| Abstract: | A model for analyzing the costs and benefits of clinical education through active data collection was developed and implemented in an associate degree medical laboratory technician program. Five years later the model was retested and results of the study were compared to the original findings. In each case, data were generated by students over a two-semester period. Differences between the total cost of clinical education and the value of student service work, in terms of labor produced and revenue generated, were calculated. Evaluation of the data indicated that it is not possible to calculate a value for the net cost of clinical education representative of all participating hospitals because of a large variance in factors affecting costs. The data were also useful in evaluating other aspects of clinical education, such as the relationship of instruction time to total assignment time (instruction ratio); the percentage of service work performed by students; and the types of laboratory procedures most frequently performed by students. |
