Are Laboratory Managers Really Concerned with The Shortage in Medical Laboratory Personnel? Their Hiring Requirements Seem to Dictate Otherwise.

 

Why aren't lab managers or directors willing to give entry level MT's/mlt's a chance? Some of us struggled extremely hard to obtain certification yet we run into those lab managers or directors who require experience that we don't have or certification through a specific certification agency. Are lab managers really concerned with the shortage in medical laboratory personnel? Their hiring requirements dictate otherwise. Why they're not willing to hire and train certified entry level MT's or mlt's continues to be a matter of pure conjecture, more so selfishness. Not long ago while conducting a telephonic interview with a Colorado lab manager he informed me that he wasn't allowed to hire AMT certified mlt's and that he doesn't hire candidates who have no instrumentation experience. AMT considers its certified mlt's to be entry level laboratorians who work under the supervision of a MT. AMT expects lab managers to hire its certified mlt's. If lab managers are really concerned with the shortage in medical laboratory personnel they should hire and train  MT's or mlt's whether certification is through ASCP, AMT or NCA.We can learn how to operate the instrumentation in your laboratory if you give us a chance by hiring and training us! Please let us in the door so that we can start our careers. Curbing the lab personnel shortage starts with nondiscriminatory/fair hiring practices

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Richard Covington

Richard,

I agree that there seems to be many obstacles regarding the hiring of certified Medical Laboratory Technicians, although there is an increasing shortage.  Hiring managers, seeking to recruit laboratory professionals, appear to focus much of their requirements towards Bachelor of Science Medical Technologist with certifications with ASCP or NCA, not AMT.  AMT certification is being considered by most hiring managers as second rate, although I profoundly disagree being a certified Medical Technologist with the agency.  I, too, have been told this very same thing by a hiring manager for a well-established children's hospital in the Atlanta-area.  Most healthcare facilities have adopted this philisophy of recruiting and hiring Medical Technologists, as opposed to Medical Laboratory Technicians.  I believed this philisophy is driven by changes in laboratory professional requirements regulated by CLIA (Centers for Mediare and Medicaid) and new certification requirements by ASCP, most likely fueled by its great influence and connections with the federal government and regulatory agencies.  Unfortuately, you may have to consider continuing your education and obtaining a 4-year degree in a biological science or medical technology to be seriously considered.  I, being a graduate from a two-year instution in medical laboratory technology and working as a medical laboratory technician for 6 years prior to obtaining certification as a Medical Technologist, have witnessed and experienced these changes expressed by employers seeking laboratory professionals.  Keep searching and applying for opportunities, despite an employer's preferrred requirements.  Thank you for expressing your concerns.  Maybe a true discussion of shortages in the laboratory profession may spark all certifying and credentialing agencies to take notice of individuals, like you, choosing a profession and facing employment obstacles solely based on preference and not shortage.  

Hi There R.Newton,

Unfortunately, I continue to experience the same dismay. You mentioned that I should try and obtain a 4 yr degree in medical technology. Last year I transferred my courses, which mostly consist of biological science to an online university. The online university, TUI University has a whole lot of active duty U.S. military students. I guess this is why I chose them. I'm a veteran myself. I'm studying to finish with a BS in Health Science. So far I'm doing quite well there and expect to graduate in the fall of 09. Recently I interviewed with ARUP, a reference laboratory connected to the University of Utah. As part of the application process they required a transcript from TUI U. Here again I became a victim of what I call discriminatory hiring practices. They would not accept my transcript. TUI U is an accredited university. I struggled hard to qualify to sit for the AMT mlt exam and studied my butt off to pass it. I won't accept that AMT is not equivalent with ASCP or NCA. This type of non sense has to stop. The certification agencies need to consolidate into one official agency and push for state regulatory agencies to accept their certification credentials as adequate enough for licensure of any entry level laboratorian who is successful at acquiring their certification credentials. It's no wonder that there's such a shortage of medical clinical laboratory personnel. There's so much red tape to getting a job in the field. Fast as one reaches the end of one tunnel another tunnel is created for him/her to get through! Thanks R.Newton for your input. High 5 to your continued success as an AMT certified Medical Technologist Professional.

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Richard Covington

Richard,   Listen, I am an MT(ASCP), from the philadelphia area. And , I know you , and many others may disagree with me. But, I think the mlt certification should be discontinued.  I studied very hard for my four year degree, did my clinical rotation for almost a year while working full-time to support my family.  And with all of that , I still have to work 2 jobs to support my family. My wife cannot work right now because I have a disabled son.  I have to work close to 60 hours a week, to pay off my student loans, and deal with family cost. I worked very hard to acheive what I have.  I'm also enrolled in graduate school studying microbiology.  Many, in the community and hospital still look at all of us as the same and that is not true.  I give lectures in immunology and virology in a clinical lab science program at our hospital for undergrad seniors in the MT program. In addition , educating the clinical staff at the hospital in matters of clinical virology is part of my job.  As MT's our salaries stay low , because the hospital administration knows they can pay an mlt considerably less. But mlt's do not work in areas like Flow cytometry, molecular diagnostics, HLA tissue typing, and in many cases virology (molecular/tissue culture).  But our salaries should be comparable to that of a BSN.  Our field is changing, technology is changing, how people see our profession should also change we are clinical laboratory SCIENTIST! Not, technicians.

Perhaps I may provide a point of conjecture, or just something different here.  I happen to stand in both worlds, that of Mr Covington, and your, Mr. Chandler.  I am completed my AS in MLT in July 2008, but I already have a Bachelor's degree in Biology.  I understand all TOO well the problem Mr Covington is facing in trying to land a job.  Although I am trained as a MLT I actually hold a certification and license for MT.  Still with all of this, not to mention a Master's degree, I can't find a job!  For someone who has worked hard for the education and skills she attained it is an insult every time I hear about the so-called shortage and all I can think of is "I'm here, hire me!!!" The rotations we went on were designed to teach us bench work AND instrumentation.  So provided you actually paid attention the issue is not really relevant to not knowing how to function or trainability.

Mr. Chandler, all I can say is you are right, MT and MLT are NOT the same.  But I can tell you, it floors me sometimes the attitudes MTs give at times.  If you compare the classes of an MT program aside from the internship w/ Biology there is not much difference, maybe 3-5 classes at most.  Even then a lot of the material is addressed in other courses.  I get very frustrated because I tried to get into a MT internship and because of only having 5-6 trainees per year, and contracting with the MT programs at the universities, I didn't make the cut.  But I am not crying over spilled milk, I made lemonade and got my MLT because I love the lab and I really wanted to work there,  As I said before I am highly educated and bring a lot of knowledge to the lab and really would love to contribute, especially in Micro, but because hiring managers and the like are not being open-minded they are not giving people like me a chance.  There are people like me more and more.  As a matter of fact, half of my class had BS degrees before enrolling in the MLT program I attended.

 My whole point is that whether we are MLT or MT, we are certified and ready to work.  We want to contribute!

 Nicadia

I have my certification through AAB and I get the same response.  "AAB, what's that"  If it is good enough for a state license, I say let it go!

Wow, I feel you Lamar. High 5 to your success as an ASCP Certified Medical Technologist Professional. I certainly can't compare with your achievements. I had no idea that mlt's can save the hospital administration money compared to hiring a MT. If I were a MT I would be upset too. You also mentioned that mlt's don't work in areas of the lab like Flow cytometry, molecular diagnostics or HLA tissue typing. Why is this? I'm also perplexed at how a BSN could earn more money than a MT? As you already know, nurses come no where near to taking the amount of biological sciences courses as MT's do. In my opinion the curriculum for a MT is much much harder than for a BSN. LPN's should not be earning more than mlt's but they are by far. It's perplexing that the scenario of a hospital administration hiring LPN's to keep from hiring expensive RN's doesn't occur. Maybe because the BSN's role is more administrative then the MT? I'm just guessing. I've learned that here in Florida the MT can have either a bachelors or associates degree. You mentioned that you don't think that mlt's should exist, mainly because of monetary reasons. Well, at one time they were thinking of getting rid of LPN's. I don't know if money was a factor or not? Finally, if they got rid of mlt's I certainly wouldn't look forward to doing phlebotomy for the rest of my life, been there done that for 15yrs. My final goal is to become a MT like you but first I must get an entry level job as a mlt. I already know not to apply at your lab because you'll kick me to the curb "wink"

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Richard Covington

Hi There Nicadia or should I Fellow Laboratorian,

First of all, High 5 to your extremely admired educational credentials. I certainly can't compare with your portfolio. If you have experienced some of the grief that I'm experiencing then I might as well crawl up under a rock and never come out. Where is the unity in this industry? Will lab managers ever recognize and value ambition? If I were a lab manager and interviewed you I would resign if the administration didn't process you further for hiring. If the industry is going to have trouble attracting the up and coming at least the existing educated certified dedicated laboratorian candidates like you and me should be bought in on a silver platter! Lets continue to motivate each other by not giving up.

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Richard Covington

yes you are right there are many difficulties to the hiring of certified Medical Laboratory Technicians, although there is an increasing shortage.

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I am a MT with as Masters in Healthcare Management. I worked in a very face paced big hospital for 3 years. We were split between MTs, MLTs and student workers. I must say that I don't believe any degree despite how many years it takes you to get it should be looked upon as "less experience", etc. I believe whatever capacity we serve as fellow MTs or MLTs, we are all in it for the same reason. We believe in the laboratory profession and its passion to serve our patients with the best of quality assurance,  control and most importantly accuracy.

 I have stood beside many MLTs who honestly make our entry level MTs look bad due to their much better work ethic and rigorous tenacity to ensure quality patient results. So it was a toss up in our laboratory.

 I have read through the posts, I do understand that there are money issues between MLTs and MTs and also the idea that our lab does limit what the MLTs can do, but as with any profession you have various levels of care provided to the patient. Take for instance phlebotomists, patient care assistants, physician assistants, pathology assistants, LPNs, etc. We cannot eradicate these titles merely due to money gap issues, etc.

 It is through active involvement in professional societies that changes such as these are made, otherwise we are losing a lot of good people (MLTs, etc.) who are there for a reason and who share the same passion as an MT.

One other note, I noticed several comments stating that as an MLT you cannot get near the status of an MT. Once again, everyone's role is different in the laboratory or any other profession. We are all just as important as each other, with each of our roles signifying the underlying theme described above.

I challenge everyone to embrace every role in the laboratory profession despite what titles follow our names. This also applies to our multidisciplinary interactions that take place on a regular basis.

 

Wow Stacey I truly loved what you said.....you are really bright person...I have the same believes that we should embrace and interact in our profession no matter what's is behind our names.

This work in any field......Managers in a retail industry work together with the employess to have a sucessful outcome and this work in the Healthcare we are a unit and we should be united to help each other and provide better care.

I went to college did my MLT got my associates and now I got my Bachelors ( MT). I started from the bottom because I did not have any help and 4 children to take care. My husband die my left me with 6,4,2 and 6mos old so not because I had to go tough ways to be where I am at today I will make sure I am superior to anyone. I also worked 60 plus hours and for a women with 4 children is not an easy task. Thank God I am blessed and I conquer my goal to finish my Bachelors.

I feel sorry for people that want to put others down. Every career and especially those who put so much to get an AS degree should be valorized. Many nurses only have Associates and have a very well pay.I do not put any education down.Whatever we have to do to get better in our lives.I work at a great Lab and we valorize our MLT's because they do lot of work that we do not have th etime to do it.I am very glad to give opportunity to anyone who wants to learn and grow.

Together as a team in can make a better community!! I hope everyone gets the chance to  be sucessful in any role that they play!

God bless !!

 

 

Hello There Stacy,

 

It's great to hear from a well established professional medical clinical laboratorian such as your self. Your so right to mention that we need togetherness. Our industry is just as vital as the nursing industry. We do more to help the doctor find a diagnosis than nurses do. We have to fight for higher salaries and recognition. There is no way that a RN should be earning more than a MT. Medical Clinical Laboratory Science is such an incredible science. The molecular aspect is exploding with excitement. Lab managers need to be willing to train us entry level certified mlt's and make us in to them. Make our industry stronger by filling in the gaps. The medical clinical laboratorian population needs to increase fast. There should not be a shortage of clinical laboratorians with people like me trying to get in the door. Let's cure the shortage in our industry by hiring ambitious passionate certified laboratorians. Then polish them to perfection. Let's quit wearing scrubs like nurses and wear formal attire with pure white lab coats, shiny shoes, shiny badges, emblems bearing our certifications. Students should look upon us as well dressed well educated scientist. If we don't look professional then one will think of us as unimportant. We need to stand out like marines dressed in dress blues.

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Richard Covington

Richard Covington:

 

 Let's quit wearing scrubs like nurses and wear formal attire with pure white lab coats, shiny shoes, shiny badges, emblems bearing our certifications. Students should look upon us as well dressed well educated scientist. If we don't look professional then one will think of us as unimportant. We need to stand out like marines dressed in dress blues.

It's good to see someone so passionate about our profession!   I've been wearing scrubs for so long I wouldn't know how to dress professional.  :(

 Though I think I'm the most professional dresser in my department. Considering that we have people who will show up to work in PAJAMAS and a du-rag. 

 

Well, hi there. It's a sure pleasure to meet you. Yeah, I feel you. I work at a research facility and techs and nurses sometimes show up in jeans and t-shirts. Research is extremely important. Everybody stares at me when I come to work. I guess because my lab coat is so bright that it hurts the eyes. My shoes are so shiny that one can see their face. My pants have a crease in them so sharp that you can cut steak with them. My button down collar dress shirt is ironed with starch.  My mlt certification emblem and patch are very visible on my labcoat. When employees and other people look at me they see the image of a professional laboratorian. When I land my first job in the lab as an entry level medical laboratory technician I will dress like this too. I hope to inspire up and coming medical clinical laboratorians to dress in this manner. If the word "scientist" doesn't excite a student then he/she should venture in to another career field. It's the pride of the profession that counts. The time has come for  medical clinical laboratorians to be paid like the nurses. I just seen an opening for a mlt in greenville, sc. The starting pay was only $13.08 per hr. What kind of crap is that!

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Richard Covington

That's beyond crap!  That's what my company pays entry level lab assistants.