title: Avoiding crisis: right-sizing staffing for the future.
abstract: Workforce issues, especially recruitment and retention of qualified laboratory staff, are major strategic issues that will continue to face laboratory managers over the next 10 years. Major factors affecting the laboratory labor market in the next decade include increased health-care and laboratory testing needs of an aging population, the graying of the laboratory workforce as baby boomers retire, and new technology development. At least two of these factors will increase the demand for qualified laboratory professionals. Vacancy rates for laboratory professionals are increasing at a significant rate and will continue over the next 10 years. Planning will require creativity in staff recruitment and retention strategies and in human resources. Laboratorians no longer will have the luxury of using medical technologists for nonspecialized testing assignments and will need to develop more creative recruiting approaches using fewer highly qualified testing personnel. This article proposes a staffing deployment model that will use medical technologist education and skills more appropriately, will improve retention of medical technologists, and will alleviate the shortage of medical technologists by reducing dependence on them as routine laboratory testing personnel.
authors.affiliation: Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C., USA.
authors.forename: Michele L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Best
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends; D006280:Health Workforce / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000193:education; D010559:Personnel Management / Q000639:trends*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D010934:Planning Techniques; D011157:Population Dynamics; D014481:United States