NAACLS Board of Directors Update
(Last Updated On: )
By Dianne M. Cearlock, PhD, Chief Executive Officer
At the September 24, 2021 meeting of the NAACLS Board of Directors, in addition to accreditation and approval awards recommended by the Review Committee on Accredited Programs (RCAP), the Program Approval Review Committee (PARC), and the Doctoral Review Committee (DRC), the following items were addressed:
- Elections for Board of Director officer positions were held. Dr. Maribeth Flaws (ASCLS representative) assumes the role of President for the first year of a 2-year term. Elected as Vice President is Marisa James (ASCP representative), as Secretary is Karen Brown (ASCP representative), and as Treasurer is Dr. Joel Shilling (ASCP representative). Dr. Julie O’Sullivan Maillet (Four Year Educator) returns as Member at Large. Additionally, President Flaws appointed various Board members to serve as standing committee chairs and review committee liaisons.
- Leaving the Board after completion of two four-year terms is Dr. Peter Hu (AGT representative), Elton Richards (Public Member), and Marcia Armstrong (ASCLS representative). New members beginning the first year of 4-year terms are Dr. Christie Massen (ASCP representative), Dr. Jun Gu (AGT representative), Nathan Marik (Public Member), and Dr. Elaina Bleifield (Two Year Educator).
- NAACLS’ first DCLS program is awarded Initial Accreditation for 5 years. Standards were adopted in 2006 and later updated but, due to a number of factors including a nationwide recession, no DCLS programs were accredited until now. A second DCLS program is in doctoral candidacy status.
- The Board approved several items for release to the public with a request for public comment. Details about the proposed changes and instructions to provide comments were posted in the NAACLS News on December 1st, 2021.
- Changing the name of the Clinical Assistant program type to Medical Laboratory Assistant. Medical Laboratory Assistant is more descriptive of the profession than the current designation. Please note that the change in name applies to NAACLS’ nomenclature and that the name of specific programs remains within the purview of the programs.
- Changes to update the Clinical Assistant/Medical Laboratory Assistant and Phlebotomy entry level competencies and position description.
- Approved is the DCLS Annual Survey for Fall 2022 dissemination to all DCLS accredited and candidate programs. As with the Annual Survey of Programs with which the NAACLS’ community is already familiar, it is mandatory for DCLS programs to complete and submit it. Failure to do so may result in a program being placed on administrative probation.
- Approved is a new template for the Initial Application Packet. This template brings together the various elements of the application process making it more convenient for programs and the NAACLS staff.
- For clarification purposes, a requirement to be approved as a Phlebotomy Program Director is changed from needing to “have 6 months of experience in phlebotomy” to “have 6 months of experience in phlebotomy instructional experience”.
- The Board approved a Program Director Vacancy Policy. Once a vacancy occurs, NAACLS accredited and approved programs have six months to submit a qualified program director for review. A program may be allowed additional time if they demonstrate they are in an active search process. Please see the guide to accreditation (pg 29) for further information.
The Standards, Standard Compliance Guide and Guide to Accreditation and Approval have all been updated and uploaded to our website