Clinical Laboratory Workforce Research Articles

The Impact of Workload during Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Clinical Laboratory Workforce in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Impact of Workload during Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Clinical Laboratory Workforce in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Examining the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mitigating workforce burnout in laboratory medicine.

The clinical laboratory workforce plays a crucial role in health care delivery, yet little is known about the unique pressures and challenges this workforce faces. The objective of this study was to identify factors that contribute to burnout, discrimination, exclusion, and inequity in pathology and laboratory medicine. A nationwide survey was conducted in 2 phases. In phase 1, 2391 laboratory professionals were surveyed over a 1-week period about their experiences with burnout, discrimination, and work-related stress. In phase 2, the survey was extended to 1 month and questions were added to elicit more detailed information about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as well as wellness. Results showed a high prevalence of burnout, discrimination, and stress among laboratory professionals, with significant differences among certain demographic groups. Women, Black, indigenous, or people of color individuals and those with disabilities reported higher rates of discrimination. The study also showed a need for mentorship and resources to address educational barriers. Findings from this study highlight the urgent need for interventions to address burnout, discrimination, exclusion, and inequity in the laboratory workforce. Initiatives to increase workforce diversity, promote mentorship and diversity training programs, and improve recognition of the laboratory workforce are recommended. The results underscore the pressing need to addressing the challenges and apprehensions laboratory professionals face, including enhancing recognition of their role in patient care, tackling systemic problems related to discrimination and equity, and enhancing the provision of support and resources for managing burnout and fostering well-being.

A Review of Clinical Laboratory Education, Training and Progression: Historical Challenges, the Impact of COVID-19 and Future Considerations.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a wide global impact on society, including the clinical laboratory workforce. This historically underrepresented group of highly skilled professionals have now started to gain the attention they deserve. There had already been dramatic changes to laboratory training over the past 2decades resulting from advances in technology, changes to service needs, and as a consequence of Pathology reform initiatives. The pandemic has had an additional impact. Higher education institutions and students adapted to emergency remote teaching. Clinical laboratories faced unprecedented challenges to meet COVID-19 testing demands and adjust to new ways of working whilst maintaining their usual high quality service provision. Training, assessment, and development arrangements had to convert to online platforms to maintain social distancing. The pandemic also had a global impact on mental health and wellbeing, further impacting learning/training. Despite these challenges, there have been many positive outcomes. This review highlights pre- and post-pandemic training and assessment for clinical laboratory professionals, with particular emphasis on Biomedical Scientists, outlining recent improvements among a history of challenges. There is increasing interest surrounding this vital workforce, accelerated thanks to the pandemic. This new public platform has emphasised the importance of quality diagnostic services in the patient pathway and in the response to national crises. The ability to maintain a quality service that is prepared for the future is grounded in the effective training and development of its staff. All of which can only be achieved with a workforce that is sustainable, invested in, and given a voice.

The Impact of Total Automaton on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce: A Case Study.

BackgroundThere has been a significant concern that total automation can decrease the need for laboratory personnel at all levels. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of total laboratory automation on the clinical laboratory workforce.MethodsA one-year data including the demographical features of laboratory workforce and technical productivity of laboratory tests were provided by two medical laboratory departments of similar profile and different equipment setup; one adopting a total automation system and the other utilizing discrete analysis system. The technical productivities of the two laboratories were compared and statistically tested.ResultsA similar technical productivity per single laboratory worker was noted in the hematology section in each of the two sites with no significant difference (average odd radio = 0.9, p = 0.79). However, with total automation, the number of tests performed per single worker has increased to an average of 1.4 and 3.7 times with total automation in the clinical chemistry and serology sections, respectively (p ≤ 0.001).ConclusionTotal laboratory automation improves the productivity of the laboratory, leading to a decreased laboratory workforce. The laboratory workload has increased steadily therefore, the existing laboratory workforce, in the absence of automation, could not have been able to maintain the current volume of service. Adoption of automation reduces repetitive manual labor, thereby allowing the redefinition of the job roles of the laboratory workforce. TLA is ideal for laboratories that suffer from workforce shortages or managing high volume testing with less staff.

Cross-contamination in Molecular Diagnostic Laboratories in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Challenge to COVID-19 Testing

At the start of the pandemic, the Philippines had to send swab samples to the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia for COVID-19 confirmation. With the increasing number of suspected cases needing confirmatory diagnostic testing, there was a demand to rapidly expand the capacity for widescale testing. Remarkably, within 200 days from announcement of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the Philippines in January 30, 2020, the country has been able to expand its testing capacity from one national reference laboratory, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), to more than 100 licensed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cartridge-based PCR laboratories across the country. Due to the shortage of a trained clinical laboratory workforce, diagnostic centers are forced to hire additional personnel who have limited experience and technical knowledge and skills of molecular assays, especially in processing specimens, interpreting the results, identifying errors, and troubleshooting, in order to meet the demand of increased testing. Thus, the vulnerability to diagnostic errors, including cross-contamination, is increased and with the tendency for generating false positive results that can compromise the health of the patient and disrupt the efficacy of public health policies and public health response, surveillance programs, and restrictive measures for containing the outbreak. Hence, this review article aims to present the different sources of contamination in the laboratory setting where RT-PCR assays are conducted, as well as provide efficient, effective and feasible solutions to address these issues, most especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like the Philippines.

Strengthening the clinical laboratory workforce in Cambodia: a case study of a mixed-method in-service training program to improve laboratory quality management system oversight

BackgroundLaboratory diagnostic testing service delivery and compliance with international standards for laboratory quality are directly influenced by laboratory workforce competency. Many hospital laboratories in constrained resource settings such as Cambodia struggle to cope with the training needs of laboratory professionals in an environment of competing healthcare development priorities. Resource-limited countries need an adaptable and effective approach to provide laboratory professionals with job-specific quality oversight training to ensure the accuracy, timeliness, and reliability of diagnostic services.Case presentationHere, we describe the results of an in-service training and mentoring program conducted with the Cambodia Ministry of Health at 12 tertiary-level hospital laboratories to drive improvements in laboratory quality management systems toward ISO 15189 accreditation, which demonstrated significant progress between baseline and outcome audits in a concurrent study. This case study describes the program, and evaluates how the four primary activities, including actionable gap assessments and planning, centralized and in situ training curriculum, in-person mentoring, and remote tele-mentoring via video communication technologies, contributed towards quality improvement in the participating laboratories. We evaluated participant responses to Likert scale and free response questions from program and training evaluation surveys, and we used thematic analysis to develop a model of best practices within the program’s four primary activities to inform future training approaches. Of these activities, participants agreed most highly that in-person visits and planning based on gap assessments contributed to their learning and ability to improve laboratory operations. Tele-mentoring was rated lowest by participants, who were critical of excessive group dialogue and distraction during web-conferencing; however, feedback suggests both in-person and remote mentoring contribute to continuing education, accountability to action, and peer collaboration and problem solving to improve workforce efforts toward improved quality management systems.ConclusionsWe recommend here a package of in-service training activities for laboratory quality management system improvement initiatives in resource constrained settings that includes needs-based curricula and personalized action plans for participants; interactive and on-site training workshops; and in-person mentoring, complemented with well managed and regular tele-mentoring that focuses on knowledge retention, accountability to goals, and collaborative problem solving. Our model presents an adaptable approach to human resource development for quality improvement in medical laboratories.

Are Higher Education Institutions Addressing the Employment Needs of Clinical Laboratories in Rural Areas?

Clinical laboratories across the nation are faced with a shortage of qualified Medical Laboratory Technicians and Medical Laboratory Scientists. As the clinical laboratory workforce continues to shrink, it is essential that higher education institutions acknowledge the employment needs of rural laboratories to ensure quality health care in underserved areas. An aging workforce, program closures, and a general increase in demand for laboratory testing have compounded the workforce shortage for rural clinical laboratories, which often face unique challenges. The purpose of this research study was to examine the perceptions of rural clinical laboratory managers toward higher education9s response to the shortage of MLTs and MLSs, and to determine the extent to which MLT and MLS programs are meeting the staffing and professional development needs of rural clinical laboratories. This descriptive mixed-method study was conducted utilizing a national survey of 429 MLT and MLS program directors, in addition to interviews with 10 clinical laboratory managers in rural West Virginia. The results of this study revealed higher education institutions are not adequately meeting the employment needs of rural clinical laboratories, with notable key areas for improvement, including communication, partnership, and promotion of the profession. Interviews with laboratory managers indicated a moderate to severe rural workforce shortage, with a glaring deficiency of MLS candidates. Research findings demonstrated that community and technical colleges, specifically MLT programs, were more likely than universities and four-year colleges to establish formal relationships with rural laboratories and served as a primary source of job candidates for rural laboratories. The findings further suggested rural clinical rotations, targeted recruitment efforts, and the creation of online and hybrid programs, would aid rural laboratories in securing a qualified workforce, while the delivery of online continuing education modules would benefit incumbent workers.

Are Higher Education Institutions Addressing the Employment Needs of Clinical Laboratories in Rural Areas?

<h3>ABSTRACT</h3> Clinical laboratories across the nation are faced with a shortage of qualified medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) and medical laboratory scientists (MLSs). As the clinical laboratory workforce continues to shrink, it is essential that higher-education institutions acknowledge the employment needs of rural laboratories to ensure quality health care in underserved areas. An aging workforce, program closures, and a general increase in demand for laboratory testing have compounded the workforce shortage for rural clinical laboratories, which often face unique challenges. The purpose of this research study was to examine the perceptions of rural clinical laboratory managers toward higher education’s response to the shortage of MLTs and MLSs and to determine the extent to which MLT and MLS programs are meeting the staffing and professional development needs of rural clinical laboratories. This descriptive mixed-method study was conducted utilizing a national survey of 429 MLT and MLS program directors, in addition to interviews with 10 clinical laboratory managers in rural West Virginia. The results of this study revealed higher education institutions are not adequately meeting the employment needs of rural clinical laboratories, with notable key areas for improvement, including communication, partnership, and promotion of the profession. Interviews with laboratory managers indicated a moderate to severe rural workforce shortage, with a glaring deficiency of MLS candidates. Research findings demonstrated that community and technical colleges, specifically MLT programs, were more likely than universities and 4-year colleges to establish formal relationships with rural laboratories and served as a primary source of job candidates for rural laboratories. The findings further suggested rural clinical rotations, targeted recruitment efforts, and the creation of online and hybrid programs would aid rural laboratories in securing a qualified workforce, whereas the delivery of online continuing-education modules would benefit incumbent workers.

In Support of Quality and Safe Patient Care: Defining the Value of Laboratory Medicine

The Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce (CCCLW) initiated a task force charged with describing the value of clinical laboratory medicine toward the overarching needs of achieving quality patient care and improving patient outcomes. In part, a survey was conducted to discover what clinical laboratories do or should do to achieve these goals. A total of 469 respondents representing various sized and types of facilities, as well as various clinical positions participated. It confirmed that the topic was impacting about two-thirds of respondents who reported pressure from senior leadership to actively show the value of the laboratory. Interestingly, a slightly higher number (69%) indicated they felt constant pressure to cut costs. Open-ended questions were utilized to determine approaches to demonstrating value and responses fell in six categories. Questions also sought approaches to measuring value with responses largely falling within five categories primarily composed of structural and process measures.

The Pathology Workforce and Clinical Licensure: The Role of the PhD Clinical Laboratorian in the United States

There has been a recent recognition of the need to prepare PhD-trained scientists for increasingly diverse careers in academia, industry, and health care. The PhD Data Task Force was formed to better understand the current state of PhD scientists in the clinical laboratory workforce and collect up-to-date information on the training and certification of these laboratorians. In this report, we summarize the findings of the PhD Data Task Force and discuss the relevance of the data collected to the future supply of and demand for PhD clinical laboratory scientists. It is clear that there are multiple career opportunities for PhD scientists in academic medical centers, commercial clinical laboratories, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and the federal government. Certified PhD scientists have and will continue to form an important resource for our technologically advancing field, bringing training in scientific methods, and technologies needed for modern laboratory medicine. The data gathered by the PhD Data Task Force will be of great interest to current and future PhD candidates and graduate PhD scientists as they make decisions regarding future career directions.

Continuing professional development training needs of medical laboratory personnel in Botswana.

BackgroundLaboratory professionals are expected to maintain their knowledge on the most recent advances in laboratory testing and continuing professional development (CPD) programs can address this expectation. In developing countries, accessing CPD programs is a major challenge for laboratory personnel, partly due to their limited availability. An assessment was conducted among clinical laboratory workforce in Botswana to identify and prioritize CPD training needs as well as preferred modes of CPD delivery.MethodsA self-administered questionnaire was disseminated to medical laboratory scientists and technicians registered with the Botswana Health Professions Council. Questions were organized into domains of competency related to (i) quality management systems, (ii) technical competence, (iii) laboratory management, leadership, and coaching, and (iv) pathophysiology, data interpretation, and research. Participants were asked to rank their self-perceived training needs using a 3-point scale in order of importance (most, moderate, and least). Furthermore, participants were asked to select any three preferences for delivery formats for the CPD.ResultsOut of 350 questionnaires that were distributed, 275 were completed and returned giving an overall response rate of 79%. The most frequently selected topics for training in rank order according to key themes were (mean, range) (i) quality management systems, most important (79%, 74–84%); (ii) pathophysiology, data interpretation, and research (68%, 52–78%); (iii) technical competence (65%, 44–73%); and (iv) laboratory management, leadership, and coaching (60%, 37–77%). The top three topics selected by the participants were (i) quality systems essentials for medical laboratory, (ii) implementing a quality management system, and (iii) techniques to identify and control sources of error in laboratory procedures. The top three preferred CPD delivery modes, in rank order, were training workshops, hands-on workshops, and internet-based learning. Journal clubs at the workplace was the least preferred method of delivery of CPD credits.ConclusionsCPD programs to be developed should focus on topics that address quality management systems, case studies, competence assessment, and customer care. The findings from this survey can also inform medical laboratory pre-service education curriculum.

The Laboratory Workforce Shortage

Most clinical laboratories in the nation report severe difficulties in recruitment and retention of most types of personnel. Other important factors impacting this problem include work complexities, increased automation, and a graying workforce. As a further challenge, institutional needs for clinical laboratory personnel are expected to grow significantly in the next decade. This article examines the current situation of the clinical laboratory workforce. It analyzes the different types of personnel; the managerial, supervision, and line positions that are key for different types of laboratories; the job outlook and recent projections for different types of staff; and the current issues, trends, and challenges of the laboratory workforce. Laboratory managers need to take action with strategies suggested for overcoming these challenges. Most importantly, they need to become transformational leaders by developing effective staffing models, fostering healthy and productive work environments, and creating value with a strategic management culture and implementation of knowledge management.

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

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:

The Impending Crisis in the Clinical Laboratory Workforce

Imagine going to your doctor for a routine checkup and the phlebotomist takes a few blood samples for lab work. Three days later, the doctor's office calls and asks you to come back because they need to get another sample for testing. Wondering if something is terribly wrong, you ask “why?” since you already gave a blood sample just a few days ago. The person on the phone assures you that nothing is wrong. Imagine, though, that the laboratory that received your blood sample did not have enough clinical laboratory scientists to test your sample upon arrival and now they are out of stability (too old to test).

ASCP Wage and Vacancy Survey of U.S. Medical Laboratories

In 2008, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) conducted its eleventh Wage and Vacancy Survey to provide recent wage data and determine the extent and distribution of shortages within the nation’s clinical laboratory workforce. This confidential survey of hospital, reference, and physician office laboratory facilities has been administered every two years since 1988 and serves as the primary source of information for academic, governmental, and industry labor analysts in defining the state of the nation’s clinical laboratory workforce. While continuity remains a central objective in order to monitor trends, the survey has evolved in response to the changes in the profession. New position categories and questions have been added to the 2008 survey to examine some of the factors that are affecting wage and vacancy rates. The survey was conducted by Morpace Research and Consulting (Farmington Hills, MI) under the supervision of Nancie Noie Thompson, ASCP Vice President of Membership and Communications, and The Colette Steward Group, an independent research firm. It was administered in two waves. The first wave ran from November 13, 2007, to January 31, 2008, resulting in 1,321 completed questionnaires for a response rate of 13%. To increase laboratory participation, the ASCP partnered with six other organizations in a second wave, fielded from August 14, 2008, to September 25, 2008, which yielded an additional 273 completed questionnaires. In total, 1,594 interviews were completed. For the first wave of survey recipients, a representative sample of clinical laboratories by facility type was obtained from a list supplied by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) database of all legally operating licensed clinical laboratories in the United States. Based on the response rates from the ASCP’s 2003 Wage and Vacancy Survey of Medical Laboratories ( Lab Med. 2005;36:149–157), 10,000 laboratories were selected by facility type and region from the 139,789 …

ASM Participates in Clinical Laboratory Workforce Meeting

ASM Participates in Clinical Laboratory Workforce Meeting

ASM Represented at Clinical Laboratory Workforce Coalition Meeting

ASM Represented at Clinical Laboratory Workforce Coalition Meeting

Strategies of organization and service for the critical-care laboratory

Critical-care medicine requires rapidity of treatment decisions and clinical management. To meet the objectives of critical-care medicine, the critical-care laboratory must consider four major aspects of laboratory organization in addition to analytical responsibilities: specimen collection and delivery, training of technologists, selection of reliable instrumentation, and efficient data dissemination. One must also consider the advantages and disadvantages of centralization vs decentralization, the influence of such a laboratory on patient care and personnel needs, and the space required for optimal operation. Centralization may lead to workflow interruption and increased turnaround time (TAT); decentralization requires redundancy of instrumentation and staff but may shorten TAT. Minimal TAT is the hallmark of efficient laboratory service. We surveyed 55 laboratories in 33 hospitals and found that virtually all hospitals with 200 or more beds had a critical-care laboratory operating as a satellite of the main laboratory. We present data on actual TAT, although these were available in only eight of the 15 routine laboratories that provided emergency service and in eight of the 40 critical-care laboratories. In meeting the challenges of an increasing workload, a reduced clinical laboratory work force, and the need to reduce TAT, changes in traditional laboratory practice are mandatory. An increased reliance on whole-blood analysis, for example, should eliminate delays associated with sample preparation, reduce the potential hazards associated with centrifugation, and eliminate excess specimen handling.