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Mark Voelkner, a Medical Technologist Senior in the Molecular Diagnostics laboratory is the first pathology department employee to have successfully challenged the new MT Clinical Ladder Level III. Mark was required to submit a comprehensive portfolio to demonstrate his knowledge and expertise in four domains:
- Professional Development/Education
- Clinical Operations
- Leadership/Problem-Solving
- Quality
While a valuable recruitment and retention tool, the ultimate goal of the clinical ladder is to direct efforts towards advancing the patient care, education and research missions of the VCU Health System and the department.
Mark holds a BS in Genetics from the University of Maryland and an MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. He gave the following as some of the reasons for his interest in the clinical ladder, "I would like to continue in the development and validation of new assays in molecular diagnostics and to become more involved in laboratory medicine. The clinical ladder provided me with tremendous opportunities to become more actively engaged in developing new clinical applications, specifically, pharmacogenomics and ultimately, personalized medicine."
Dr. Ferreira-Gonzalez, Professor of Pathology, who served as Mark's mentor during the entire process, states, "We are very pleased that Mark's continuous professional dedication and contribution to the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Department of Pathology, and VCU Health System have been recognized by his successful challenge to the career ladder. The ladder provides a great opportunity for our employees to gain recognition of their continuous professional and leadership contributions."
Mark is a primary contributing author on the research poster behind him in the photo (right), which is titled, "Performance Evaluation of a Commercially Available Real Time PCR Assay for the Detection of the Janus Kinase 2 V617F (JAK-2) Mutation in Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders (CMD). Mark is already planning to challenge to Level IV, when he meets the additional requirements.
Congratulations Mr. Voelkner! |
Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, PhD
Director, Molecular Diagnostics Lab, Department of Pathology
with
Mark Voelkner, Med Tech III, MP (ASCP)
to view larger photos, click on thumbnails below
Mark with mentor/poster |
Mark in PCR Lab |
Mark in PCR Lab |
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For more information about the MT Clinical Ladder
email Judith Patch, Board Administrator |
