Best Practices for Lab Management in 2022
Lab professionals focus on staffing By Kara Nadeau, MLO Features Editor
F
or our second “State of the Industry” survey topic in 2022, Medical Laboratory Observer (MLO) selected Lab Management Best
Practices as its focus. We gathered responses from 189 clinical laboratory professionals with 64% of respondents in director, manager, administrator, or supervisor positions.
The survey results show how the COVID-19 pan- demic, continued staffi ng shortages, and supply chain disruptions have impacted clinical lab opera- tions and revenues. It also reveals some of the most popular approaches for addressing these challenges, from talent recruitment and retainment strategies, to the implementation of automated technologies. To bring the data to life, we interviewed U.S. clini- cal laboratory leaders and lab suppliers and service providers to gain their perspectives on the state of the industry. They shared their personal experiences and voiced their opinions on what must change to sustain lab operations moving forward.
Recruiting and retaining staff members Staff shortages are placing intense pressure on clinical laboratories as they struggle with high demand for testing and the desire among clinicians and patients to get accurate results quickly. “We’ve taken a hard hit in staffi ng levels from
losing individuals to retirement, new techs who decided they didn’t want to stay in the fi eld, and others leaving for jobs with higher pay,” said Aaron Hurst, Laboratory Supervisor for NMC Health in Newton, Kansas. Tim Schroeder is Director of Lab for Mahaska Health, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Oskaloosa, Iowa. His team of fewer than 20 FTEs runs 24/7 testing for the hospital and for 40+ hospital-based providers through clinics and two satellite facilities, averaging 500,000 tests per year. “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were
four FTEs short,” said Schroeder. “Just the raw number of hours we have to cover in a week is 300. I’ve had three people out at once with COVID
22 MAY 2022
MLO-ONLINE.COM
for two weeks – a lab assistant and two techs – so everybody must juggle. At times, I’ve been working benches at 6 a.m. and other days stayed working benches until 7 p.m.”
The survey results show that labs across the coun- try are facing these same challenges, with 76% of respondents saying they have had multiple staff members out sick with COVID-19 at the same time, up from 60% in 2021.
Competing for talent Lab leaders are challenged to retain current staff members as they face fi erce competition from other labs offering better pay. Others noted how lab profes- sionals are increasingly leaving the fi eld to pursue careers in other industries with less pressure and better compensation.
Among those surveyed, 27% said their labs ex- perienced budget cuts due to lost revenue from elective procedures and tests, causing temporary staff furloughs and 24% hiring freezes, making it diffi cult to hire more staff.
“During the ups and downs of Lee Panton
COVID, we would have one week where we’d be fl exing people off and making cost cuts, then two weeks later trying to put the same staff members on overtime,” said Lee Panton, a recently retired Lab Director from California. “Because of the high cost of living in California, the majority of the
laboratory staff have two jobs. During surges, both employers would be asking them to work double. Plus, most were off duty due to COVID exposures at some point.” Panton said larger health systems in her area have been able to increase wages while smaller facilities don’t have the resources to match these higher pay rates. Smaller labs were even competing with retail COVID test sites and reference labs for techs during the height of the pandemic.
Photo by Natali_Mis @
GettyImages.com
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