Clinical Laboratory Practitioners - General Information
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Professions. July 2005. The Clinical Laboratory Workforce: The Changing Picture of Supply, Demand, Education, and Practice. Merrifield, VA: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Professions.
“Summary of major findings
1. Qualitative and quantitative data suggest a shortage of clinical laboratory workers in the past several years although the most recent data indicate that the shortages may be easing at least for some types of workers and in some settings and geographic areas.
2. Increasing wages and the use of sign-on bonuses indicate that the market is responding to a shortage of clinical laboratory workers. The increased use of per diem and contract workers and overtime may conceal the severity of the current shortage.
3. Though the pipeline to employment in the clinical laboratory sciences has deteriorated—mostly due to closures in hospital-based training programs—student interest is rising. Local or regionally driven efforts to restart training programs, or develop new ones, in locations currently experiencing labor shortages, have capitalized on renewed student interest to meet local workforce demand.
4. New and developing technology, including the automation of many common tests, will have an impact on the demand for clinical laboratory workers; yet much of that change is emerging more slowly than once predicted.
5. Medical technologists (MTs) will not move into consultative roles on clinical teams without a strategy to make this happen.”
U.S. Department Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections. 2006–07. Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians. Washington, DC: Occupational Outlook Handbook. [Online, accessed 11/27/06]
Available: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos096.htm
• “Faster than average employment growth is expected as the volume of laboratory tests continues to increase with both population growth and the development of new types of tests.
• Clinical laboratory technologists usually have a bachelor’s degree with a major in medical technology or in one of the life sciences; clinical laboratory technicians generally need either an associate degree or a certificate.
• Job opportunities are expected to be excellent.”
Steward, Coletta A., and Nancie N. Thompson. August 2006. ASCP 2005 Wage and Vacancy Survey of Medical Laboratories. Labmedocone 37(8): 465–69. [Online, accessed 11/20/06.]
“The American Society for Clinical Pathology conducts biannual surveys to assess trends in wages and position vacancies across the U.S….The most recent report indicates a vacancy rate on average in the 6–7% range. Laboratory managers report that it takes two months or more to fill vacant positions.”
