Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

4771

Date

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Higher and Adult Education

Concentration

Adult Education

Committee Chair

Mitsunori Misawa

Committee Member

Adam Walker

Committee Member

Reginald Green

Committee Member

Kristin Jane Mumiukha

Abstract

Medical laboratory science professionals are healthcare practitioners who provide laboratory data that aids in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. However, there is a large shortage of these professionals who perform the laboratory tests behind the scenes with very minimal patient contact. The purpose of this research was to determine which job features create motivation and career satisfaction to retain personnel in the medical laboratory profession. The four research questions which guided this study were based on Wlodkowski's theory of motivation: Is there a difference in perceived career satisfaction among medical laboratory scientists who: (a) feel more included by practitioners in other healthcare professions, (b) have choices on the job that are personally relevant, and (c)Feel more challenged in their daily work, and (d) feel more competent in their daily work? In particular, this study compared the satisfaction scores for laboratory personnel who are included on inter-professional teams in healthcare, make choices that are personally relevant, feel challenged in their daily work, and feel competent in their field. The methodology for the study was survey research. A survey composed of 36 questions was developed to capture the opinions of medical laboratory professionals who worked in the United States and had at least one year of experience. In addition, the medical laboratory professionals were certified by a national certification agency. The survey was deployed using Qualtrics survey software and posted on social media sites which included Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to calculate ANOVAs, correlation analysis, and Cronbach alpha. Correlational analysis showed positive correlations between career satisfaction for medical laboratory scientists who are included on inter-professional teams, feel challenged in their work, and make choices that are personally relevant. This study has implications for the medical laboratory science profession as the evidence showed that changes in the laboratory environment could lead to increased job satisfaction.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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