Volume 40 Number 3 | June 2026
Summary

This article highlights the ongoing medical laboratory workforce shortage, its causes, and its impact on patient care and professionals. It emphasizes proposed federal legislation to expand training capacity and retention, and calls for advocacy from laboratory professionals to help address the crisis and strengthen the future of the field.

The Medical Laboratory Workforce Crisis

Jordan Achenbach, MLT(ASCP)CM, Volunteer Contributor

Jordan Achenbach When I first started my career as a medical laboratory scientist in the volatile year of 2020, the future of the lab was one of uncertainty. It was something we discussed in our clinical rotations, in didactic classes, and amongst each other as classmates and colleagues (and still do). The medical laboratory scientist shortage was already hot on our tails, and it hasn’t slowed down.

There are several factors contributing to the shortage, but the two big ones are that clinical sites simply don’t have enough room for placement, and programs are typically unable to take many students due to shortage of funds. It might seem bleak, right? However, it doesn’t have to be.

In September of 2025, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Jen Kiggans (VA-02) introduced the bipartisan Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Relief Act of 2025. This bill seeks to compound upon the Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Relief Act of 2024 by establishing something that is immensely needed—a federal grant program to increase the capacity of medical laboratory scientist training programs.

In addition to being able to house more students, the funds would help toward retaining the necessary faculty to teach those students. Furthermore, this bill would make laboratory professionals eligible for the National Health Science Corp. This is a program that requires a certain amount of service in a designated health professional shortage area in exchange for assistance with student loan repayment—a win-win for laboratories and students alike!

“We medical laboratory professionals love our field, and we only want it to be better, but we must band together; we need YOU!”

Laboratories are facing a 25 percent vacancy rate now—something this bill is striving to resolve. These shortages strain any healthcare facility and can lead to much longer waiting times for patients; doctors are dependent on the lab’s diagnostic skills for around 70 percent of their medical decision making. Beyond the patients, this really can hurt our coworkers and ourselves.

The word “burnout” is a buzzword for a reason. It’s real, it exists, and I have personally dealt with it as well as several of my colleagues. The Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Relief Act seeks to extend federal incentives for retention and recruitment of new technologists, as well as new training pathways for said technologists.

You might be thinking, “Well, that’s great and all, but is this even going to pass?” It can, certainly, but we need advocacy. We need action and support. We need YOU.

I believe that people think that they’re only one person and couldn’t possibly make a difference. However, that is incredibly far from the truth. One person taking the initiative can snowball into others doing the same. We can’t get this bill or any others like it to pass without the combined efforts of everyone.

It’s true that not many people know that the medical laboratory scientist field exists, and it’s time to make that an issue of the past. Advocacy can look like a lot of different things—it could be volunteering your time at a high school or college career fair, finding a way to showcase your role as a medical lab scientist to others in your facility (you’d be surprised at how many people have never seen a lab), or calling and emailing your local politicians.

Access to excellent healthcare requires the right professionals in place at every level. Without something being done to resolve our current situation, we will continue to face hardships. The bill discussed in this article being introduced is step one, and getting it passed is step two. To do that, we really need people like you—the one reading this article.

Advocating for yourself can be a bit scary at first, but you don’t have to go it alone! If you’re an ASCLS member, you’ve already taken the first leap—I can guarantee you there are some awesome groups in your area to collaborate with and share ideas. Reach out, meet new members, and talk to your colleagues; you may be surprised and find some like-minded people. We medical laboratory professionals love our field, and we only want it to be better, but we must band together; we need YOU!

References

Jordan Achenbach is a Medical Laboratory Scientist III at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.