Data-Driven Strategies to Build, Sustain, and Advance the Laboratory Workforce

• ASCP recently published a report outlining significant progress by MPHLWC members toward meeting a set of workforce development recommendations

ASCP, supported by a Cooperative Agreement funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently published the report Forging a Path Forward: Identifying Workforce Gaps and Coalition Strategies in Medical and Public Health Laboratories to determine how the Medical and Public Health Laboratory Workforce Coalition (MPHLWC) members have implemented activities in service of the nine recommendations set forth in ASCP’s 2021 edition of the “Blueprint for Action.” The findings demonstrate strong collective momentum in supporting education programs and clinical training, promoting professional development and job satisfaction, and increasing visibility of laboratory careers across high school, colleges, and professional settings. At the same time, critical gaps persist in early pipeline development, recruitment refinement, and expansion of structured on-the-job training. Coalition members also identified new workforce support gaps and defined a shared set of feasible, measurable activities focused on educator engagement, experiential student outreach, social media visibility, clinical education support, legislative advocacy, and structured career advancement pathways.

Recent joint outreach initiatives, including the Coalition’s collaborative presence at the 2025 American School Counselors Association Conference, demonstrate the tangible impact of unified national engagement in elevating the profession. Priority focus areas moving forward include strengthening federal advocacy, expanding financial support for laboratory education, advancing standardized occupational nomenclature, and making sustained, intentional investments in retention and workforce diversity. Together, these strategies reinforce the Coalition’s commitment to data-driven action, long-term workforce sustainability, and the advancement of patient-centered laboratory medicine. Read the full report here.  

For more information on our workforce resources, please visit the ASCP workforce webpage.