Why this site?
This site is designed for those interested in ensuring an adequate supply of appropriately trained clinical laboratory professionals in the U.S. The target audience consists of individuals with a professional interest in clinical laboratory workforce issues including laboratorians, hospital administrators, educators, policy makers, press, and HR professionals. The site is not designed for students, recruiters, or the general public; these individuals are welcome to browse but are directed to other sites with content more appropriate to their needs.
CCCLW members have different perspectives on many issues, but they agree that we face a serious challenge in ensuring an adequate supply of clinical laboratory professionals. There is a signficant gap between the expected retirements in the coming years and the number of professionals entering the field.
Why is this important?
Laboratory data provide a foundation for medical decision-making and it takes a high quality workforce to provide high quality data. We face an extraordinary wave of exciting new tests at the same time that the workforce is shrinking.
There is no single solution. Our society needs to support strong science education and make sure that students are aware of the profession. We need a health care payment system that supports sufficient investment in human and physical capital. For those already in the field, we need continuing education to stay current and flexible personnel polices to make it easier to stay.