MCC Health Programs Finish Clinicals Following Safety Protocols

Although Middlesex Community College transitioned to remote, virtual and limited contact systems for its spring semester coursework and student services due to COVID-19, there are still skills that need to be learned in a practical, in-person setting. Middlesex is able to allow students in the college’s health programs to finish necessary lab work while following strict safety protocols and practicing social distancing.

“Hands-on learning and clinical placements are essential components of our curriculum for our health programs for a high-quality, comprehensive learning experience; for student work-readiness; and for accreditation purposes,” said Phil Sisson, MCC’s Provost & Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs. “Our goal for May and June is to provide the safest, face-to-face completion experience – in small numbers, following detailed CDC and state guidelines for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and social distancing.”

In order to proceed with finishing clinicals during this time, Middlesex ensures students are comfortable with their participation.

“We asked every student before and after the re-entry about how comfortable they are with the procedures in place,” said Mary Jenny, MCC’s Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Dental Assisting Program. “All students were given the option to opt out at any given time. None chose that. They all stated they felt safe coming into the lab with the safety measures in place.”

Jennifer Mason, an MCC Adjunct Faculty member for Phlebotomy, has also received positive feedback from students.

“Students have greatly appreciated the commitment by the department to ensure they are able to get clinical time and to have such a strong process in place to make it happen,” she said. “They are happy to be able to put their knowledge to work in the lab.”

Mason lists the safety measures the college has been taking in order to finish the work while remaining safe – rotating the class in small groups, screening for COVID risks, supplying appropriate PPE, cleaning appropriately, washing hands frequently, and assuring students their health and safety are vital.

Christine Laviolette, Assistant Professor in the Medical Lab Tech Program, lists more safety measures the college has put in place – wearing masks into the building, signing in at the front door to keep numbers at 10 or below in one area at a time, and filling out questionnaires.

Laviolette also emphasizes hand washing, wearing PPE – including lab coats, gloves, masks and face shields – and practicing social distancing. Undergoing these safety measures and being able to practice skills in a lab is essential to preparing students properly, Laviolette believes.

“Our field of medical laboratory science is in the forefront of this pandemic,” she said. “Our communities need more medical laboratory technicians, so we felt it important to get them completed so that they could join the battle against COVID-19.”

Much of what Dental Assisting students need to do in the lab requires lab equipment, according to Mary Jenny. The program also has to follow protocols set in place by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), which mandates the completion of clinical hours. However, the students can practice on mannikins rather than people during this time.

In the phlebotomy program, students learned skills online and through lectures and now can put the theory into practice. Skills include blood drawing, performing EKGs, safety, order of draw and aseptic technique. According to Mason, performing and watching these techniques in person is more effective.

For Laviolette, it seems unfathomable that students who have been working for two years or more would not be able to graduate because of the pandemic. She’s glad MCC can help students complete their work.

“The value of continuing education during these trying times is to get these citizens – who desperately want to make a difference in our communities – to work on the front lines,

she said. “Our students are ready, willing and able. We are so very proud of them!”

Mason emphasizes that now is the time to finish preparing the students directly for the workforce – because their help is needed more now than ever.

“This is what all of us in healthcare have trained for,” she said. “Use the proper PPE and provide the best care possible to patients. This is the time to train for a career in healthcare.”

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/admissionrequirements/health.aspx or call 1-800-818-3434 for more information on MCC’s Health Programs.

To register for Summer and Fall classes, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

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