Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory Workforce

1
Coordinating Council on the Clinical Laboratory
Workforce
James T. Griffith, Ph.D., CLS (NCA) CCCLW
Convener ASCLS Representative
2
Six Meetings. . . . and counting
Chicago, Ill
June 16, 2000
January 22, 2001
New Orleans, La
April 2, 2002
Chicago, Ill
October 23, 2002
Washington, D.C.
Chicago, Ill
June 4, 2003
Washington, D.C.
November 3, 2003
Upcoming
3
Attendance

• Representatives from 18 professional
  organizations have participated as follows
• ASCLS, ASM, AAB, NCA, NAACLS, ASCP/AMS, AACC,
  CLMA, ASCP/BOR, ASCT, NSH, ASAHP, ACLA, AGT, AMT,
  AMP, APHL, AHA
• Representatives from 5 federal agencies have
  participated as follows
• CDC, FDA, CLIAC, VA, HRSA
• Representatives from 6 diagnostics industry
  partners have participated as follows
• OCD-Johnson Johnson, Bayer, Abbott, Roche,
  Dade Behring, Beckman-Coulter .
• Representatives from 2 Academic Medical Centers
  have participated as follows
• Massachusetts General Hospital, Johns Hopkins
  Medical Center.

4
Beginning Data Assumptions

• What is the nature of the problem ?
• How BIG is it ?
• How long will it last ?
• What would constitute a legitimate practice field
  response ?
• How do we respond without compromising each
  organization ?

5
Numbers of Laboratories

• 170,926 clinical laboratories countable under
  the authority of CLIA88
• 96,701of them are POLs
• 70 not directly regulated (various personnel
  and other waivers)
• 90 of laboratories perform
• lt 10,000 tests / year
• POLs
• Small / rural hospitals / clinics
• Small private labs

6
Test Categorization

• 25,708 clinical laboratory tests
• - High Complexity
• 18,425 - Moderate Complexity
• 733 - Waived tests

6,550
7
Fiscal Impact of Our Field

• 7.25 billion tests performed annually (1999 est.)
• 14.00 average cost (1997 est.)
• therefore we are a 101.5 billion dollar business
  embedded in a 1.2 trillion dollar business
  (general U.S. health care)
• thereby representing as much as 11 of each
  health care dollar

8
BLS Estimates

• 17 growth rate in our field
• 14.4 for all U.S. jobs
• 5-13 actual vacancy rate in U.S. labs - 1988
  
• 9-20 actual vacancy rate in U.S. labs - 1998
  
• From Castelberry, B.M., and Wargelin, L.L.,
  ASCP Vacancy Rate Data, Lab. Med.30174-8,1999

9
1998 - 2008 (BLS)
2000 - 2010

• 53,000 new jobs in our field
• 40,000 vacancies (retirements, leaving the
  field, etc.)
• 93,000 incremental positions to be filled
• 9,300 FTE professionals needed per year
• 4,990 graduates from all of our schools /
  yr (NAACLS est. for 1999)

12,000
4,110
CLEC02 2/28/02
10
Number of Graduates Declining
Occupation
Change
-29
Number of Graduates
-14
-30
Year
Source AMA, Health Professions Career and
Education Directory (various eds.)
11
Numbers of New Certificants
6,340
2,865
2,216
1,395
Source What Has Happened to All the Techs ?
Pennell C. Painter, Ph.D . http//www.ivdtrials.co
m/TechStaff.htm
12
Educational Program Levels
Clinical Laboratory Professional Education
Programs 1985-2000
CLS / MT Programs
CLT / MLT Programs
- 42.5
Source AMA, Health Professions Career and
Education Directory
13
Vacancy Rates by Location
7.5
7.4
6.4
ASM
8.8
Overall rate 7.9
14
Medicare to Managed Care
General U.S. Prosperity
WW II
Great Depression
What Has Happened to All the Techs ? Pennell C.
Painter, Ph.D . http//www.ivdtrials.com/TechStaff
.htm
15
Pool Factors

• Salary
• Stressful working conditions
• Opportunity for advancement
• Availability of desired working conditions
• Image of the profession
• Risk of infectious disease
• Legal liability
• reported at the CLIAC meeting of April 2000 from
  Greenberg, L., Report to Congress on Shortages of
  Clinical Laboratory Technologists in Medical
  Underserved and Rural Communities, 1993

16
Motivational Myths That Do Not Work

• Reducing time spent at work
• Spiraling wages
• Fringe benefits
• Human relations training
• Sensitivity training
• Communications
• Job participation
• Employee counseling

Frederick Herzberg One More Time How Do
You Motivate Employees Harvard Business Review,
Sept./Oct. 1987
17
Most Employees Are Motivated By

• Achievement
• Fulfillment
• Challenge
• Responsibility
• Potential for growth

The opposite of dissatisfaction is not
satisfaction, it is the absence of
dissatisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . .taking
away dissatisfaction only gets employees to
neutral
Frederick Herzberg One More Time How Do
You Motivate Employees Harvard Business Review,
Sept./Oct. 1987
18
Pool Factors

• At Bayer Diagnostics
• 21
• Field Technical Sales
• Sales Division CLSs
• Product Marketing
• Training
• Bayer Europe many fewer Field Tech staff,
  because lab staff see themselves as
  professionals, need less help. U.S. division has
  the most problems in the world.

42
65
90
19
Playing Field Shift

• In state legislatures and in the Congress
• 5 LOW portion of bills filled relating to
  health care
• 10 AVERAGE
• 20 Not uncommon in recent years

20
Playing Field Shift

• The general assumptions and focus may be shifting
  from
• Cost to
• System Organization to
• Patient Rights to
• Turf
• Pharmacists (Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio)
• Nurses (Montana)

21
Playing Field Shift

• All of the health care arena may be characterized
  in the foreseeable future by QUALITY oriented
  issues in the form of
• HIPAA
• CLIA
• ISO/DIS 15189
• NCCLS (GP22A, GP26A)
• HEDIS

22
The Growth in the Number of Elderly Citizens
Will Increase Requirements for Health Care
Providers
Population 65 thru 84
Population 85 and older
23
More Than 1 in 10 Americans Works in Health Care
or is a Health Professional
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001Figures shown are
the average of 12 months data (October 2000
September 2001)
24
Demand for Health Professionals Will Grow at
Twice the Rate of All Occupations Between
2000-2010

Source Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics
25
National Center (SUNY Albany)The Health
Workforce Trends, Issues, and Supply and Demand
Projections
Projections and Requirements of FTE RNs
Source Projections by Division of Nursing, BHPr,
HRSA, HHS, 1996
26
Vacancy Rates in Nursing

Note 10/22/02, NPR - For every patient over 4
assigned/shift/nurse, the patient death rate
increases by 7
27
Age Distribution Nursing

The clinical laboratory age demographics have
been estimated to be similar.
Source Lewin, 2001
28
Pharmacy Graduatesvs. Demand
Graduates needed to keep pace with population
growth
Pharmacy Graduates

Source American Association of Colleges of
Pharmacy, Profile of Pharmacy Students 1999, U.S.
Census Bureau
29
Vacancy Rates for Select Laboratory Personnel
1994-2000
Histologic Tech.
Histotechnologist
Cytotechnologist
Phlebotomist
Clinical Lab Scientist
Source Lab Medicine 2001 32(3) pp 124-138
30
AHA 2001 Workforce Survey
Clinical Laboratory Professionals
12
Percent of Unfilled, Budgeted Positions (selected
hospital personnel)
31
AHA 2001 Workforce Survey
43
Clinical Laboratory Professionals
Percentage of hospitals having more difficulty
than last year recruiting selected health care
professionals
32
Demographics Clinical Laboratory Scientists
Survey data from certified MT (ASCP) Lab
Medicine, 31(7), July 2000
33
Gender Demographics
Lab Professionals
75.4
76.0
Source SUNY Albany tabulation of BLS, CPS
34
Earnings for Non-supervisory Workers
Mean Hourly Wage 1999
The Salary issue cannot be avoided
Source Center for Health Workforce Studies,
School of Public Health University at Albany,
May, 2001
35
A.S. and B.S. Level Median Annual Salaries (2000)
Hospitals

Source Occupational Employment Statistics,
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
36
Mean Annual Salaries, B.S Level Lab Professionals
(2000)
NYC
LA
SF
Source BLS Data
37
Cooperation

• All of us are taking steps in this direction now
• If we all get a better handle on the problem,
  solutions, maintenance, etc., then
• IF we do subsequent activities
• AND do them in a compliant way
• THEN results will be comparable
• collective impact will be greater
• federal agencies will be in a better position
  to conduct their legitimate function
• legislative entities will have to find some
  other way to write us off

38
DRAFT Strategic Plan

• I. Data Collection
• II. Marketing
• III. Recruitment
• IV. Financing of Education
• V. Profession in Transition
• VI. Cooperation
• professional organizations (CCCLW participants
  and others)
• philanthropic sources
• governmental agencies (CDC, FDA, CLIAC, HRSA,
  etc.)
• educational institutions (colleges, hospitals,
  etc.)
• others

39
Strategic Plan

• RECRUITMENT
• Clearly the heart of the matter at hand involves
  recruiting individual persons into our field on a
  sustained basis that results in the best and the
  brightest persons with the most appropriate
  mindset entering our field so that we end up with
  practitioners who are the most well adjusted to
  the scientific and evolving practice rigors our
  our field. In order to do that, the ASCLS Task
  Force has thought of the following points to
  consider.
• Make an effort and hopefully achieve some
  success to include laboratory science programs in
  loan forgiveness by various federal agencies and
  other lenders.
• A huge area that we can all identify with and as
  can any group of potential applicants to a
  college based program in our field would be the
  likely rewards at the end of the long tunnel.
  This of course relates directly to wages,
  salaries and benefits. Perhaps some way of
  characterizing an improved package of these
  desired commodities might be made so that a young
  person considering other fields would see our
  package of rewards in comparison to those not
  just on day one but over a period of time in
  their early career. The gist of this is of
  course to identify that which will capture the
  attention of RECRUITERS as well as the students,
  their parents, and young scientists.

40
Action Items

• Data Collection
• Context There are alleged growing shortages in
  several health-related disciplines, e.g.,
  nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational
  therapy, etc. Clinical laboratory personnel
  shortages will need to be addressed in
  competition with several other disciplines.
  (Need more reliable and current information).
• Complicated Multiple Data Sources There are
  several organizations and entities which certify
  a range of laboratory personnel (ASCP, ASM, NCA).
  NAACLS accredits the training programs.
  (Professional / Government / Regulatory).
• Barriers There are no mandatory recertification
  and few re-licensure requirements. This poses
  problems with tracking over time. There are only
  11 states requiring licensure of clinical
  laboratory personnel.
• Tools we have ASCP Wage and Vacancy Survey (2
  years) - - 10 positions
• MT/CLS (baccalaureate) supervisor, manager,
  staff
• MLT/CLT - generalist (associates degree)
  Cytotechnologist (baccalaureate)
  Histotechnologist (baccalaureate)
  Histologic Tech. (associates degree)
• Histotech supervisor, staff Phlebotomist
• May need to add Medical informatics
  Molecular diagnostic (cytogenetics)
• Others

41
Action Items

• Marketing
• Develop a marketing FIELD GUIDE FOR LAB MANAGERS
• This Field Guide should be constructed (with new
  or borrowed information) so as to answer
  questions including
• What is the value added of laboratory testing.
  Develop model procedures (template) to
  accumulate value with our data.
• Publication/presentations to help managers to
  confront their superiors regarding salaries.
• Targeted toward AHA Health care executives
  and presentations, etc.
• Help managers study staff utilization develop
  examples of ways to utilize people better.
• How to extend the influence of the laboratory
  across organizations.
• How to use collated data
• How to be more visible - Hospital
  administrators, pharmacists, etc.
• How to showcase the lab contribution to
  hospital administrators, M.D.s - Clearly
  indicating in what ways are we valuable
• Deal with changing demographics
• Link with other groups marketing health fields

42
Action Items

• Recruitment
• Clearly the heart of the matter at hand involves
  recruiting individual persons into our field on a
  sustained basis that results in the best
  brightest persons with the most appropriate
  mindset entering our field so that we end up with
  practitioners who are the most well adjusted to
  the scientific and evolving practice rigors our
  our field.

43
Action Items

• Financing Education
• Obviously as the economy continues to roll along
  in its current robust state the full employment
  situation has drawn young persons into various
  fields of endeavor after high school, some of
  whom go to college or participate in professional
  programs, and others who do not. A major effort
  should be to provide funding to prospective
  students directing them into our programs.

44
Action Items

• Profession in Transition
• It goes without saying that our field is in
  transition, perhaps from one technology base and
  one paradigm of operation to another.
  Nonetheless, young persons who are considering
  careers in our field are likely to be marginally
  aware of this but feel some sense of unease as
  they begin to spend a day in a lab or in other
  ways interact with current professionals and
  practitioners in the field. We need to be aware
  of this and have some way of dealing with it as
  the concerns arise.

45
Immediate Action Items

• Each organization will bring the following
  matters to their governing bodies for immediate
  discussion and contribution. It was suggested
  that the organization in BOLD would be the lead
  entity for the action item.
• DATA COLLECTION
• All organizations will share survey instrument
  components, data. ASCP
• RECRUITMENT
• Explore sources of funding for presentation kits
  - ASCLS
• Devise the kits. - ASCLS
• MARKETING
• Develop Field Guides - CLMA
• Get educators and managers together - NAACLS
• FINANCING EDUCATION
• All participants provide information on financial
  assistance. This collected information will be
  displayed and updated on the NAACLS Web site.
  NAACLS

46
Steering Committee

• The CCCLW will plan future on site meetings and
  coordinate future projects through a Steering
  Committee. The first one is composed as follows
  
• Jim Griffith (ASCLS) Kory
  Ward-Cook (ASCP-BOR)
• Bob Neri (CLMA) Joeline Davidson (NAACLS)
• David Glenn (ASCP-AMS) Kathy Hansen (NCA)
• Stephen Kahn (AACC) Chris Damon (AMT)

47
CCCLW Productivity

• Products from the Strategic Plan

48
CCCLW Productivity

• Products from the Strategic Plan

49
CCCLW Productivity

• Products from the Strategic Plan

Career Recruitment Package
ASCLS Educational Affairs Comm. ASCLS
Leadership Development Comm.
50
CCCLW Productivity

• Products from the Strategic Plan

IVD Industry Leader
BIG Announcement ASCLS/AACC 6/03
51
CCCLW Productivity

• Efforts in the States

52
CCCLW Productivity

• Summary of state activities around health
  workforce shortages in general.
• 90 have some sort of Task Force or Governors
  Commission or . . . .
• All are temporary
• 34 study Nursing only
• 22 study the health workforce in general
• 11 include long-term care
• In the most recent national (50 states, PR, DC)
  study, the following got enough attention for
  ink
• Nursing
• Pharmacy
• Nurses Aids

Home Health Aids
Dentistry
Radiologic Technology
53
CCCLW Productivity

• Most common coping strategies
• Scholarships
• Loan Forgiveness / Repayment
• Best time to survey the field
• During Re-licensure
• Lots of others tried
• Major Rationale Health Care Financing
• Health Care
  Regulation
• Shortage impact on
  quality
• Shortage impact on
  access
• Health Education entities collectively have not
  prevented or reversed shortages

54
CCCLW Productivity

• State government is the current primary focus.
• Modest and narrowly focused so far
• Not much effort on retention (once in the
  workplace)
• State-by-State Inefficiency
• Redundancy
• Right fit solution
  for each state
• State parties
  (education, unions,
• policy makers) may
  talk with one
• another

55
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter I - DATA COLLECTION ASCP Clearinghouse
  Facilitator
• R/A I - 1 It is recommended that data on the
  cause /source of the workforce shortage be
  sought. We should attempt to identify ways of
  obtaining this data - - and in fact do recommend
  that researchers in our field consider such
  studies as legitimate topics for investigation by
  themselves or graduate students.
• R/A I - 2 The Veterans Administration has been
  solicited for information on their clinical
  laboratory workforce nationwide.
• R/A I - 3 We are cautioned on the over
  enthusiastic aggregation of existing data sets
  inasmuch as varying methodologies may make such
  aggregation unsuitable for meta-analysis.

Get more data
Get better data
56
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter I - DATA COLLECTION ASCP Clearinghouse
  Facilitator
• R/A I - 4 It is recommended that the following
  data points be considered for collection
  on a go forward basis
• Wage Salary Hiring Trends
• Benefits Vacancies
• Time to Fill Vacancies Comparable data from
  other
• Error rates related fields
• NOTE Error Rate data may be especially hard to
  come by since it is difficult to accrue to an
  individual with specific qualifications and since
  we are our own worst enemy in that we have
  developed such elaborate QC and QA procedures
  that when errors are made they are often picked
  up by another in the same lab. Perhaps an
  evaluation of discoverable error rates in
  licensed vs. non-licensed states could be
  undertaken. Some level of data may already exist
  in the hands of governmental agencies or
  accrediting bodies.
• R/A I - 5 It is recommended that common terms be
  used in the collection of demographic data
  such as
• Non-Collegiate Training Certificate
• Associates
  degree Associates degree, certified
• Bachelors degree Bachelors degree,
  certified
• Masters degree Masters degree, certified
• Doctors
  degree Doctors degree, certified

Get more sophisticated data
Get more comparable data
57
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter II - MARKETING
  CLMA Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A II - 1 CLMA has committed their CCP (Council
  of Chapter Presidents) to make recommendations
  for material to be included in the Field Guide
  for Lab Managers (Field Guide 1). Their initial
  discussions include making this field guide
  available on CD-ROM.
• R/A II - 2 It is recommended that the effective
  portion of this Field Guide be formulated in a
  step by step fashion as the lab managers who need
  to use it are probably committed to the point
  that they will be in a position to use it if it
  does not require a long assimilation.

Continuing Commitment
58
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter II - MARKETING
  CLMA Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A II - 3 It is suggested that CLMA obtain and
  review the AHA Monograph On Workforce Shortage
  Issues (4/02). The document seems not to have
  much about the clinical laboratory field - - and
  that is the point. It is anticipated that if we
  were to produce a document that filled out the
  missing material in a manner consistent with the
  rest of the AHA base document, we would be in a
  good position to not only provide awareness on
  the overlooked information but to solicit AHAs
  acknowledgement of this fact and a reminder of
  their oft stated commitment to . . . involve
  every practitioner in the governance practice
  of health care . . Our hope would be to also
  use the developed information as a base document
  to aid lab managers in communicating with
  hospital administrators.

59
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter II - MARKETING
  CLMA Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A II - 4 It is recommended that the Educator /
  Manager dialog be further extended and
  specifically that a representative of the
  American Hospital Association be invited to
  participate at the next on site meeting of the
  CCCLW. Pursuant to the unanimity of opinion on
  this matter such an invitation will be extended.
  NAACLS has volunteered to do this.
• R/A II - 5 It is recommended that the annual CLEC
  (Clinical Laboratory Educators Conference) of
  ASCLS and CLMA seek a mutual opportunity to bring
  educators and managers together in a way that
  would address matters in this chapter of the
  Strategic Plan. Perhaps some thought to the
  development of PowerPoint materials that would
  connect our interests to those of administrators
  and other such materials to connect our interests
  to those of science teachers, H.S. guidance
  counselors, etc. could be a focus of this
  interaction.

We continue to do what we say we will do . . . .
60
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter II - MARKETING
  CLMA Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A II - 6 It is recommended that Data Mining
  referred to in the Work Plan above indeed be
  undertaken. The CLMA Staffing Forum, the NAACLS
  Futures Conference, the material developed by the
  Minnesota Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
  and the upcoming UHC/AACC presentation by Elissa
  Passiment be considered as sources along with
  others.

61
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter III - RECRUITMENT ASCLS
  Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A III - 1 It is recommended that the CCCLW
  develop methods and materials to aid the process
  of educational program advocacy (from
  pre-collegiate training programs to Post-Doc.s).
  Such a presence could prevent further closures9 ,
  include a mechanism for organized letter writing
  nationwide and perhaps recommendations on minimal
  appropriate levels of program funding (needs LOTS
  of thought).
• R/A III - 2 ASCLS has developed a generic
  support forgiveness document that could serve
  as the basis for a relationship between a
  recruited student and a health care organization.
  The student gets financial help when it is most
  needed and commits service to the supporting
  organization once the student is able to give it
  - - each in proportion to the other and mutually
  agreed upon.
• R/A III - 3 It is recommended that consideration
  be given to specific recruiting considerations
  that may be helpful in aquainting persons of
  color to the possibilities of a career in the
  clinical laboratory.

Better ways of thinking about this problem
62
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter III - RECRUITMENT ASCLS
  Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A III - 4 The ASCLS Career Education Brochure
  and CD-ROM are recommended as
•  All ready developed and available
• Generic enough for use by all
• Imprintable with sender information
• R/A III - 5 It is recommended that all
  participants publicize career options available
  to those with the basic and specific
  education/training in this field as well as the
  utility of the Career Ladder. It is further
  recommended that the participants share
  information (via a mechanism to be devised) on
  evolving career opportunities.
• R/A III - 6 It is recommended that the
  psychological evaluation of what motivates young
  people described by Elissa Passiment of ASCLS be
  more broadly distributed and perhaps be used by a
  CCCLW Subcommittee (needs to be appointed) to
  further develop elements of recruiting materials
  and motivating benefits packages to be used in
  Career Ladders in Chapter II of this Strategic
  Plan. Possible comparative / conflicting aspects
  include
• Altruism Flexible Work Hours
  Availability of Educational Support

Use the best of what we know
63
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter III - RECRUITMENT ASCLS
  Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A III - 7 It is recommended that Field Guide 2
  be developed - Mentoring Clinical Laboratory
  Students. This document would in part describe to
  the practice field successful ways of
  participating in H.S. Senior Mentoring, collect
  and describe how to use a wide variety of
  biographies of actual people in and about our
  field who have benefited from training /
  education in this arena. Perhaps some or all of
  this information could be distributed or used in
  some way on the web sites of the participating
  organizations.
• R/A III - 8 It is recommended that the Career
  Ladder discussed at the 4/2/02 meeting be
  developed. It has been suggested that the
  principles of flexibility in curricula as well
  as the utility of distance education and
  occasions for upward included . Mary Brained
  (ASCLS) is a well known national expert in this
  arena.

Take some chances
64
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter IV - FINANCING EDUCATION NAACLS
  Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A IV - 1 It is recommended that data be
  collected from NAACLS approved programs on the
  cost of programs. Data points such as the
  following should be considered
• Total Program Budget Total Program Cost
• Total Faculty Budget Total Faculty Cost /
  Value
• Total Supply Budget Total Supply Cost /
  Value
• Startup Equipment Cost Annual Equipment
  Budget
• Local and /or state impact of MT/CLS, CLT/MLT
  graduates vs. other science graduates
• Economic impact of NAACLS program being
  surveyed on the region or state.
• R/A IV - 2 It is recommended that the CCCLW
  consider a web site of its own to facilitate
  distribution or a durable connection by all of
  the participating organizations to the NAACLS
  site, effectively creating a CCCLW Web-Ring.
• R/A IV - 3 The VA system is actively considering
  overt support to students at various levels in
  our field.

65
Current Chapter Recommendations / Actions

• Chapter IV - FINANCING EDUCATION NAACLS
  Clearinghouse Facilitator
• R/A IV - 4 It is recommended that (as it is well
  known that a meaningful slice of the student
  population entering college select a school and /
  or major in part by available scholarship), we,
  the CCCLW, encourage the use of reference
  librarians and other sources in the discovery and
  popularization of scholarship and other support
  in our field.
• R/A IV - 5 It is recommended that representatives
  from the diagnostics industry be invited and
  encouraged to attend future on site meetings of
  the CCCLW and in part be probed as an additional
  resource of financial support for students /
  programs in our field. The suggestion of likely
  candidates and / or a way to proceed would be
  appreciated.
• R/A IV - 6 It is recommended that direct support
  to programs (at all levels) in our field could
  not only be a valuable stabilizing factor, but a
  recruiting factor as they each in turn are able
  to do more for the students they have.

66
Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2001

• H.R.3448 (amends the Public Health Service Act )
• To improve the ability of the United States to
  prevent, prepare for, and respond to bioterrorism
  and other public health emergencies.
• Currently in the House Energy and Commerce,
  Subcommittee on Health

Passed Congress
Signed by the President
67
AMA e-Letter listing

• "Clinical laboratories are experiencing a
  shortage of all types of diagnostic scientists
  and technicians from the A.S. level through
  graduate degrees. The AHA Workforce 2001 Survey
  has demonstrated that the overall vacancy rate is
  12, which places it ahead of the current
  national Nursing shortage by a full 1. The BLS
  (Bureau of Labor Statistics) projects a need of
  9,300 scientists per year for each year of their
  decade forecast cycle (1998-2008) and NAACLS
  (National Accrediting Agency for Clinical
  Laboratory Science) suggests that we are
  graduation only 4,110 nationwide in these fields.
• A group of 21 entities including every leading
  professional organization in the field and four
  federal agencies has come together to form a
  permanent effort to look into this matter and
  propose solutions. This group, the CCCLW
  (Coordinating Council for the Clinical Laboratory
  Workforce) has developed a Strategic Plan which
  can be accessed at _____________ . For further
  information, you may contact . . .

68
First News

• The clinical laboratory workforce shortage was
  the topic of the May02 Clinical Laboratory
  Strategies cover story.
• 88888888888888888888888
• The clinical laboratory workforce shortage was
  the topic of the August02 CLN cover story.
• 88888888888888888888888
• The CCCLW was the focus of the September02
  "Expert Access Live-on Line" of the AACC.

69
Later News

• CCCLW representatives have met with
  representatives of Johnson Johnson August02
  to discuss ideas funding for industry support
  of a major national PR effort.
• 88888888888888888888888
• The CCCLW was part of the "Lab Future Scan"
  Session at the Oct. 24, 2002 Washington G-2 "Lab
  Institute".
• 88888888888888888888888
• The CCCLW invited representatives from the
  American Hospital Association to the Fall 02
  site meeting.
• 88888888888888888888888
• The CCCLW invited representatives from the
  clinical laboratory diagnostics industry to the
  Fall 02 site meeting.

70
Later News

• The professional shortage and the CCCLW were the
  focus of Pres. Gantzers Presidents Message in
  CLN, Oct. 02 2810, pg. 4
• 88888888888888888888888
• Our story was part of the Do You Know What Lab
  Professionals Are Worth Today session at the
  Oct. 02 Washington G-2 "Lab Institute". This
  session delivered by Dave Daniels discussed the
  results of a study of the lab workforce
• 88888888888888888888888

71
Late-breaking News

• The Coalition for NJ Clinical Laboratory
  Personnel has launched a new website,
  http//www.LabScience.org.
• It went live in May 2003.
• clinical laboratory careers,
• employment and career advancement opps.,
• NJ clinical laboratory education programs,
• available financial assistance,
• salary and labor statistics,
• links to other relevant sites,
• contacts for hospital tours,
• information for science teachers
• and lots more . . . .

72
Latest Late-breaking News

• Shortage issue featured once again in the July
  2003 issue of the AMA Health Professions News
• 88888888888888888888888
• Michigan State University (Kathy M. Doig,
  517-353-7800) University of North Carolina
  (Sue Beck [phone] ) have initiated a
  national study (February 27, 2003 ) of factors
  contributing to retention of employees in
  clinical laboratory science.
• 88888888888888888888888
• New York Times, July 6, 2003 article by David
  Johnston . . . Bioterrorism preparedness
  skilled medical and scientific personnel. . . .

73
Late-breaking News

• Chris Damon (AMT Executive Director) participated
  in a panel discussion entitled "Increasing the
  Supply of Allied Health Professionals" at the
  National Association for Health Care Recruitment
  on July 19, 2003
• 88888888888888888888888
• The program description "Health care profession
  shortages are critical. What are the national
  professional associations doing to try to ensure
  adequate supplies of these healthcare
  professionals and what can you do to help? "
• 88888888888888888888888
• Two other panelists were from the Am. Soc. of
  Radiologic Technologists, and the Am. Assn. for
  Respiratory Therapy.

74
Latest Late-breaking News

• A major announcement AACC/ASCLS July 22, 2003
• The first major support has come forward from the
  IVD industry in the form of student scholarships
  for A.S. students.
• 50,000 / year for 3 years 150,000
• All eMail App.
• Out very soon
• Due date 12/15/03
• Awards 2/15/04
• June/Sept. cycle to follow

75
Latest Late-breaking News

• A new initiative by the U.S. DOL has recently
  been launched with conferences in three cities
  (Salt Lake City, Chicago, D.C.) - - Oct. 29-Nov.
  3, 2003.
• These meetings will generate a plan that will be
  posted on the U.S.DOL site http//www.dol.gov/dol
  /findit.htm

76
Latest Late-breaking News

• The DRAFT Plan will be the beginnings of
  putting 13 billion toward the addressing of the
  health workforce shortage needs.
• Our job will be to get a fair share for clinical
  laboratory positions.

77
Thank You