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In the laboratory, a highly skilled team of pathologists and medical technologists, medical laboratory technicians (MLT) and specialists work together to solve the mysteries, put the puzzles together, and answer the critical questions of medicine. More than 70% of medical decisions made by physicians are based on laboratory findings. In fact, the practice of modern medicine would be impossible without the tests performed in the laboratory.
Pathologists and medical laboratory professionals are the behind-the- scenes backbone of medicine. Their field of exploration includes a vast span, from gross human anatomy to the genetic and molecular particles that affect it. They are the researchers, the investigators, and some say the real heroes of medicine.
Associate degree clinical laboratory technicians/medical laboratory technicians perform all the routine tests in an up-to-date medical laboratory and can demonstrate discrimination between closely similar items and correction of errors by the use of preset strategies. The technician has knowledge of specific techniques and instruments and is able to recognize factors that directly affect procedures and results. The technician also monitors quality assurance procedures.
Wages and Job Satisfaction
According to the current edition of the Jobs Rated Almanac by Les Krantz, medical laboratory technicians are very high on the list of best jobs, ranking 23rd in a list of 250 jobs. They also ranked fifth in the "Healthcare/ Medicine" occupational category. The positions were scored on factors such as salary, stress levels, work environment, outlook, security and physical demands. The mean starting salary for an MLT in a large laboratory is around $27,000 per year, and with experience graduates can earn approximately $42,000 per year. With the current shortage of laboratory practitioners, wages are expected to rise higher than average.
The health care industry is in the midst of one of the most significant shortages of trained personnel in its history, and leaders predict it will worsen with time. The shortage of laboratory personnel is greater than that of nurses and physicians because large numbers of programs have been cut or eliminated. In just the last 4 years over 60 BS and AAS programs have closed. In the Journal for Clinical Laboratory Science a survey indicated that within the next seven years 50% of the current practitioners will retire, and that not enough programs exist to meet the needs of the industry. In a recent report the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates a 17 percent growth rate in the field of clinical laboratory science. For the period 1998 to 2008 the BLS projects 53,000 new jobs in the field, 40,000 vacancies (created by retirements, people leaving the field, etc.), and 93,000 incremental positions to be filled at 9,000 per year. In the "Outlook" section of Jobs Rated Almanac by Les Krantz, the author predicts, "The volume of laboratory testing will In a recent report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates a 17 percent growth rate in the field of clinical laboratory science. (For the period 1998 to 2008 the BLS projects 53,000 new jobs in the field, 40,000 vacancies, and 93,000 incremental positions to be filled at 9,000 per year.) Medical laboratory technicians are very high on the list of best jobs, ranking 23rd in a list of 250 jobs. They also ranked fifth in the "Healthcare/ Medicine" occupational category |
