Building a laboratory workforce to meet the future: ASCP Task Force on the Laboratory Professionals Workforce.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the demand for services from the nation's medical laboratories, which is predicted to dramatically increase as our citizens age and millions receive insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. METHODS: A systematic review of relevant publications and databases was conducted to assess the current state of the nation's medical laboratory workforce and to examine the impact of population demographics and health reform on workforce development to address the future demand for laboratory services. RESULTS: Building a Laboratory Workforce to Meet the Future, a new report from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), provides a comprehensive strategy to address the future workforce needs of the nation's medical laboratories to meet this demand to provide timely, accurate, and safe patient care and to fully realize the benefits of personalized medicine. CONCLUSIONS: The report, from the ASCP Task Force on the Laboratory Professionals Workforce, is a comprehensive review of the myriad of factors affecting recruitment and retention of qualified laboratory professionals and provides a set of thoughtful recommendations outlining a multifaceted approach to bolster the pipeline of potential candidates for the profession as well as leadership in health care.

Exploring professional-related outcome differences between phlebotomy technicians, medical laboratory technicians, and medical technologists.

As part of a large scale practice analysis on Phlebotomy Technicians (PBTs), Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLTs), and Medical Technologists (MTs), additional data on four "home made measures" of professional-related outcomes, i.e., professional development, quality assurance monitoring, employer reimbursement, and types of continuing education, were also collected. In order to maximize data use from the overall sample of 3,097 respondents (constituting only 18% of the population surveyed), pairwise deletion of data was utilized. No a priori differences between PBTs, MLTs and MTs on these outcomes were hypothesized, and none were found for professional development and employer reimbursement. The finding that PBTs were lower than MLTs and MTs on quality assurance monitoring was interpreted as being job expected. Despite the study limitations, professional development for not just laboratory professionals but all allied health professionals remains an important recruitment and retention issue, as demand for all health services is expected to increase.

Task scales performed and testing for scale differences among phlebotomy technicians, medical laboratory technicians, and medical technologists.

A large-scale practice analysis was undertaken by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Registry to help maintain the validity of its certification examinations. The complete data sample of 1152 practicing phlebotomy technicians, medical laboratory technicians, and medical technologists was found to be demographically representative of the overall sample of 3097 respondents. The first study goal was to identify reliable task scales performed by phlebotomy technicians, medical laboratory technicians, and medical technologists. Thirty-eight task scales were initially found. Second, discriminant analysis was used to predict membership in one of these certification groups based on a more parsimonious combination of task scales. Task scale distinctions among phlebotomy technicians, medical laboratory technicians, and medical technologists were found. Study implications and limitations are discussed.

Exploring the impact of certification activity, years of laboratory experience, highest degree held, occupational commitment, and job loss insecurity on intent to leave occupation for medical technologists.

This study used a sample of 205 repeat-respondent medical technologists over a 3-year period to explore the impact of certification activity, years of laboratory experience, highest degree held, occupational commitment, and job loss insecurity on intent to leave occupation. Results showed that 3-year certification activity was related to lower intent to leave the occupation and that it accounted for significant variance in explaining intent to leave the occupation beyond all other controlled-for variables. Implications for health care organizations hiring certified medical laboratory professionals or sponsoring the certification of current staff are briefly discussed.