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A 'Quiet Crisis' in Healthcare

Laboratorians can springboard to a wide range of positions in industry research, sales or marketing of medical equipment, as well as management and supervisory career tracks. Many of these mission-critical positions go unfilled, causing a "quiet crisis" in healthcare. More than 70 percent of the information used to diagnose a patient comes from laboratory results, according to Michelle Briski, medical laboratory technician program director for St. Paul College. Laboratorians provide "information, not diagnosis" to the medical staff of the hospital or clinic. Still, the diagnostic knowledge and experience of the lab worker can be crucial.

That makes the laboratorian a crucial member of the patient care team. Yet many of these mission-critical positions go unfilled due to the lack of workers in the field. That's why Briski calls the need for medical laboratory technicians and medical technologists a "quiet crisis" in healthcare.

"Laboratorian" is the umbrella term that covers an alphabet soup of certified medical professionals. The medical technician (MT) or clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) certification requires a four-year degree. The clinical laboratory technician (CLT) or medical laboratory technician (MLT) is a two-year program. The reason for two sets of titles is that two different organizations provide certification. Both organizations now require continuing education and recertification every three years. Successful laboratorians are problem solvers.

In fact, the initial certification can be a springboard to a wide range of positions in industry research, sales or marketing of medical equipment, as well as management and supervisory career tracks. Laboratorians also enjoy career flexibility and variety, according to Briski. Working part time is common. Hospital laboratories are open round-the-clock, providing second- or third-shift opportunities. The nationwide shortage of laboratorians means experience is readily transferable.

How great is the demand for laboratorians? According to the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Rapid job growth and excellent job opportunities are expected. Most jobs will continue to be in hospitals, but employment will grow faster in other settings. Employment of clinical laboratory workers is expected to grow 14 percent between 2006 and 2016, faster than the average for all occupations. The volume of laboratory tests continues to increase with both population growth and the development of new types of tests. Although hospitals are expected to continue to be the major employer of clinical laboratory workers, employment is expected to grow faster in medical and diagnostic laboratories, offices of physicians, and all other ambulatory health care services. Job opportunities are expected to be excellent because the number of job openings is expected to continue to exceed the number of job seekers. Although significant, job growth will not be the only source of opportunities. Median annual wage-and-salary earnings of medical and clinical laboratory technologists were $49,700 in May 2006."

For information on the St. Paul College two-year medical technician program, go to http:/www.saintpaul.edu/ Another program, Fairview Health Services offers a hospital-based clinical laboratory scientist program that allows people with a Bachelor of Science degree to achieve certification in one year or to complete the CLS program as the final year of a four-year program.

Information on certification is available from:

  • American Association of Bioanalysts, Board of Registry, http://www.aab.org
  • American Medical Technologists, http://www.amt1.com
  • American Society for Clinical Pathology, http://www.ascp.org
  • National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel, http://www.nca-info.org

Additional career information is available from:

  • American Association of Blood Banks, http://www.aabb.org
  • American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, http://www.ascls.org
  • American Society for Cytopathology, http://www.cytopathology.org
  • Clinical Laboratory Management Association, http://www.clma.org

Source: Star Tribune, Laura French, 1/7/8