According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2000 census, 12,200 new laboratory professionals will be needed annually to meet the critical need across the nation. However, only 4,000 to 6,000 graduates will join the workforce each year. “There is widespread consensus that lack of awareness of the profession has been a major roadblock in recruitment efforts,” said Andrea T. Bennett, MT(ASCP), MPH, ASCP Senior Program Manager for Membership and Public Policy Development in Washington, DC. “Because of the nature of the profession, those who work in the lab are largely unseen by the public. One solution to this is to promote the profession to young people – both high school students as well as middle school students.” Bennett would know. After working as a medical technologist, she taught high school science for seven years before coming to ASCP, and she continues to work part time as a medical technologist in a hospital laboratory.

Past Efforts

For the last several years, ASCP has partnered with the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) and the Health Occupations Student of America (HOSA) to reach middle school and high school students. At the beginning of the 2007 school year, ASCP and NABT partnered to distribute the ASCP Career booklet to members of NABT who teach at the high school and junior college levels. Copies of the booklet and a cover letter written by the presidents of both organizations were funded by a grant from the Intersociety Council for Pathology Information (ICPI). Additionally, ASCP staff has had a presence on the exhibiting floor of the NABT annual meeting for many years.

This Year’s Outreach

In October 2008, ASCP distributed career booklets, posters and other educational supplements to NABT members at their annual meeting in Memphis. There, teachers discussed with ASCP representatives the lesson plans, stories, and ideas that make their classrooms fun and ignite the interest in young students to enter the world of pathology and laboratory medicine.

ASCP also makes efforts to share its message with students directly. With a membership of almost 90,000 members, HOSA promotes opportunities in the health professions to secondary, postsecondary and collegiate students. At the HOSA annual meetings, these vibrant students, their teachers, and sponsors come together to share information and explore similar goals. ASCP sees this as an opportunity to advance and promote the vital role laboratory professionals play in healthcare. In June, 2008, ASCP attended the HOSA annual meeting in Houston.

By attending these annual conferences, ASCP takes advantage of the opportunity to spread the word about careers in laboratory medicine, to speak directly to students and their teachers, and to see the first spark of interest in a new career path. One of the messages ASCP conveys on its classroom poster is, “You Don’t Have to Be a Doctor or Nurse to Work in a Hospital.” Teachers say this message resonates with students who like science and health, but are looking for alternatives to medical or nursing school.

2009 and Beyond

In 2009, ASCP will expand its efforts further by attending the annual meeting of National Science Teachers of America (NSTA) in New Orleans. “NSTA meetings are usually very well-attended by secondary school science teachers (both middle and high school teachers) as well as post-secondary instructors (from both two-year and four-year institutions),” said Bennett. “This is exactly the audience we need to reach to promote careers in laboratory medicine.” For more information, please visit the ASCP Career Center.