June 1, 2004

Mitch Fiszer, President of Diagnostic Recruiting, Inc.

“In the next ten years, I see a real crisis looming. With job vacancy rates in clinical lab professions continuing to rise, more training programs shutting down, and baby boomers reaching an age where they will require more testing than ever before, there’s valid cause for concern. We need to get more people into these professions as soon as possible, so that we can handle the testing demands of the future.” —Kory Ward-Cook, PhD, MT (ASCP), then-Vice President (now Executive Director), ASCP Board of Registry, in an October 1999 interview with Clinical Laboratory News.

Five years later on, Dr. Ward-Cook’s prediction is a reality for many laboratory facilities across the United States. How did we get to a point where personnel shortages are more acute in clinical laboratory professions than in the general population? What factors are responsible for the current state affairs in the lab community? Where will the laboratory professionals of tomorrow come from?

This month, our resident expert is Mitch Fiszer, President of Diagnostic Recruiting, Inc. (Chicago, Ill.), who will examine the factors that are contributing to the staffing crisis in the clinical laboratory and, more importantly, look for rational solutions to the situation. Log on now and direct your questions on THE LABORATORY STAFFING CRISIS to Mr. Fiszer.