An Investigation of the Relationships Between Personal Dimensions and Program Success in Medical Laboratory Technology.

This study assesses the curriculum strategies indicated by the intellectual orientation and personality dimensions of students in a Health Technology Program at a community college. When designing curriculum, educators in allied health programs frequently overlook the characteristics of the students the program must serve. This study explores the influence of several dimensions of personality, as measured by the Omnibus Personality Inventory, and the effect these behavioral attributes might have on academic success. The Inventory Instrument uses 14 scales to measure personality and intellectual dispositions. The mean and standard deviations for each scale of the Inventory and Grade Point Average were plotted for the students, and the composite student (or mean score) was plotted on an Inventory Graph, showing the distribution of students in medical laboratory technology by types and degrees of learning orientation. The practicum presents a learning process for medical laboratory technology students based on program goals and student characteristics including a sample program for learning hematology. The author suggests that the results and the recommendations from this practicum are applicable to other associate degree health technology programs. (Author/MJK)