National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences explained

National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) is a US based educational accreditation organization that accredits clinical laboratory educational programs. NAACLS is accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

NAACLS is the primary accrediting body for clinical laboratory programs in the US, though the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools(ABHES) also accredits a handful of programs.^[1] Graduates of the ABHES are not eligible for the American Society for Clinical Pathology(ASCP) certification, but are eligible for the American Medical Technologists(AMT) certification.^[1]

NAACLS has criticized the rise of non-accredited, on-the-job training (OJT) programs as undermining the laboratory profession.^[2]

History

It was founded in 1973, after the United States Department of Education pressured the American Society for Clinical Pathology(ASCP) to disband their Board of Schools (BOS) following monopolization concerns.^{[3] [4]} At the time of its founding, there were seven categories of laboratory personnel: Clinical Laboratory Assistant (CLA), Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT), Medical Technologist (MT), Cytotechnologist (CT), and Histotechnologist (HT).^[4]

In 2023, there was an effort to standardize program nomenclature which did not pass.^[5]

Programs

Name	Abbr.	No. of programs in 2023	Notes
	CT	2
	DMS	8
	HT	38
	HTL	10
	MLA	0
	MLM
	MLS	247	Formerly Medical Technology (MT), then Clinical Laboratory Science(CLS)
	MLT	237
	PATH A	16
	PHLEB	50
Public Health Microbiologist	PHM
Doctorate In Clinical Laboratory	DCLS	3
	BMS	NA	In progress

Decreases in laboratory reimbursement have led to a decline in the number of NAACLS accredited MLS programs from ~700 in 1975 to ~240 programs in 2002, where it has held since.^[2]

NAACLS program graduates are eligible to sit for American Society for Clinical Pathology(ASCP) certifications.

Stance on non-accredited training programs

NAACLS has criticized the rise of non-accredited, on-the-job training (OJT) programs as undermining the laboratory profession.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: FA . Barbara L. Nichols, MS, DHL, RN . PhD . Catherine R. Davis, RN . Doig . Kathryn . The Official Guide for Foreign-Educated Allied Health Professionals: What you need to Know about Health Care and the Allied Health Professions in the United States . 19 October 2009 . Springer Publishing Company . 978-0-8261-1064-0 . 172-175 . en . Chapter 6 - Health Care Professional Practice in the United States - Medical Technologists and Medical Laboratory Technicians.
2. News: Flaws . Maribeth . President's Report – Educational Programs: Threats and Opportunities . The NAACLS News . 15 June 2023.
3. Book: Turgeon . Mary Louise . Linne & Ringsrud's Clinical Laboratory Science - E-Book: The Basics and Routine Techniques . 14 April 2014 . Elsevier Health Sciences . 978-0-323-29280-1 . 5 . en.
4. News: NAACLS's 50th Birthday- Tempus Fugit . 23 February 2024 . The NAACLS News . 14 February 2023. Miller. Herb .
5. Web site: Proposed Nomenclature Standard . The NAACLS News . 19 October 2023.
6. News: Flaws . Maribeth . President's Report – Educational Programs: Threats and Opportunities . The NAACLS News . 15 June 2023.