A New Resource for Information about the Medical Technologist Shortage

I have posted previous notes about the medical technologist shortage (see: Comments on the Medical Technologist Shortage; ARUP Labs Responds to the Lab Personnel Shortage). However, I have always been frustrated by the shortage of reliable information about this very important problem. I know that there is also widespread concern and interest about this issue because "medical technologist shortage" is one of the most common search terms used to conduct readers to this blog in spite of my scanty coverage of the issue. It seems that a new resource about this topic is now being made available by the Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce, which is a task force formed by the American Society for Clinical Lab Science. This latter group is a professional society for clinical lab professionals. Here the vision statement for the CCCLW copied from its web site:

• Identify workforce issues and initiatives.
• Foster educational efforts at all clinical laboratory levels.
• Develop models for demonstration projects that are patient-focused and demonstrate the value of the clinical laboratory professional as it relates to positive patient outcomes.
• Promote partnerships with health care providers, industry,foundations, and organizations interested in the future of the clinical laboratory profession.
• Cultivate relationships with advocates external to the profession.
• Provide a balance between future vision and current clinical laboratory practice.

Here also are some Fast Facts from the CCCLW web site about the med tech shortage obtained from the October 2008 issue of Critical Values:

• 44% of laboratories currently report difficulty in hiring [medical technologists].
  
• About 150,000 new technologists will be needed by 2014: 81,000 to replace retirees; 68,000 for new positions.
• There has been a 67% drop in new CLS/MT graduates since 1977: 6,519 graduates in 1977; 2,141 in 2000.
• 40% of the current workers will retire in 10 years.
• There has been a 71% decline in the number of accredited training programs since 1975: 770 NACCLS accredited programs in 1975; 222 in 2007.
• Average age of current workforce is 49.2 years.

I fear that the med tech shortage problem will get worse before it gets better. I have heard rumors that various schools are currently reducing or eliminating their medical technologist programs due to cost pressures and difficulty in recruiting qualified faculty members. I will try to provide more information about this issue in the future.

My thanks to Paul Epner for allerting me to the work of the CCCLW.

Comments

[HARIS]

med tech in the Philippines is very much exploited.. our monthly salary is only 10thousand pesos per month yet the laboratory income is multi-million... we are overworked and underpaid!

[Wendel]

I think that the medtech shortage is also a problem in the Philippines. Freshman college students opted to study nursing because the work is in demand globally and second nurses are receiving high salary in western countries.Unlike medtechs, they have work 2 or 3 hospital labs or free standing laboratories in order to meet the standard of living of a certain country where they lived.I hope the association of medical technologists will do something on the wage increase.This is one way that students going to college will realize that there are other paramedical courses offering good salary when they finish the degree and landed a job in line with their profession.