Dianne Cearlock

NIU, College of DuPage build bridge
for Clinical Laboratory Sciences students

by Mark McGowan

Nurses - or, more appropriately, the lack thereof - own the "shortage" headlines.

But, said Dianne Cearlock, a professor in the School of Allied Health Professions, the health care field's greater need is in clinical laboratory sciences:

• The average age of the practicing clinical laboratory scientist is 45, and the next decade will bring many retirements.
• Many science-based career opportunities with good salaries, such as in computers, have in recent years wooed bright students away from clinical laboratory science positions.
• The last two decades of controlled health care costs and managed care have shuttered many hospital-based and accredited clinical laboratory programs, forcing colleges and universities to step up.
• Although clinical laboratory scientists are certified nationally, Illinois does not offer a license to practice, which can boost prestige, salary and scope of work. (Efforts are under way to license the state's clinical laboratory scientists.)

NIU's College of Health and Human Sciences and the College of DuPage are joining forces to produce more clinical laboratory scientists through an articulation agreement that begins next month.

Students who complete all general education requirements and special pre-requisite courses at COD can transfer seamlessly to NIU to complete bachelor's degrees in four semesters.

"The folks at COD and our clinical laboratory sciences faculty here look at this as one way to address this shortage," Cearlock said. "We're trying to make the program as accessible as possible and as affordable as possible as well with a couple of years at community college pricing."

"We really need to promote that profession," said Nancy Feulner, program coordinator in COD's Division of Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences. "We're starting to see severe shortages in the area of clin lab, and it's only going to get worse. A lot of university-based programs have closed in the last 10 to 15 years."

NIU's strong program and convenient location near the suburbs made it attractive, Feulner said.

"A lot of the students who come to COD are returning to school after their kids are in school. They can get their first two years locally, and NIU is still 'local' enough to get their final two years without leaving home and their families," she said. "Most of our students are older and usually very good students. They know what they want, they're very dedicated and they have a goal in mind."

"We certainly look at this as recruitment of good students," Cearlock agreed. "They come from COD very well prepared."

For COD, which has waiting lists for every phlebotomy course, the "Introduction to Clinical Laboratory Sciences" class beginning in January is a new offering.

"That will get the ball rolling," Feulner said. "Our phlebotomy program gets students in the door of the clin lab. Many have said they want to do more: 'Now that I'm here, I see what this is, and I really like it.' There is interest from the students."

Members of an advisory board committee representing DuPage County hospitals also encouraged the program, she said.

"We didn't do this blindly," Feulner said. "It's what the community wants, and what the community needs."

12-9-2002