Hot Topics: What are the Work Concerns that Keep Laboratory Professionals Up at Night?

Advocating for work conditions and commensurate compensation in the medical laboratory, demonstrating the value of laboratory professionals in health care are among the top 10 topics that weigh heavily on the minds of laboratory professionals, according to the results of an ASCP survey conducted this past summer.

Every summer, ASCP conducts a member survey to find out what are the topics that weigh on members’ thoughts. The chairs of ASCP’s four member councils—Council of Laboratory Professionals, Resident Council, Pathologist Council, and Council of Laboratory Management and Administrators.

CLP Council Chair Laura Severs, MHA, MLS(ASCP)^CM addressed the compensation issue, saying, “In general, laboratory medicine professionals feel undercompensated for the complexity of our work. A contributing factor to the compensation issue is the perception we are not patient-facing professionals. However, our higher purpose as laboratory professionals is to care for our patients. Together, we are working to change and challenge these misconceptions.”

Compensation is also tied into another top concern—demonstrating the value of laboratory professionals as part of the healthcare team.

“Based on these and other concerns, the CLP is formulating content for our member roundtables as well as opening some key roundtables to non-members,” Ms. Severs says.

Four other key topics that are all related are the workforce shortage, staff recruitment and retention, and improving workplace culture.

“A lot of these hot topics tie in together,” Ms. Severs says. “We try to address them at a broad level. On staff retention and dealing with staff shortages, our council is really committed to providing support for our members to speak about their careers in the medical laboratory. Our Career Ambassadors program is a significant grassroots effort that equips our members with the tools, resources, and support to go into their communities and engage with people so they can learn about the wonderful and impactful careers in laboratory medicine.”

Building awareness of the key role that laboratory professionals play in patient care also ties in with another topic—conveying the importance of the laboratory to leaders of other departments in a healthcare system.

Another resource that the CLP is tapping into is the Negotiation and Advocacy Toolkit, which has a wide array of assets to equip laboratory professionals and leaders with the confidence to advocate for the laboratory when speaking with other department leaders and colleagues. As an example, many CLP members participated an interactive session, The Amazing Lab Race, during the ASCP 2024 Annual Meeting in September. Participants were divided into several teams comprising many different members of the laboratory as they worked together to solve problems and face challenges many of us experience. In January, the CLP will host a session on how to be an effective and engaged trainer in the laboratory. This will address making sure that the individuals who may work with laboratory students and new in practice professionals during a rotation are equipped to properly teach and train.

Meanwhile, the CLP continues to brainstorm ideas for member roundtables that are focusing on a mix of scientific content that pertains to emerging technologies in the laboratory field, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning and what kind of implications that has on laboratory professionals’ work. Other potential topics the CLP wants to address include advanced techniques in genomics, data science in the laboratory, and maximizing impact in resource constrained laboratories.

Members can expect to see the CLP roll some of these initiatives out in the coming year. Meantime, Ms. Severs encourages members to check into the ASCP Online Communities to help keep the conversation going about issues of concern that need to be addressed going forward. The diverse perspectives in our membership is displayed by the unique problem solving and open communication you will find in the ASCP Online Communities.

“We want our members to know that we have heard their concerns, and we are doing our best to develop thoughtful programming and initiatives to respond to their needs,” she says.