The NAACLS Board of Directors met on September 21st, 2023. Decisions reached at that meeting include:

New Executive Committee

• President – Robert Cottrell, AAPA Representative
• Vice President – Karen Brown, ASCP Representative
• Secretary – Susanne Norris Zanto, ASCLS Representative
• Treasurer – Nathan Johnson, ASCP Representative
• Member at Large – Elaina Bleifield, Two Year Educator
• Past President – Maribeth Flaws, ASCLS Representative

Standards Revision and Implementation

The NAACLS Board of Directors offers its sincerest gratitude to all those who took time to offer comments on the draft standards. The board has completed a comprehensive review of the public comments and has taken action by approving certain elements, tabling others for further refinement, and rejecting some aspects of the draft standards. NAACLS will spend the next six months refining the language of the tabled standards and initiate development of a revamped Standard Compliance Guide (SCG). Our target is for the board to finalize all significant changes at the September 2024 board meeting, with self-studies for those new standards due in October 2025.

Nomenclature Standard

The standard draft released for public comment included a standard requiring accredited programs to name themselves using the nomenclature defined by NAACLS. This initiative was motivated by the efforts of the professional organizations to identify a commonly used identifier for MLS and MLT practitioners. While NAACLS supports this movement in the profession, the board ultimately felt the name of a program has no reflection on the quality of the program. Therefore, such a standard would not align with the NAACLS mission as an accreditor.

Inter-professional Education

NAACLS approved the addition of the inter-professional standard language in Standard VIII for all disciplines.

IDEA Standards

The initial draft of the standards revision included multiple aspects addressing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) efforts. After reviewing the public comments and considering the tumultuous higher education landscape on the state level, NAACLS tabled the decision on these standards. Currently, NAACLS’ IDEA Task Force is working on a recommendation for submission to the board in April.

Entry Level Technical Competencies

As NAACLS progresses with the standards revision, NAACLS Review Committee members will begin reviewing each discipline’s entry-level competencies. NAACLS seeks to ensure these competencies align with current practice.

BMS Standards

The NAACLS Board of Directors developed Biomedical Scientist (BMS) accreditation for academic and applied science education programs that may provide service or engage in research within existing or emerging professions outside traditional clinical laboratory environments.

Standard Changes for Public Comment

Proposed revisions to the Phlebotomy 2012 Standards (not the draft standards revision referenced above) and the Doctoral Standards are available on the NAACLS News.

Inactive Status

NAACLS has revised its Inactive Status Policy. The changes primarily clarify when a program is considered inactive and the steps a program must take to reactivate.

Core Documents

NAACLS Staff is aiming to have all 2012 core documents affected by these decisions, updated by November 2nd. Notifications of Renewal (NoRs) for programs with a self-study due in October of 2024 will be sent shortly after.

Additional Details

The September Board of Directors Change Document (linked) includes details regarding policy and compliance changes discussed during this meeting. Please get in touch with NAACLS Staff if you have any questions about any board decisions.