The clinical laboratory workforce is crucial to the U.S. healthcare system, providing critical information in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of disease. And yet, the number of laboratory professionals continues to shrink. What can we do to reverse this trend? 

On this episode of Inside the Lab, Dr. Lotte Mulder and guest host Ms. Edna Garcia, Director of Scientific Engagement and Research at ASCP’s Institute for Science, Technology and Policy in Washington, DC, are joined by Ms. Susan Skillman, MS, Senior Deputy Director of the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies, and Ms. Allyson Flores, MLS(ASCP)CM, Manager of Flow Cytometry and Hematopathology at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, to discuss workforce policy. 

Our panelists describe ASCP’s ongoing research around wage and vacancy, including the most recent Clinical Laboratory Workforce report produced in conjunction with the University of Washington’s Center for Health Workforce Studies. They explain the most critical challenges facing our workforce today, exploring how to increase the visibility of careers in the lab, improve recruitment and retention, and promote diversity and inclusion in the field of laboratory medicine. Listen in for insight on how the pandemic is likely to shape the future of the profession and learn how you can help implement the innovative strategies proposed in the ASCP-UW CHWS report. 

Topics Covered  

· ASCP’s ongoing research around wage and vacancy in the clinical laboratory profession
· ASCP’s partnership with the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies on the most recent Clinical Laboratory Workforce Report 
· Critical challenges currently facing the clinical laboratory workforce
· Why diversity is essential to the future of the profession and what we can do to recruit a more diverse clinical laboratory workforce
· What attracted our panelists to laboratory medicine and how we might leverage those aspects of the career to address recruitment
· Opportunities for institutions to communicate with local medical laboratory science programs around what trainees need to know
· What the report teaches us about professional development opportunities and wage progression that might inform our practices moving forward 

Connect with ASCP 

ASCP
ASCP on Facebook
ASCP on Instagram
ASCP on Twitter 

Connect with Ms. Skillman 

Ms. Skillman on Twitter
Ms. Skillman at UW CHWS 

Connect with Ms. Flores 

Ms. Flores on Twitter
Ms. Flores on LinkedIn 

Connect with Dr. Mulder & Ms. Garcia 

Dr. Mulder on Twitter
Ms. Garcia on LinkedIn 

Resources 

ASCP’s Clinical Laboratory Workforce Report
Inside the Lab in the ASCP Store