The NAACLS News

By Peter Hu, PhD, MS, MLS(ASCP)^CM,  CG^CM, MB^CM, FACSc, FASAHP

President, NAACLS Board of Directors

Greetings, colleagues! It is hard to believe it has been nearly a year since I wrote the previous “President’s Report” for the NAACLS Blog. Many things have happened, and some we are still living through. Nevertheless, clinical laboratorians are tough, resilient, and can critically think their way through just about any situation. Below is a summary of some of the top NAACLS activities during this past year.

As you know, the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognizes NAACLS. Like us, they are always looking for ways to improve their quality assurance processes.  CHEA’s requirements for transparency, including accreditors and programs posting outcomes and program accreditation award details, are constantly evolving and will become more prescriptive in the future. To accommodate this requirement, NAACLS may have to make some policy and standard changes in the future.

The 2020 NAACLS Annual Survey of Programs is scheduled to be sent to all program directors via email soon. Programs will have one month to complete the Annual Survey, which is required by NAACLS Standards. A preview of the questions to expect on the Annual Survey can be found here: https://naacls.org/other/annual-survey.aspx.

If you are not sure we have an accurate email address for your program (you can check this on find a program on our website), please inform the correct staff person (which you can find here).

by Dianne M. Cearlock, CEO

At the April 23, 2020 meeting of the NAACLS Board of Directors, in addition to accreditation and approval awards recommended by the Review Committee on Accredited Programs (RCAP) and the Program Approval Review Committee (PARC), the following items were addressed:

• Elections for the review committees were held. Re-elected for a second term to the RCAP were Jeanne Isabel (MLS Educator), Andrea Gordon (MLT Educator), Eric Elsinghorst (DMS Educator), and Jun Gu (CG Educator). Elected for a first term on the RCAP were Elizabeth Gockel-Blessing (MLS Educator) and William F. Ahlfeld (Path A Practitioner). Re-elected for a second term on the PARC was Andrea Stone (Clinical Assistant Educator) and Marilyn McCain (Phlebotomy Practitioner). Elected for a first term on the PARC was Michelle Hill (Phlebotomy Educator). Re-elected for a second term on the Doctoral Review Committee (DRC) was S. Renee Hodgkins (Doctoral Level Educator) and elected for a first term was Nadine Lerret (Doctoral Level Educator). Congratulations to the elected review committee members
• Elections for the Board of Directors were also held. Re-elected for a second term were Joel M. Shilling (ASCP Representative), Mark Bailey (NSH Representative), and Lynn Brodeur (Two Year Educator). Elected for a first term was Karen Brown (ASCP Representative). Congratulations to the elected Board of Directors members.
• Proposed changes to Standards to II.B, IV. A. 1.d. and V.D. were adopted after all public comments were reviewed.
• For Standard II.B –

Dear Dr. NAACLS,

I have just been hired by my institution as program director. The previous program director told me I need to reach out to NAACLS for approval. What documents do I need to submit to NAACLS, and how long will the process take?

Sincerely,

Mr. Jones

Mr. Jones,

First, allow NAACLS to congratulate you on your new position. To answer your question, a Program Director must be in place within 30 days of the previous Program Director’s departure. An email notification of the change in Program Director to NAACLS is sufficient, and NAACLS staff will provide you with the Program Official Approval Form. It is essential to review the checklist on page one, to ensure documents are submitted correctly, and within 30 days of contacting NAACLS. The materials that come from the applicant should be sent to Jessy Jasso, NAACLS Review liaison in one PDF e-file. The required supporting documents must come from a primary source (ASCP-BOC verification, transcripts, recommendation letters) and may be emailed separately to NAACLS. When all documentation is received, NAACLS will submit it to the reader pair (members of NAACLS review committees) for review. The reader pair will review the documentation and make a determination as to whether the candidate meets NAACLS’ requirements to serve as a program director. When a final determination has been made, NAACLS will notify you via email, which can take up to two (2) months.

We hope this helps you!

Dr. NAACLS

The NAACLS Board of Directors is requesting public comment for proposed Standards changes. To view the potential Standards changes, as well as the process to submit your comments, please download the file linked below.

Public Comment for Standard Six

In March, the NAACLS Board of Directors appointed a task force to develop a virtual site visit process for the canceled spring site visits due COVID 19. During the April 23rd Board of Directors meeting, the NAACLS Board approved this pilot process. The eligibility for these site visits are as follows: 

• The program’s previous award must have no citations.
• The program must be up to date with all applicable NAACLS responses and administrative issues (review materials, annual fees, surveys, etc.).
• The previous three years of outcomes must meet all benchmarks.
• Programs inactive during any part of their previous award are ineligible.
•  Initial Site Visits are not eligible.

This is a pilot program will be voluntary for programs that qualify. It will only be an option for the cancelled site visits from Spring 2020. Once these canceled site visits have been completed, the Board of Directors will review the effectiveness and discuss possible long term virtual site visit policies at a later date.

We invite you to view the NAACLS 2019 Annual Report on our website. The Annual Report includes a Message from the President, 2019 Program Data, 2019 Board of Directors’ Actions, 2019 Volunteers, Statements of Financial Position for FY ending June 30, 2019, and Rosters for the NAACLS Board, Review Committees and Staff.