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y-- AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REASONS FOR WITHDRAWAL OF STUDENTS FROM THE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM AT MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY A Research Paper Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Marquette University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the \. Degree of Master of Education M by Lorraine Raasch Milwaukee, Wisconsin 11I=> )J'Ji June, 1954 .. ' ,-- " . cy ~\ .' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express her gratitude to Sister Mary Thomas, Dean of the Marquette University College of Nursing, for giving permission to secure the necessary information from the files of the Medical Technicians. Special thanks are due to Dr. G. Mouly, and Dorothy Vossen who found time to give their criticisms, advice, and encouragement. Thanks are also made to Eleanore Goese, who assisted in the clerical work, also to the former students whose whole-hearted cooperation made this study possible. Lorraine Haasch ----- .- TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER Page I • TIlE PROBLE2Jl. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1 Introduction. 1 The Problem............................ 1 Deflni tiona. • . 1 Background of The Problem.............. 2 Marquette University Medical TechnplogyCurriculum.............. 3 Review of the Li terature............... 4 Chapter Summary. • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 II. THE DESIGN OF TIlE STUDY..................... 9 Ins trument Used........................ 9 Size of Group Studied •••••.••••••• 10 Chapter Summary........................ 12 III. F~ND~NGS OF STUDy ••••••••••••••••••••.••••• 13 Questionnaire Check-List Results .•••••• 13 Reasons for Withdrawal as Found on Marquette University Records •••••••• 14 High School Record •••••••••.••••••••••. 17 Colleges Transferred into by Withdrawal Students •••••••••••••••••.•. 18 Curricula Transferred into ••••••••••••. 19 Present Employment of Withdrawal Students ••••••••••••.. • ••••. 21 i 0.." Page Residence of Students While Attending Marquette University ......... 22 Insufficient Student Guidance ..... .. ... 23 Suggestions for Preventing Future Drop-ou ts . .. 24 Chapter Summary .. .. ...... ......... ... 25 IV . SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . .... ............... 26 Statement of Limitations .. .. .. ..... 29 Recommendations to Increase Enrollment and Reduce Student Mortality .. ........ 29 Recommendations for Further Study ... .. 31 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... ... .. ........ .. ..... 32 APPENDICES. 36 A. Approved Schools for Medical Technology . 36 B. Medical Technology Curriculum . ........ 41 C. Correspondence .. ..... .. ... ... ....... .. 45 D. Questionnaire . .............. .... .. '.' 47 E. Evaluation Sheet for a Rese~rch Paper .. 52 ii ~ ~. LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. Admissions and Withdrawals from 1950 to 1952 Inclusive •••••• • ••••••••• • •••• • • 11 II. Reasons for Withdrawal as Tabulated from Returned Questionnaires ••••• • •••••••••• • 15 I I I . Grades of Withdrawal Students while Attending Marquette University ••••• • •••• 17 IV . High School Rank of Withdrawal Students. 18 V. Withdrawals Transferring to Other Colleges or Continuing at Marquette ••• • • 19 VI . Curricula Transferred into by Withdrawal Students •• • •• •• • • • • •• •• •• •• • • 20 VII. Present Occupations of Withdrawal Students Participating in this Study •••• 21 VIII. Place of Residence of Withdrawal Students while Attending Marquette •• • •• • 22 IX. Suggestions for Preventing Drop-outs as Offered by Withdrawal Students ••••••• 23 iii -- ~ CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction. Student mortality has long been a problem facing colleges and universities throughout the country. Before adjustments can be made in the · curriculum, it is necessary to discover the reasons why students find it necessary to withdraw before com pletion of the program. The Problem It is the purpose of this study to investigate the reasons why students withdrew from the Medical Technology Curriculum at Marquette University. Definitions. In order to discuss the profession of Medical Technology, it is necessary to define pathology, and pathologist, because the professions of Medical Technology and Pathology are closely re lated. The Registryl defines them as follows: Pathology is the science treating of disease, their essential nature, causes and development, and the structural and functional changes produced by them. A pathologist is a physician who specializes in laboratory medicine, who is trained to carry out l"The Registry of Medical Technologists of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists" Muncie, Ind., July, 1952, p . 3. 1 2 laboratory tests which will aid in diagnosis. A medical technologist is one who, by education and training, is capable of performing, under the supervision of a pathologist or other qualified physi cian, the various chemical, microscopic, bacteriologic and medical laboratory procedures used in the diagnosis, study and treatment of disease. Background of The Problem In the early days, pathologists performed their own laboratory tests until the field broadened to such an extent that it was necessary to have help in perform ing the more simple tests. Thus was born the profes sion of Medical Technology, about the time of World War I. Schools were established, but fees were usually exorbitant and students were poorly trained. In 1928, standardization of training came into being. The Registry 2 , 1/ has elevated the status of the medical laboratory worker to a high professional level, by gradually raising the educational requirements and broadening and improving the technical training. 1I The list of approved schools of Medical Technology has grown from forty-one in 1935, to 436 in 1950. The approximate student capaCity is 3,000, although it is doubtful if all schools are training up to their full capaCity. If they were, it is possible that the short age of technicians might be alleviated to some extent, but the fact that 96% of all registered Medical Tech- -- 2Ibid., 4. 3 nologists are women, means that a number of them will marry and retire from the field . There are four approved schools of Medical Tech nology in Wisconsin today. These are: Cardinal Stritch College, Marquette University College of Nursing, Mount Mary College, and the University of Wisconsin. Marquette University Medical Technology Curricu ~. The Medical Technology Curriculum at Marquette dates back to 1938, when at that time there were four freshmen enrolled as compared with thirty-seven fresh men students in 1953. The steady increase in enroll ment can be explained in two ways; first, young people are becoming interested in and aware of the need for adequate training in this profeSSion, and secondly, Marquette University is one of the four schools in Wisconsin having been approved by the Council on Medi cal Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association, and the Board of Registry of Medical Technologists of' the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. (See Appendix A, P. 36, under Wisconsin) The curriculum leading to the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology is directed by the Dean of the College of Nursing and the Associate 4 Professor of Pathology of the Marquette University School of Medicine. Applicants must be graduates of an accredited high school and rank in the upper one fourth of their class. The first three years are spent in academic studies, and the last year in prac- tical work in specially chosen hospitals which have been approved by the Council previously mentioned. (See Appendix B, page 31, for an outline of the curricu lum. ) Review ---of the Literature There have been studies made as far back as 1929, on the subject of student mortality. Greene3 states, "Student mortality has for years been one of the largest and most persistent problems with which Colleges and Universities have been confronted. " It is still a major problem facing educators today. In reviewing the vast amount of literature rela tive to this problem, one finds the four major reasons forcing students to discontinue before graduation are: academic failure, financial difficulty, lack of curri- cular interests, and illness. In a study conducted 3Greene, F.D. IIFollow-up Study of Non-graduating Women from the College of Education of the Ohio Stat~ trniversity,lI Educational Administration and Supervision, 29:427, October, 1943. -_. 5 by the Office of Education,4 on College Student Mortality, it was found that from twenty-four colleges and universities throughout the country, 30.9% of all withdrawals were due to the reasons stated above. One of the interesting findings of this study was the large number of students leaving for reasons unknown to the schools in which they had been enrolled. This seems to be true in the majority of studies found on this subject. The heaviest losses were found to occur during or immediately following the first year of work. Some of the questions raised by leading educators are: 1. Should these students have been admitted? 2. Do the educational programs lack appeal? 3. Is adjustment to collegiate environmental conditions too difficult? The two most frequent suggestions given for re ducing student mortality are: higher entrance require ments, and better developed guidance programs. No studies were found relative to the problem of withdrawals from Medical Technology. 4 McNeely, J.H. "College Student Mortality," Uni- ted States Department .of Interior, Office of EducatIOn, EUTletin, 1937, No. 11,-Washington, u.s. Printing Office. 6 There were two studies of significance in rela tion to withdrawals from schools