under the microscope
By Rodney E . Rohde , PhD , MS , SM ( ASCP ) CM SVCM , MBCM , FACSc
The Medical Laboratory Professional
In my recent article , “ Who is doing all those COVID-19 tests ? Why you should care about medical laboratory professionals ,” with The Conversation , I unpack why one should care about medical laboratory and public health professionals . Who do you think performs your medical laboratory tests for COVID-19 or any other test ? If you answered “ my doctor ” or “ my nurse ” or a robot , you would be completely wrong . To put it bluntly , your life is in the hands of medical laboratory professionals . We perform an estimated 13 billion laboratory tests in the U . S . annually . That means that laboratory testing is the single highest-volume medical activity in the lives of Americans . Why should you care ? Those 13 billion tests help drive approximately two-thirds of all medical decisions made by your doctor and other healthcare professionals from cradle to grave . There are only 337,800 practicing medical laboratory professionals for a population of just over 330 million people in the U . S .
As of May 14 , 2021 , our professionals have conducted 462,798,339 tests for COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began . What about all the other testing conducted each day ? We are also running tests for people who are having babies , heart attacks , cancer , antibiotic-resistant infections , strep throat and other illness or diseases . Just because a novel virus showed up in our world and demanded to be tested for does not mean all other health issues stop .
A medical , or clinical , laboratory science degree often requires an average of five years of college education . Medical laboratory scientists all have bachelor ’ s degrees and have certification or a license to practice . I , and many of my colleagues , have a master ’ s degree , and a doctorate . These complex qualifications are reflected in our education and clinical background .
A degree in medical laboratory testing requires mastery of several areas of medicine including the study of hematology , molecular diagnostics , immunology , urine analysis , microbiology , chemistry , parasitology , toxicology , immunohematology ( blood banking ), coagulation and transfusion , and laboratory safety and operation . I often tell my students that this degree is like having to complete four majors .
Our profession can also start toward a laboratory science career at an entry level with a bit less education and clinical training – even as a technician , which requires only a two-year associate ’ s medical laboratory technician degree . These technicians often move up the career ladder by obtaining other degrees . Like any health care professional degree , ours is externally accredited through the National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences .
Currently there are an estimated 337,800 employed medical laboratory professionals in the U . S ., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . This is an estimate , because without licenses in every state , an accurate number of practicing laboratory professionals is not available . But the demand for these professionals is expected to grow by 25,000 between 2019 and 2029 , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . But that doesn ’ t include the number of jobs that will become vacant when workers retire or
leave the profession during the pandemic .
What is frightening to me is that while the demand for clinical laboratory personnel is growing , the number of training programs is declining . Currently , there are 235 medical laboratory scientists and 240 medical laboratory technician training programs in the U . S . This is a 7 percent decline from the year 2000 . In some states , there are no programs .
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A degree in medical laboratory testing requires mastery of several areas of medicine including the study of hematology , molecular diagnostics , immunology , urine analysis , microbiology , chemistry , parasitology , toxicology , immunohematology ( blood banking ), coagulation and transfusion , and laboratory safety and operation .
Fewer training programs , coupled with greater demand for laboratory professionals , could impact patient care , notes Jim Flanigan , executive vice president of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science . He is concerned by the lack of federal programs supporting medical laboratory education as compared to all other health programs . Vacancy rates are exceeding the number of medical laboratory scientist and medical laboratory technician graduates .
A number of other factors help explain our low workforce numbers . Training laboratory personnel is expensive , and there are few scholarship or loan programs available for prospective students . Salaries are also problematic . Compared to nursing , physical therapists or pharmacists , our professionals are paid 40 percent to 60 percent less on average for annual salaries .
The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science is calling for expansion of the Title VII health professions program – which