SMYRNA -- The Motlow State Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) program cleared a significant hurdle last April when it earned full accreditation with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). MLT Program Director Kim-Sue Tudor worked day and night to help build the program. Here is her story.
Question: How does it feel to have the Motlow State Medical Laboratory Technology program earn full accreditation with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences?
Answer: “I feel a sense of pride for Motlow State’s accomplishment. An achievement of this magnitude is seldom the result of a single individual. While I was the lead and coordinator of the accreditation, so many auspices of Motlow State contributed to this outcome—Academic Affairs, Business Office, Operations, Student Success, Admissions and Records, etc.”
Question: Provide a brief description of the program.
Answer: “The Medical Laboratory Technology Program provides education and training in clinical laboratory science. It is a science-intensive curriculum that includes medical disciplines such as clinical chemistry, hematology, and clinical microbiology. The program consists of didactic (classroom) education and applied clinical education in six major disciplines of the clinical laboratory. Students in the program learn the physiology of disease (i.e. pathophysiology) in each of these disciplines, and they are trained in performing and interpreting diagnostic tests in these areas. Graduates of the program traditionally go on to staff diagnostic laboratories in hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices.”
Question: How long did it take to develop the program, and what was involved?
Answer: “Development of the MLT Program began before I joined Motlow State and involved such things as establishing a workforce need within the counties that Motlow State serves. Following TBR and SACS approval, I was hired to establish the MLT Program. Two main factors are involved in establishing an MLT Program. The state of Tennessee’s Medical Laboratory Board must grant a Certificate to Operate, and the program must obtain national accreditation. Both processes involve the creation of administrative and academic policies governing how the program will function. In addition, the program must establish a curriculum that guides the education and training of MLT students. The Tennessee Medical Laboratory Board and the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) have specific criteria that shape the policies and curriculum for MLT programs. Both organizations make site visits to Motlow State to evaluate the MLT program. The process to accreditation took 2-1/2 years to complete.”
Question: When did the program launch, and how many students does it have?
Answer: “The program accepted its first cohort in the fall of 2018, after a Certificate of Operation was granted by the state of Tennessee’s Medical Laboratory Board. The program graduated seven students from the inaugural cohort (Class of 2019). There were eight graduates in the Class of 2020. Currently, there are 12 students in the fall 2020 cohort (Class of 2021).”
Question: What courses are offered in the program?
Answer: “There are 11 courses in the full-time curriculum divided between the didactic curriculum and the clinical experience.
* Didactic—clinical chemistry, hematology & hemostasis, clinical microbiology, clinical immunology, immunohematology/blood bank, urinalysis and body fluids.
* Clinical experience—clinical practicum I, II, and III, seminar I and II.”
Question: Describe the college’s facilities and what happens during a typical session in the lab.
Answer: Motlow State’s MLT laboratory is quite likely the most well-equipped scientific laboratory (applied or natural sciences) on any community college in the state. We have resources, equipment and instrumentation that parallel what one would find in a clinical laboratory in a hospital setting. During a typical laboratory session, students perform blood and body fluid tests routinely ordered by physicians. Students conduct all critical aspects of diagnostic testing including, specimen selection and identification, technical analysis, and results interpretation and reporting. Diagnostic level instrumentation in the areas of urinalysis, hematology and microbiology allow students to conduct testing in these areas in a nearly identical fashion to the testing in a hospital laboratory setting. Such simulation enhances the entry-level readiness for the workforce of Motlow State MLT Program graduates.”
Question: How does the program prepare students for real jobs in the field?
Answer: “The combination of the didactic curriculum and the clinical experience prepares MLT students for real jobs in the field. These curricular aspects are designed to develop the entry-level competencies in cognitive (knowledge/theory), psychomotor (technical skills) and affective (communication, attitude, professionalism) domains of learning. In addition, the didactic curriculum and the clinical experience provide the foundation for students to be successful at passing a national certification examination and obtaining Tennessee licensing as Medical Laboratory Technicians. Licensure is required for employment as a Medical Laboratory Technician in the state of Tennessee.”
Question: What other accolades has the program or participants received since its launch?
Answer: “The national certification rate for the 2019 graduates was 100%. The 2020 Graduates show a similar trend, with two graduates still scheduled to take a national certification exam.
Question: Do you have a student club? If so, how can students get involved?
Answer: “No, currently there is no student club for MLT students. The possibility does exist for a club to form if there is student interest.”
Question: Provide a list of instructors for the program.
Answer:
Kim-Sue Tudor, Ph.D., MT (ASCP)
Daniel Guevara (new faculty), MT (AAB)
Adjuncts:
Jennifer Gidcomb, MS, MLS (ASCP)
Robin Ward, MLS (ASCP)
Question: Do you want to acknowledge individuals or companies for their support?
Answer: “There are so many individuals to acknowledge for their contributions to the MLT Program. I truly wish I could remember all of them to list here. There can be no doubt, however, this program would not exist and have the outstanding resources that it does without the efforts and support of EVP Hilda Tunstill, AVP Melody Edmonds, and Dean of Nursing and Allied Health Pat Hendrix.”
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