Forging a Path Forward: Identifying Workforce Gaps and Coalition Strategies in Medical and Public Health Laboratories

The laboratory workforce is facing a critical shortage. To address this gap, the Medical and Public Health Laboratory Workforce Coalition, led by ASCP, launched in 2023 to advocate for change and strengthen the lab workforce. A new report shows the impact the MPHLWC has had on nine key recommendations from the Blueprint for Action, and 6 new workforce needs that have been identified.

Career Pathways into the Medical Laboratory Workforce: Education, Exposures, and Motivations

ASCP, in collaboration with the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies, has released a new survey examining career pathways into the laboratory field and exploring strategies to improve recruitment, retention, and advocacy.

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.