Date of Award

Summer 8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Medical and Health Professions Education - Higher Education

Committee Director

Margaret Gesing

Committee Member

Patricia Tille

Committee Member

Laura Soulsby

Abstract

Leadership development is increasingly recognized as an essential component of healthcare education, particularly as medical laboratory professionals assume expanded responsibilities involving collaboration, decision-making, systems thinking, and organizational leadership. Despite this need, limited research has explored how leadership develops within graduate medical laboratory science (MLS) programs. This qualitative case study examined leadership development through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory (ELT). Two research questions explored how the program fostered leadership development through students’ professional biographies, leadership questionnaires, final reflection papers, and leadership credos and how leadership reflections demonstrated growth over time. Secondary data from five student cases were analyzed using deductive content and thematic analysis. Four themes emerged. (1) Experiential integration, in which connected workplace experiences were transformed through reflection and conceptual learning. (2) Relational and servant-oriented leadership emphasizing trust, collaboration, communication, and empowering others. (3) Task-oriented and skills-based leadership characterized by technical competence, operational effectiveness, and responsibility. (4) Identity-based leadership demonstrated through increased self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, and reflection on professional values. Findings suggest that leadership development in graduate MLS education is multidimensional and shaped by experiential learning, reflection, professional experience, and identity formation. Recommendations include strengthening longitudinal artifact integration, expanding adaptive and systems-level leadership opportunities, leveraging existing relational and servant leadership strengths, enhancing leadership questionnaires as developmental tools, preserving artifact-based assessment, and supporting individualized leadership development. These findings inform curriculum design and intentional leadership development in graduate MLS education.

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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/rzn8-aa84

ISBN

9798193216353

ORCID

0009-0001-1083-9200

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