Volume 40 Number 4 | August 2026
Summary
Advocacy in laboratory medicine begins in educational settings where educators foster professional pride, understanding of the profession’s impact on healthcare, and leadership skills. With encouragement, students become ambassadors who promote the value of laboratory professionals, participate in recruitment, and engage with the broader professional community to address workforce shortages and enhance the profession’s visibility and influence.
Building the Future Voice of Laboratory Medicine
Phyllis Ingham, EdD, MLS(ASCP)CM, AHI(AMT), Volunteer Contributor
When laboratory professionals think about advocacy, many envision legislative visits, meetings with policymakers, social media campaigns, or efforts to increase public awareness of our profession. While these activities are important, one of the most powerful and sustainable forms of advocacy begins much earlier in our educational programs.
As educators, we have the unique opportunity to develop not only competent laboratory professionals but also future advocates for laboratory medicine. Every lecture, laboratory exercise, clinical experience, and mentoring conversation provides an opportunity to help students understand the vital role they play in healthcare and the importance of serving as ambassadors for the profession.
The need for advocacy has never been greater. As we all know, laboratory testing influences approximately 70 percent of medical decisions, yet most patients—and even some other healthcare professionals—have limited understanding of the role laboratory professionals play in patient care. At the same time, workforce shortages continue to affect laboratories across the country, creating challenges for healthcare systems and educational programs alike. If we want to strengthen and advance our profession, we must begin by helping students recognize both the value of their work and their responsibility to share that message with others.
“Students who understand their value are more likely to explain the profession to others, participate in professional organizations, support workforce recruitment efforts, and become leaders within their workplaces and communities.”
Advocacy starts with professional identity. Many students enter laboratory science programs because they enjoy science, problem-solving, or healthcare. However, they may not fully appreciate the impact laboratory medicine has on diagnosis, treatment, disease monitoring, and public health. When students begin to understand that they are not simply performing tests but contributing directly to patient outcomes, something important happens, they develop pride in their profession.
Professional pride often becomes the foundation for advocacy. Students who understand their value are more likely to explain the profession to others, participate in professional organizations, support workforce recruitment efforts, and become leaders within their workplaces and communities. They begin to recognize that advocacy is not just something performed by organizational leaders or government affairs committees; it is something every laboratory professional can do.
Educators play a critical role in fostering this mindset. Advocacy can be woven throughout the curriculum in simple but meaningful ways. Discussions about workforce challenges, emerging healthcare trends, laboratory visibility, and the impact of laboratory medicine on patient care help students see the bigger picture. Case studies that connect laboratory results to patient outcomes reinforce the importance of the profession while helping students understand the real-world significance of their work.
Professional engagement opportunities can further strengthen advocacy skills. Encouraging students to join professional organizations, attend meetings, participate in Medical Laboratory Professionals Week activities, engage in community outreach, or attend advocacy events helps them develop confidence and a sense of ownership in the profession. These experiences allow students to move beyond the classroom and begin seeing themselves as members of a larger professional community.
Advocacy and leadership are also closely connected. The future supervisors, managers, educators, and professional society leaders of our profession are sitting in our classrooms today. By intentionally developing communication skills, teamwork, professionalism, and leadership abilities, educators are preparing students to become effective advocates throughout their careers. Leadership does not require a title; it begins when individuals use their knowledge, skills, and influence to advance a cause greater than themselves.
One of the greatest advocacy opportunities for students is recruitment. I always say, “Students are our best recruiters.” Future laboratory professionals often learn about the field through personal connections. Current students who are excited about their chosen profession become some of our best recruiters. Their enthusiasm and personal experiences help increase awareness among high school students, junior high students (over the years, I have found eighth graders are where the advocacy “seed” needs to be planted), and others who may never have considered a career in laboratory medicine. Educators can create outreach activities for students to be able to interact and recruit for the future of our profession.
The future of laboratory medicine depends on more than educating competent practitioners. It depends on developing professionals who understand their value, communicate their impact, and actively promote the profession. Advocacy is not a single event or activity. It is a mindset that can be cultivated throughout a student’s educational journey.
If we want stronger advocates tomorrow, we must begin preparing them today. Advocacy does not start after graduation. Advocacy begins in the classroom.
References
- Garcia E, Kundu I, Kelly M, et al. The American Society for Clinical Pathology 2024 Vacancy Survey of Medical Laboratories in the United States. American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 2024;162(5):557-572.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical Laboratory Professionals Week. https://www.cdc.gov/lab-week
- Sikaris KA. Enhancing the Clinical Value of Medical Laboratory Testing. Clinical Biochemist Reviews. 2017;38(3):107-114.
- American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. Addressing the Clinical Laboratory Workforce Shortage. https://ascls.org/addressing-the-clinical-laboratory-workforce-shortage/
Phyllis Ingham is Dean at the School of Health Sciences at West Georgia Technical College in Waco, Georgia.
ASCLS Developing Professional (student) members can attend the 2026 Labvocate Symposium virtually at no cost, October 12-13. The ASCLS Clinical Laboratory Educators Forum developed a sample curriculum for educators who want to leverage this opportunity for their students.