Pilot Program Aims to Connect Students and New Professionals

CHICAGO, April 20, 2009 - The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) today launches National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week by announcing a new program to raise awareness of the laboratory profession among high school students. The ASCP Ambassador Program will select up to 10 newly certified laboratory professionals to share their personal stories about why they became laboratory professionals.

The goal of the program is to expose pre-college students to the critical role that laboratory professionals play as members of the healthcare team and in delivering patient care. Ambassadors who make 10 presentations to high school classes will receive a $1,000 award at the end of their one-year tenure.

ASCP’s Wage and Vacancy Report, published in the March 2009 issue of LabMedicine, shows that half of all labs currently struggle to fill laboratory science positions. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 138,000 new laboratory professionals will be needed by 2012, but fewer than 50,000 will be trained.

The workforce shortage is due in part to lack of awareness of the field. A 2007 survey by the Coordinating Council for the Clinical Laboratory Workforce (CCCLW) found that the vast majority of high school students are unaware that the medical laboratory profession is a viable career choice. Of 3,960 people new laboratory professionals surveyed, 76 percent learned about the career option only after leaving high school. The CCCLW concluded that awareness and recruitment efforts should be directed to the high school level.

“We are hoping this program opens the door for students interested in being a part of the medical field and further solidifies new professionals’ choice to be a part of the laboratory team,” said Lynnette G. Chakkaphak, MS, MT(ASCP), chair of the ASCP Council of Laboratory Professionals.

The program is sponsored by Roche.

“We are excited that ASCP and Roche have a common goal of addressing the laboratory workforce shortage by engaging new professionals and young people across the country,” Chakkaphak added.

National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, April 19-25, is observed with laboratory tours, mayoral proclamations and open houses in hospitals and cities across the country. This is the 34th year for Lab Week celebrations and is an opportunity to generate interest in the profession.

For more information on eligibility requirements, responsibilities and deadlines for the ASCP Ambassador Program, visit www.ascp.org/Ambassador. Information about Lab Week is available at www.LabWeek.org.

Founded in 1922, ASCP is a professional society with 130,000 member pathologists, pathologists’ assistants, residents, laboratory professionals and students. Based in Chicago, the ASCP provides excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists, and laboratory professionals. Visit ASCP’s Web site at www.ascp.org.

Roche is one of the world’s leading research-oriented healthcare groups with core business in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

Read dozens of other stories about the serious shortage of laboratory personnel in the US, and what the ASCP is doing to fight the problem here.