| Sumario: | This project was undertaken to assess the changes made in a medical laboratory science program as it transitioned from hospital based to university based. The University offered this major for many years, but used three different NAACLS accredited hospital based programs for the clinical courses and rotation experience. Some of the changes implemented include the creation of syllabi for all the didactic courses which included the clinical rotations hours and requirements for completion. These courses were divided into fall and spring semesters giving the students two clinical rotations through most areas of the clinical laboratory. The total number of credits for the senior year increased by 2 credits allowing for the summer course. Distribution of credits among courses for the fall and spring semesters were more equally distributed to reflect the complexities of each laboratory area. The faculty from one of the hospital based programs was incorporated into the University as adjunct faculty as all had credentials that fulfilled the University's requirements. The biggest change was the creation of an intensive summer course prior to students' beginning their clinical rotations. Our University's sequence is a 3 + 1 program, therefore, students have no clinical courses prior to beginning their senior year. This summer course contains basic lectures in all areas of the clinical laboratory. In each area, manual procedures are introduced during the laboratory portion of this course. This course gives the students a basic introduction to laboratory medicine and a foundation to build on as they begin their rotations in the clinical year. All of these changes helped to increase the pass rate on the ASCP MLS certification exam.
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