Medical Laboratory Technology Advisory Committee Meeting
North Broward Medical Center, Administrative Conference RoomThursday, July 23 at 8:00 a.m.
Business & Industry Members Present
Name / Title / CompanyLinda Brandstetter / Laboratory Manager / Plantation General Hospital
Valerie Fuldauer, chair / Ethics, Compliance & Privacy Officer / Integrated Regional Laboratories
Helen Hendrick / Chief Chemistry Technologist / Memorial Regional Hospital
Claribel Resto / Reference Laboratory Assistant Manager / Community Blood Ctrs of South Florida
Donna Valerioti / Laboratory Manager / North Broward Medical Center
Industry Guests Present
Name / Title / CompanyJoan Scheinwald / Laboratory Supervisor / Coral Springs Medical Center
Maria Scher / Laboratory Supervisor / North Broward Medical Center
District and School-Based Support Staff
Name / Title / Work LocationMarcella Stevens / Medical Laboratory Technology Program Director / Sheridan Technical Center
Cristina Barillas / Medical Laboratory Technology Program Instructor / Sheridan Technical Center
Ellen Albano / Assistant Director / Sheridan Technical Center
Meeting Notes/Minutes
I. Meeting was called to order by the committee chair at 8:05 a.m., introductions followed.
II. The minutes of the 4/30/09 meeting were approved as presented.
III. Director's Report
Ø 07-08 Class Update: Graduated sixteen, career placement of 88%
Ø 08-09 Class Update: Fourteen scheduled for clinical, ten students currently in clinical. Two students are presently on maternity leave and one is on personal leave. Through the cooperation of our clinical sites, all three will be able to enter their clinical rotation schedule upon their return from leave. One student was not able to obtain a training license due to a background check issue.
Ø Clinical site status for 2010: A form was sent to all clinical sites seeking commitment for clinical rotations for the 2010 class. It is a requirement of the accrediting agency that sufficient sites are available to accommodate all students admitted to the program. Responses have been received from 10 of our 18 clinical affiliates. Commitments were made for 9 positions in Microbiology and 17 positions in all other areas. Marcella will follow-up with sites who have not yet responded. Val requested that board members lobby their the responsible parties at their respective facilities to take at least one additional student, and two if the facility offers Microbiology, so that sites are available for a full class of 24 when classes begin in August.
IV. Program and Curriculum Review
Ø FL Dept of Education 2009 MLT-ATD Curriculum Frameworks, previously sent to members, were discussed.
i. Program length is adequate.
ii. The Board felt that the program content, as presented in the frameworks, is appropriate and adequate. However, the organization of the material within the frameworks is not optimal to meet the needs of the potential employers in this community. Additionally, the assignment of course numbers is not consistent with the numbering of courses in the Community College Associate of Science MLT programs to which these courses must transfer. The Frameworks use numbers belonging to the Medical Assistant range and not the Medical Laboratory Science or Medical Laboratory Technology ranges.
The committee made specific recommendations for reorganization of the material. It was decided that Marcella and Val will meet with Ellen Albano to prepare a formal proposal for reorganization of the material which Ellen will submit to the Workforce Leadership of the Florida Department of Education on August 5, 2009. Marcella and Val will also provide Ellen with the course map that they developed last year aligning the Sheridan courses with those offered by the St. Petersburg College, Miami Dade College and Indian River College MLT programs. Ellen will determine where the course map
iii. The Board felt strongly that one of the OCP outcomes, Medical Lab Assistant, was not appropriate for the current practice of MLT. Members made recommendations which will be included in the suggested revisions to be proposed to the Workforce Leadership of the Florida Department of Education of the Florida Department of Education.
V. Articulation Agreements (State of Florida College and University System Credit Transfer)
Ø Marcella reported that she had submitted the required program and faculty documentation for the Sheridan program to Valerie Polansky, MLT Program Director at St. Petersburg College. Valerie will shepherd the documents through the process necessary for an Articulation Agreement to be issued by SPC. Students would be required to complete 34 credit hours in general education and science. SPC requires that 19 hours be completed at SPC but the remaining 15 hours could be taken at other colleges and universities within the state. Once these courses are complete, 42 credit hours from the Sheridan MLT program will transfer, completing the student’s AS degree.
Ø State law requires that these agreements be honored by all schools in the state college and university system. Once the agreement is issued by SPC, Marcella will contact Miami-Dade College and Indian River College to advise them of its existence. Sheridan credits will be transferable to Miami-Dade and Indian River programs, providing local opportunities for Sheridan graduates to complete an AS degree.
VI. Proposed Strategic Objectives
Ø Discussion, Feasibility, and Selection of 2009 Committee Initiatives
i. Textbooks – Marcella reported that budget cuts have eliminated the funding she had counted on to provide classroom sets of the two most expensive books for the 2010 class. Ellen stated that students qualifying for WorkForce or Pell grants were provided with money for books but that a detailed textbook list, issued by the program, must be submitted to obtain the funding. Marcella will prepare the list for use by the 2010 class. Ellen also suggested that federal economic recovery funds might be available and offered to assist with writing a grant proposal.
ii. Certification exam prep course development – Claribel Resto shared three assessment quizzes that Nancy Benetiz had developed for the blood bank related topics of Antigen-Antibody Reactions, Genetics and Immunology. Members were asked to review these and offer additional questions for inclusion. Members were also asked to identify subject matter experts at their facilities who would be willing to submit similar documents in other specialty areas.
iii. Sources for scholarships/grants/tuition-reimbursement for students – Liz and Dr. Johnson, though unable to attend, had provided a report that they had not yet identified any community or organization based sources of additional funding.
iv. Development of a multimedia recruitment resource - Marcella Stevens has had preliminary conversations with several Sheridan staff members about creating an CD or DVD presentation featuring the MLT program and CLS as a career. She will engage the Sheridan recruiter, community liaison and graphic artist. In addition, she will investigate students in our graphics arts program who may be able to prepare the recruitment presentation as a class project. The goal would be to distribute the program to middle and high school science teachers and guidance counselors in Broward County in early 2010.
VII. Affiliates Roundtable – Committee members shared the following:
Ø Linda Brandstetter of Plantation General Hospital has a change of staff. Jeff Coleman, Technical Supervisor, has been replaced by Barbara Toth. Jeff is no the Laboratory Supervisor at Northwest Medical Center.
Ø Claribel Resto said the Community Blood Centers of South Florida Reference Lab will be expanding and will be in need of additional laboratory staff. One area of concern for students and graduates is the ethical and personal interaction components of MLT education. Professionalism is essential to career placement of students.
Ø Helen Hendrick of Memorial Regional Hospital concurred with the need for ethics and professionalism. She felt the Sheridan students are well prepared and enthusiastic.
Ø Joan Sheinwald of Coral Springs Medical Center informed us that they are expanding their emergency room which will require more lab testing and more point of care testing (POCT).
Ø A general discussion of student education in POCT responsibilities of the clinical Laboratory. All facilities involved in POCT agreed that the students must know principles and quality assurance associated with POCT.
Ø Val Fuldauer announced the upcoming meeting of the Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel in Jacksonville on August 14.
VIII. Future meeting dates and hosts are:
Ø Thursday, October 22, 2009 Integrated Regional Laboratories
Ø Thursday, January 21, 2010
IX. Members voted to continue discussion of the frameworks issues beyond the scheduled meeting end time. The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m. Following adjournment, Nancy conducted a tour of the North Broward Hospital Clinical Laboratory for interested members and guests.
Formatted. 6.13.2007 ~ lb