The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Department of Medical Technology has stopped accepting applications, a sign that the program could be put on the back burner while the UH medical school attempts to deal with the budget cuts.
“We’re trying to figure out how we are going to do this with the cutbacks we have,” said Vice Dean Satoru Izutsu of John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
Dick Teshima, chair of the medical technology department, said that the already admitted students, including the new class of 10 students who are set to graduate in 2011, will be able to complete the program.
“We could not continue to support current classes and admit new students at the same time,” Teshima said. “Our plan is to continue eventually, but then again, no one has a crystal ball.”
Teshima said that the decision not to accept new applicants was made by JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges after discussions with Teshima.
“We actually came together to decide it would be better to slow down a little at this point,” Teshima said.
According to Teshima, the amount of money that will be saved by the decision is uncertain; the program receives donations from the community and also gets some of its equipment from hospitals.
The UH medical technology program graduated its first class in 1946, said Teshima. According to the program’s Web site, “Medical technology, also known as clinical laboratory science, is a healthcare profession where (clinical lab scientists) perform laboratory procedures to help diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases and to promote health.”
A medical technologist is taught to “identify leukemia cells, urinary sediments, microorganisms and other microscopic elements proficiently,” according to the Web site; urinalyses, body fluid analyses, immunology and serology are among the other skills medical technologists are trained to have.
Teshima has been talking with Kapi’olani Community College to possibly create a “career ladder.” Students could earn an Associate of Science in Medical Laboratory Technician, which is already offered at KCC, and then transfer to UH and take a related major, such as microbiology, and still become a certified medical technologist.
The UH medical technology program is the only accredited program of its kind in the state, according to Teshima, and if the program is eliminated, local hospitals will have to rely on bringing people in from the mainland. Teshima said relocating and training employees from the mainland could get costly for the hospitals.
Teshima said the program is “thinking about ways we can restructure and reorganize ourselves ... and come back even better.
“It’s really too bad, but ... the whole state is suffering,” Teshima said. “We can’t afford to do things as usual and hope they get better. We can’t afford to have a wait-and-see attitude.”
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