Learning and Utilization of Generic Skills by Practitioners in the Field of Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology

Clinical Laboratory Science, Spring 2006 by Guiles, H Jesse, Ward-Cook, Kory

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether and to what extent generic skills that are learned by practitioners are used on their clinical laboratory science/medical technologist (CLS/MT) jobs; and to determine if there are any significant differences in learning and/or using these skills by practitioners who were CLS/MT vs. Other BA/BS degree majors.

DESIGN: In the field (ITF) laboratory practitioners were surveyed as to whether or not they: 1) were CLS/MT program graduates; 2) utilized the following generic skills in their jobs: analytical reasoning, communication, computer use, data correlation, decision making, precision studies, problem solving, quality assessment, supervision, teaching, technical writing, troubleshooting, research and utilization review; 3) learned these skills as students or practitioners.

SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from 515 CLS/MT ITF participants who were part of an ongoing longitudinal study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked if they were CLS/MT program graduates; whether they used the skills frequently, sometimes, rarely or never; and whether they initially learned the skills as students or developed them on the job (OTJ). Chi square analyses were performed to test for differences among groups.

RESULTS: The response rate was 44%. Frequencies for using the skills were generally over 90% with three exceptions reported as rarely or never used by the majority of the respondents, and two exceptions reported as being approximately equally used or not used by the respondents. A sizable minority (23% to 45%) of the sample reported never learning six of the skills. Significant (p

CONCLUSION: For this sample group, most generic skills learned as CLS/MT students and/or practitioners are applied to the ITF jobs and are generally congruent with what is being taught in CLS/MT programs. However, there are some notable exceptions.

ABBREVIATIONS: ASCP BOR = American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Registry; BA/BS = Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science; CLS = clinical laboratory scientist; CLS/MT graduate = practitioners graduating from a NAA-CLS approved program; LTF = left the field; MT = medical technologist; NAACLS = National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences; Other BA/BS graduate = practitioners graduating from other than a NAACLS approved program; OTJ = on the job.

INDEX TERMS: ASCP BOR; CLS/MT career patterns; CLS skills; education.

Clin Lab Sci 2006; 19 (2): 104

The ability to learn and apply generic skills such as: analytical reasoning, communication skills, computer use, data correlation, decision making, participation in research, precision studies, problem solving, quality assessment, supervision, teaching, technical writing, troubleshooting, and utilization studies is often considered the apogee of competent CLS/MT program graduates and practitioners. In 2002, Guiles and Tatum looked at the acquisition and utilization of these skills by a cohort of MTS/CLS who reported that they had left the field (LTF).1 Participants self-reported whether they were graduates of National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) Accredited programs (NAACLS BS) or held other baccalaureate degrees (Other BS/BA). No significant differences were found in the utilization of these skills by these groups in the LTF jobs, however, significant differences were found in how the groups learned the skills. The NAACLS BS graduates reported a significantly higher proportion of learning many of the skills as students than did the Other BS/BA graduates. It was proposed that these same skills be examined for CLS/MT graduates who remained in the field (ITF). The following research questions were proposed for the study: 1.) To what extent are the generic skills used ITF? 2.) To what extent is there congruency between learning and using these skills (if they are learned, are they used)? 3.) Is there a significant difference in the perception of how NAACLS BS vs. Other BS/BA graduates use the skills? 4.) Is there a significant difference in the perception of how NAACLS BS vs. Other BS/BA graduates learned the skills, e.g., either as a student or on the job (OTJ)?

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were collected from a nationwide sample of 515 laboratory practitioners (44% response rate). Individuals in the sample group were participating in a ten year longitudinal study on career patterns of MTS by the ASCP BOR Research and Development Committee. At the time of the study, participants were in the field approximately seven years post certification. Because eligibility for the certifying exam can be obtained by several routes, the data were broken down into NAACLS BS graduates (n = 464, 90%) and Other BS/BA graduates (n = 51, 10%).

Questions were asked in terms of whether the skills were utilized frequently = at least once a day, sometimes = at least once a week but not every day, rarely = at least once a month but not every week, or never. Data were self-reported. For statistical analyses, the data were reclassified into two categories: "Frequently/Sometimes" and "Rarely/Never" (Table 1). The responses for learning the skills were as follows: A = "Learned as a MT/CLS student", B = "Developed while working as an MT/CLS", C = "Learned as an MT/CLS student and developed while working as an MT/CLS", D = "Neither learned as a student, nor developed as an MT/CLS". Before statistical analyses, choices A and C were regrouped to "Initially Learned as a Student", whereas B was renamed to "Developed OTJ" (Table 1).