The faculty of the Medical and Health Professions Education Program proudly announce the date for Demetra Castillo's dissertation defense. The study entitled A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN A GRADUATE MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE PROGRAM explored the leadership traits, behaviors, and styles of graduate medical laboratory science (MLS) students by analyzing their leadership questionnaire results, final reflection papers, professional biographies, and leadership credos. The dissertation defense is an open event.
Date: July 8, 2026
Time: 10:00am EDT
Full abstract: Leadership development is increasingly recognized as an essential component of healthcare education. This recognition is especially important as laboratory professionals assume expanded responsibilities involving collaboration, decision-making, systems thinking, and organizational leadership. Despite this need, limited research has explored how leadership development occurs within graduate medical laboratory science (MLS) programs. This study examined leadership development within a graduate MLS program through the lens of experiential learning theory (ELT). Two research questions guided the study: How does the MLS graduate program foster leadership development in students, as demonstrated through their professional biographies, leadership questionnaires, final reflection papers, and leadership credos; and in what ways do graduate MLS students’ leadership reflections demonstrate growth or development over time? A qualitative case study design using secondary data was used to examine five student cases. Data sources included professional biographies, leadership questionnaires, leadership credos, and final reflection papers. Deductive content and thematic analyses showed patterns across artifacts and cases. Four overarching themes emerged. First, leadership development occurred through experiential integration, as participants connected workplace experiences with reflective and conceptual learning processes. Second, leadership identity consistently emphasized relational and servant-oriented leadership constructs, including empowering others, helping followers grow and succeed, building trust, and prioritizing collaboration and communication. Third, participants demonstrated strong task-oriented and skills-based leadership characterized by technical competence, operational effectiveness, and workplace responsibility. Finally, participants exhibited identity-based leadership through increased self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, and reflection on personal strengths, limitations, and professional values. The findings suggest that leadership development in graduate MLS education is multidimensional and shaped by experiential learning processes integrating reflection, professional experience, and identity formation. Recommendations include strengthening longitudinal integration of artifacts, expanding adaptive and systems-level leadership opportunities, leveraging existing relational and servant leadership strengths, enhancing leadership questionnaires as developmental tools, preserving artifact-based assessment strategies, and supporting individualized leadership development pathways. These findings have implications for curriculum design and program development aimed at cultivating intentional and sustainable leadership growth among graduate MLS students.