education and employment needs as perceived by employers. We are also intensifying recruitment efforts.

This year, we launched a $3,000 media blitz promoting the laboratory profession with CIMLE funds and donations from labs and other employers in the state, university-based allied health programs, professional societies, and diagnostic manufacturers. A marketing firm helped us produce television and radio spots, print ads, and an information packet. The blitz tied in with National Medical Laboratory Week and the annual meeting of the Indiana Society for Medical Technology (ISMT) in April. It will pick up again in the fall when we promote blood typing in conjunction with Halloween.

A committee was organized at the inception of CIMLE to develop and maintain a recruitment brochure for distribution to high school students and their parents. This brochure asks several questions to help the student determine whether he or she should enter the clinical laboratory science field: for example "Do you enjoy solving a problem?" and "Do you respond positively to the needs of others?"