ASCP Workforce Initiatives

Cultivating the pathology and laboratory medicine workforce is one of the main patient-centered public policy priorities of ASCP. The ASCP Institute for Science, Technology and Policy (ISTP) continues to support the field’s professional recognition, scope of practice and clinical empowerment through workforce studies and advocacy activities. As part of our workforce initiatives, ASCP has conducted biennial wage and vacancy surveys, a job satisfaction and burnout survey, a groundbreaking clinical laboratory workforce study that examined the challenges in meeting the current and future needs of the laboratory workforce, and a blueprint for action. ASCP has also created other resources that focus on developing a sustainable and resilient clinical laboratory workforce.

Publications and Resources

Interactive Maps

Publications and Resources

About ASCP's Wage and Vacancy Surveys

Since 1988, ASCP has conducted wage and vacancy surveys to inform the pathology and laboratory medicine field of the most recent national wage data. Historically, the results of this survey have been published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP) and have served as the primary source of information for academic, government, and industry labor analysts.

Recent Wage and Vacancy Surveys

2022 ASCP Vacancy Survey

2021 ASCP Wage Survey

2020 ASCP Vacancy Survey

2019 ASCP Wage Survey

2018 ASCP Vacancy Survey

2016-2017 ASCP Vacancy Survey

2017 ASCP Wage Survey

2015 ASCP Wage Survey

About ASCP's Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey

ASCP has conducted a far-reaching survey on job satisfaction, well-being, stress, and burnout among pathologists, laboratory professionals, and pathology residents. Findings from the survey, published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP), provide insight on how healthcare institutions can address these challenges and will inform ASCP’s initiatives to promote well-being and prevent burnout in the field.

ASCP Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey Publications and Resources

Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey of Laboratory Professionals (Journal Article)

Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey of Pathologists (Journal Article)

Job Stress, Burnout, Work-Life Balance, Well-Being, and Job Satisfaction Among Pathology Residents and Fellows (Journal Article)

Well-Being, Burnout, and the Clinical Laboratory (Editorial)

Job Stress and Burnout in Urban and Rural Locations (Poster)

Stress and Burnout (Handout)

Burnout Course (On-demand Course)

Examining the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in mitigating workforce burnout in laboratory medicine (Journal Article)

Other Resources Related to Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout

AMA Professional Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability: An Overview (Video)

Fostering Clinician Well-Being: Current Trends and Insights from the AMA’s 2022 National Report (Webinar)
April 19, 2022, 12 p.m. CDT

NAM National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being (Publication)

The Clinical Laboratory Workforce: Understanding the Challenges to Meeting Current and Future Needs

Laboratory professionals are providers of critical information to patient and medical providers to diagnose, treat, and manage disease, and the number of laboratory professionals in the workforce is dwindling as baby boomers retire and accredited programs close. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this crisis.

To reverse this trend, ASCP, in partnership with the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies (UW CHWS) conducted a groundbreaking study, Clinical Laboratory Workforce: Understanding the Challenges to Meeting Current and Future Needs. The results of the study propose innovative strategies, such as introducing careers in the medical laboratory to students as young as elementary school, while also working to build a more diverse and inclusive laboratory workforce. The study was supported by a generous grant from the Siemens Foundation.

Access the Study

Other Clinical Laboratory Workforce Resources

A Literature Review on How We Can Address Medical Laboratory Scientist Staffing Shortages (Journal Article)

ASCP Board of Certification Survey of Medical Laboratory Science Education 2020: Faculty (Journal Article)

ASCP Board of Certification Survey of Medical Laboratory Science Education 2020: Programs (Journal Article)

Disparities in Rural Health Care: A Look at the Field of Laboratory Medicine (Journal Article)

Entry-Level Expectations for Pathologists’ Assistants (Journal Article)

Establishing the Need for Standardized Clinical Educator Training Programs for Medical Laboratory Professionals (Journal Article)

Laboratory Medicine Workforce Shortage: Informed Public and Skilled High School Students can Fill the Gap (Journal Article)

Laboratory Staffing Data During COVID-19 Pandemic (Slides)

Negotiation Toolkit (Handout)

The Clinical Laboratory Workforce in the U.S.: Supply, Distribution, Education Pathways, and State Responses to the COVID-19 Emergency (Policy Brief)

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Laboratory Professionals’ Clinical Education: a Qualitative Study (Journal Article)

The Lab Profession You Need to Join (Article)

Why You Should Consider a Career in the Medical Laboratory Workforce (Infographic)

Workplace Bullying in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (Journal Article)

Interactive Maps

About Wage and Vacancy Survey Maps

ASCP has created a set of online interactive maps that incorporate findings from the ASCP wage and vacancy surveys. Developed by the ASCP ISTP workforce team using Tableau software, these interactive geographical maps intend to present the large amount of data that are collected in both these surveys. Learn more about ASCP's workforce data visualization through interactive maps here. Download the Tableau Maps Instruction Guide for help with navigating the maps on this page.

2017 Wage Survey Maps

Click the title or map image to view the full interactive map.

Hourly Wage by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art8

Age of Respondents by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art9

Location of Respondents by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art10

2016-17 Vacancy Survey Maps

Click the title or map image to view the full interactive map.

Vacancy Rates by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art

Vacancy Rates by Region 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art2

Retirement Rates by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art3

Retirement Rates by Region 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art4

Certification Rates by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art5

Certification Rates by Region 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art6

Vacancy and Retirement Rates by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art7

Accredited Laboratory Map

Location of Accredited Laboratory Training Programs in the United States (2018) 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art14

About Interactive Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey Maps

ASCP has created a set of online interactive maps that incorporate findings from the ASCP Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey. Developed by the ASCP ISTP workforce team using Tableau software, these interactive geographical maps intend to present the large amount of data that are collected in this survey. Download the Tableau Maps Instruction Guide for help with navigating the maps on this page.

Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout Survey Maps

Click the title or map image to view the full interactive map.

Job Satisfaction of Laboratory Professionals by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art11

Present Burnout Among Laboratory Professionals by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art12

Past Burnout Among Laboratory Professionals by State 21-210547-LS_ISTP_Workforce Initiatives_Maps_Web Art13

Careers Workforce Resources

Support for CDC OneLab Initiative

The OneLab Initiative is a CDC-led effort to bridge, train, and sustain a capacity-building community (OneLab Network) among public health and clinical laboratory professionals to support rapid, large-scale responses to public health emergencies. ASCP, through a cooperative agreement with the CDC, is proud to bring awareness of the OneLab Network to its members and develop cutting-edge laboratory training resources in support of the OneLab Initiative for its members and the broader laboratory community.

Learn More

Clinical Laboratory Workforce Study and Blueprint for Action Released

ASCP and the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies have released a groundbreaking study on the needs of the clinical laboratory workforce. Based on the study, ASCP has developed a blueprint of potential interventions.

Access Clinical Laboratory Workforce Study Access Blueprint for Action

Questions? Please email Edna Garcia, Senior Director, Scientific Engagement and Research, ASCP, at Edna.Garcia@ascp.org.

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