Dr. Austin has been teaching in the Medical Laboratory Science Department at Farmingdale State College since 2010 and currently holds the rank of Associate Professor. She is responsible for the development and delivery of all Clinical Microbiology content and also teaches Laboratory Research and Education. She has in the past, facilitated the Blood Bank and Immunology Laboratory courses. She maintains her expertise through continued practice as a per diem NY State Licensed Clinical Laboratory Technologist where her experience spans over 35 years.
Dr. Austin is an active member at both the national and local levels of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), The American Society for Clinical Pathology(ASCP), and The American Society for Microbiology(ASM).
Inter-professional Education fuels her current research interests.
Dr. Austin is an active member at both the national and local levels of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), The American Society for Clinical Pathology(ASCP), and The American Society for Microbiology(ASM).
Inter-professional Education fuels her current research interests.
Courses Taught
Clinical Microbiology I, Clinical Microbiology II, Clinical Microbiology III, Laboratory Research and Education.Education
- BS, Medical Technology, New York Institute of Technology, 1987
- MS, Medical Biology (Medical Microbiology), Long Island University C.W. Post Campus, 2009
- DHEd, College of Graduate Health Studies (Doctor of Health Education), A.T. Still University, 2019
Certificates & Licensures
- MLS(ASCP)CM, Medical Laboratory Scientist, American Society for Clinical Pathology, 12/01/1993
- Clinical Laboratory Technologist, New York State , 12/04/2006
- SM(ASCP)CM, Specialist in Microbiology, American Society of Clinical Pathology/American Society for Microbiology, 09/21/2021
Publications
- Stuart Chaskis and Rita Austin, Stains for light microscopy. in E. Goldman and L.H. Green (Eds.), Practical handbook of microbiology 4th ed., Boca Raton, Fl.: Taylor & Francis Group (2021), pp. 42-50.
- Rita Austin and Tonya Shearin-Patterson, The Genus Bordetella in E. Goldman and L. Green (Eds.), Practical Handbook of Microbiology 4th ed., Boca Raton, Fl.: Taylor Francis Group (2021), pp. 279-288.
- Rita Austin, Nurse Educator and Medical Laboratory Scientist: Assessing Knowledge and Attitude following an Inter-professional Intervention, AT Still University Proquest Dissertations Publishing, (22587) 2019.
- Kathleen Cino, Rita Austin, Cristina Casa, Christine Nebocat and Adele Spencer, Interprofessional ethics education seminar for undergraduate health science students: A pilot study, Journal of Interprofessional Care, 32(2) 2017, 239-241.
- Kathleen Cino, Rita Austin, Cristina Casa, Adele Spencer and Christine Nebocat, Self-Efficacy and Interprofessional Learning: An Exercise in Ethics for Health Science Students [Abstract], Clinical Laboratory Science, 29(2) 2016, 98.
Presentations
- Christine Nebocat, Rita Austin and Susan Conforti, “Introducing an online exam simulator to capstone MLS students.” Poster presented at the ASCLS Joint Annual Meeting, Grand Rapids, Mi on June 30, 2022.
- Rita Austin, “Interprofessional Education: Educating the Educator.” Poster presented at the ASCLS Joint Annual Meeting 2021, Louisville , Ky/Virtual on June 28, 2021.
- Rita Austin, “MLS: This Is Our Story: It's Time to Tell It.” Presentation to the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science's Clinical Laboratory Educator's Conference, Orlando, Fl. on February 29, 2020.
- Rita Austin, “Partners in Patient Care: Nurse-Medical Laboratory Scientist: A Pilot Study to Improve Knowledge and Attitude.” Poster presented at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing: Clinical Nurse Leader Summit, San Antonio, Tx. on February 21, 2020.
- Rita Austin, “Nurse-Medical Laboratory Scientist: Improving Interprofessional Relationships.” Poster presented at the NY League for Nursing Fall Research Conference, Saratoga Springs , NY on November 16, 2019.
- Rita Austin, “Medical Laboratory Scientist and Nurse Educator: Improving Knowledge and Attitudes Through an Interprofessional Pilot Program.” Poster presented at the Farmingdale State College Celebration of Scholarship, on November 5, 2019.
- Rita Austin, Kathleen Cino, Cristina Casa - Levine, Christine Nebocat and Adele Spencer, “Self-efficacy and interprofessional learning: an exercise in ethics for health science students.” Poster presented at the Clinical Laboratory Educator's Conference, Minneapolis, Mn. on February 26, 2016.
