| The quality of education delivered to medical laboratory technician/clinical laboratory technician (MLT/CLT) students has been an evolving concern for the clinical laboratory sciences profession. This situation prompted consideration of various factors in MLT/CLT education to determine if student/program characteristics affected student performance.; Principles extracted from Alexander Astin's Input-Environment-Output (I-E-O) model were used as a foundation for considering the factors that affect MLT/CLT program student outcomes. Input, environmental, and outcome variables related to MLT/CLT programs were identified for study.; A literature review was conducted to gather information relevant to the development of clinical laboratory science practice and education, curriculum development and evaluation, MLT/CLT student and program characteristics, program accreditation and graduate certification.; The primary data source was a survey instrument sent to program directors of the sample MLT/CLT programs, as identified by the Health Professions Career and Education Directory 2002-2003 (American Medical Association, 2002). A fifty-five question survey was developed and distributed to the sample MLT/CLT programs. All survey requests originated from the Cannon Center for Survey Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. All survey responses went directly to the data center, where they were organized and tabulated. Data were received, analyzed, and used as the basis for discussion.; Factors influencing student success included program size, English-speaking ability, enrollment status, course sequence, faculty-student ratio, clinical preceptor quality, and portfolio submission. Students in smaller programs were more likely to stay enrolled, pass the certification examination, and gain employment. Non-native English-speaking students were more likely to voluntarily withdraw from the professional program than their English-speaking counterparts. Full-time students enrolled in a structured sequence of professional courses were more likely to complete the program and pass the national certification examination. Students were also more likely to remain enrolled when full-time faculty-student ratios were low. Clinical preceptor academic level also contributed to retention. Attrition increased when portfolio submission was required as a component of performance assessment. |
