Lynne Shetron-Rama

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Brief professional description

I am first and foremost an educator and I enjoy teaching. I teach Immunology, Microbiology and Molecular Diagnostics. I am also program director for the Clinical Lab Sciences Program, Cytogenetics, Histotechnology and the Pre-professional track. My research is mainly in Microbiology and currently I am working with the antimicrobial properties of nasal sprays as well as some collaborations with colleagues in Dietetics here at EMU and at Oakland University Medical School.

How and why did you get involved?

My desire stemmed from wanting to get my students involved working with other allied health professions. The labs role is significant in the diagnosis process as much as 70% of all health care decisions are based on information gathered from the lab. Unfortunately, many even in the health care field are unaware of what we do or how extensive our training is. I was hoping for possibilities to help the students from all professions see what happens in situations of preanalytical laboratory errors (these are errors in the process before the specimen makes it to the lab, a major source of revenue loss and patient problems).

What do you believe are the benefits?

I think having students communicate and join students from other majors to solve problems in the health care setting is eye opening and exciting for these students. It is helpful to learn from each other about the challenges each other faces as a student is well.

What has been the most memorable experience or highlight of teaching IPE so far?

I have enjoyed a couple of different IPE events thus far. The Pandemic Disaster Preparedness for Healthcare Professionals was a very enjoyable experience. The students worked together to solve problems as they were unfolding and to understand the roles they each might play in an emergency scenario. I also had the pleasure of taking part in a simulation exercise with the other professions in the Sim Lab at St Joe. Terry Mortier is the main person working in the simulation exercises from CLS but she was busy on the day of the simulation so I was able to attend. It was an amazing process to watch all the students together and to hear and to watch how they interact with one another for the first time.