American Society for Clinical Pathology’s 2010 Wage Survey of U.S. Clinical Laboratories

Abstract

Since 1988, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) has conducted its Wage and Vacancy Survey to provide the most recent wage data and determine the extent and distribution of shortages within the nation’s clinical laboratory workforce. This confidential survey has been administered every two years and has served as the primary source of information for academic, governmental, and industry labor analysts. While continuity remains a central objective in monitoring trends, the survey has evolved in response to changes within the profession. New questions have been added to the 2010 survey to examine some of the factors affecting wage and vacancy rates. This year, the ASCP Wage and Vacancy Survey has been administered as two separate surveys, beginning with the Wage Survey. The 2010 Wage Survey was conducted through collaboration between the ASCP’s Public Policy Office in Washington, DC and the Society’s Board of Certification (BOC). Electronic invitations were sent on April 1, 2010 via Zarca Interactive (an online survey vendor) to 21,418 laboratory managers, directors, and supervisors across the United States. The majority of these initial recipient email addresses were derived from the ASCP database, with the following partnering societies: American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants (AAPA), American Society of Cytopathology (ASC), American Society for Cytotechnology (ASCT), and National Society for Histotechnology (NSH), contributing to the initial recipient cohort. To maximize survey response, recipients were able to forward the electronic survey invitation to fellow colleagues within the laboratory profession. Due to the recipient’s ability to forward the survey invitations, an accurate rate of responses cannot be calculated. The survey was closed on May 25, 2010. View this table: Table 1 Total Number of Respondents by Occupational Title The 2010 Wage Survey sought to collect staff- and supervisor -level data on the following clinical laboratory occupations: