eClinic: An Innovative Technology for Clinical Laboratory Sciences Education

描述(由申请人提供)：临床实验室(CL)从业者在疾病、创伤和疾病的检测、诊断和治疗中发挥着至关重要的作用。事实上，医护人员在作出医疗决定时所使用的资料，有七成来自CL。然而，目前训练有素的CL技术员和技术人员严重短缺，预计2012年CL职位空缺的36%将出现空缺。此外，CL学术项目正在大量关闭，理由是运营成本高，招聘和留住教师困难。仅在过去的十年里，就有超过三分之一的CL培训项目关闭，许多CL学术项目陷入困境，许多教师离开了该行业。雅典娜集团(Athena)与摩根州立大学(MSU)密切合作，提出了eClinic，这是一种基于技术的中学后CL教育方法，旨在解决CL短缺问题。EClinic技术由雅典娜在密歇根州立大学实习教师和临床医生的指导下和密切合作下开发，将使用虚拟湿实验室和先进的嵌入式学习策略提供真实的CL教育活动，为学生和教师(职前和在职)的认证做好更好的准备。EClinic项目的具体目标是开发一种技术，以增强CL学术项目，吸引学位候选人加入这些项目，更好地为学生做好准备并验证CL教师，并降低专业培训的成本。本着这一精神，eClinic将被开发为一个有效、负担得起和可持续发展的教育软件产品，面向CL项目，包括两年制和四年制大学，最初(第一阶段)重点是MSU学士学位CL项目。EClinic将利用雅典娜在开发虚拟学习环境方面展示的领导力和密歇根州立大学的CL教育专业知识。EClinic技术将由高质量的3D动画模拟、虚拟仪器以及对基于探究和基于场景的学习系统的深入了解推动。第一阶段eClinic技术将为学生和教职员工提供可演示的学习模块，用于现有的密歇根州立大学CL临床微生物学、临床化学和免疫血液学课程。EClinic的主要长期目标是为学生和教职员工在CL成功的职业生涯做好准备，提供一种对公共健康提供数量和质量上的好处的产品。在商业上，eClinic的覆盖范围将 扩展到CL之外，以支持传统的生物和化学。此外，雅典娜/密歇根州立大学的联合远程学习计划也将扩大eClinic的市场。最后，eClinic将被开发为CL行业的仪器培训工具。 与公共卫生相关：拟议的eClinic项目通过加强临床实验室(CL)学术项目、吸引学位候选人参加这些项目、更好地为学生做好准备和验证CL教师以及降低专业培训成本来促进公共卫生事业。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Clinical laboratories (CL) practitioners play a crucial role in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, trauma, and maladies. In fact, 70% of the information used by health care practitioners in making medical decisions comes from the CL. However, there is today a significant shortfall of trained CL technologists and technicians, with 36% of the CL job openings in 2012 expected to go unfilled. Moreover, CL academic programs are shutting down in great numbers, citing high operating costs and difficulty in recruiting and retaining faculty. Over one-third of CL training programs closed in the past decade alone, with many CL academic programs in shambles and many faculty leaving the profession. The Athena Group, Inc. (Athena), in close collaboration with Morgan State University (MSU), proposes eClinic, a technology-based approach to post- secondary CL education that addresses the CL shortfall problem. The eClinic technology, developed by Athena under the guidance of and in close collaboration with practicing faculty and clinicians at MSU, will deliver authentic CL educational activities using virtual wet labs and advanced, embedded learning strategies that better prepare students for professional practice and faculty (pre-service and in-service) for credentialing. Specific objectives of the eClinic project are to develop a technology that enhances CL academic programs, attracts degree candidates into these programs, better prepares students and validates CL instructors, and reduces the cost of professional training. In that spirit, eClinic will be developed as an effective, affordable, and sustainable educational software product targeting CL programs, both 2-year and 4-year colleges, with an initial (Phase I) focus on the MSU baccalaureate CL program. eClinic will leverage Athena's demonstrated leadership in developing virtual learning environments and MSU's CL education expertise. The eClinic technology will be driven by high-quality 3-D animated simulations, virtual instrumentation, and an intimate understanding of inquiry- and scenario-based learning systems. The Phase I eClinic technology will result in demonstrable learning modules for students and faculty for use in existing laboratory-intense MSU CL clinical microbiology, clinical chemistry, and immunohematology courses. The principal long-range eClinic goal is to prepare students and faculty for successful careers in CL with a product that provides quantitative and qualitative benefits to public health. Commercially, eClinic's reach will be extended beyond CL to support traditional biology and chemistry. In addition, joint Athena/MSU distance learning initiatives will also expand eClinic's market. Finally, eClinic will be developed as an instrument training tool for the CL industry. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed eClinic project advances the cause of public health by enhancing clinical laboratory (CL) academic programs, attracting degree candidates into these programs, better preparing students and validating CL instructors, and reducing the costs of professional training.