Lab Manager Training will take place in Baltimore, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami

Very shortly, the lack of experienced and competent laboratory managers will become the next intractable staffing problem for the nation’s clinical laboratories and pathology groups. Most medical laboratories—already struggling to find adequate numbers of medical technologists (MT) and clinical laboratory scientists (CLS)—will find themselves with an even more acute shortage of skilled managers at every level, from bench supervision to senior laboratory leadership.

Clinical lab managers about to retire in waves
Simply said, the nation’s laboratory leaders are about to experience a demographic time bomb that will rapidly decimate all levels of lab managers in their clinical pathology laboratories. Few medical laboratory organizations are prepared to respond effectively to the predicted rapid turnover among their most experienced and skilled lab managers.

Of course, the demographic time bomb refers to the coming tidal wave of baby boomer retirements. As a reminder, on January 1, 2011—just 85 days away—the oldest baby boomer turns 65 and becomes eligible for social security and Medicare benefits!

But what makes this demographic time bomb particularly pernicious to the existing management staffing at every clinical laboratory and pathology group is a fact that is often overlooked. A higher proportion of laboratory managers—whether at the supervisor, department level, or senior management ranks—are of the baby boomer generation. This means that the normal rate of retirements by baby boomers in the laboratory will more rapidly deplete the lab’s existing management staff structure.

To illustrate, data from the American Society of Pathology’s (ASCP) annual wage survey in 2003 specifically noted that, as of that year, 40% of the med techs it certified were 46 to 66 years old. At that time, the ASCP study authors predicted that 40% of the current laboratory workforce would be eligible for retirement by 2010.

Assume that baby boomers make up two thirds of a typical laboratory’s managers compared to Gen X and younger managers. As these baby boomer managers retire, few clinical laboratories have adequate numbers of effectively-trained younger managers ready to step up and replace their retiring colleagues.

Prepare Your Lab’s Best Young Management Talent
Senior laboratory administrators and business-minded pathologists recognize the need to pro-actively groom their “up and coming” young managers. To help in this effort, Dark Daily and The Dark Report have teamed up with Advance for Medical Professionals and Advance for Administrators of the Laboratory to organize a special laboratory manager training workshop.

Titled “Transforming Lab Middle Managers into Top-Performing Team Contributors!”, it is two days of intensive training on the essential skills and knowledge needed to be a successful manager and leader in clinical and hospital laboratories of any size.

This is manager training tailored specifically to the needs clinical laboratories and pathology group practices. The two-day curriculum is packed with techniques, case studies, and skills-development exercises oriented to the unique activities of medical laboratories. Consider it rocket fuel to propel your labs’ best management talent to higher levels of achievement and responsibility.

This exceptional lab manager’s training will take place in four different cities.

• Baltimore on October 12-13, 2010 at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport Hotel
• San Francisco on October 26-27, 2010 at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Hotel
• Chicago on November 2-3, 2010 at the DoubleTree Chicago O’Hare
• Miami on November 16-17, 2010 at the Hilton Garden Inn Miami Airport Hotel

This useful two-day laboratory manager training workshop will be conducted by Jeff Smith, who provides leadership development for laboratory professionals at Slone Partners and teaches Titan Management University. Smith has extensive experience in developing laboratory managers at laboratory organizations such as Carilion Laboratories in Roanoke, Virginia.

Four basic management areas will be taught over the two days of this workshop. The content includes:

• First, an overview of culture; how managers can shape and transform culture; along with proven tools to achieve these outcomes.
• Second, team dynamics; how to identify leaders in your lab; specific techniques for engaging these emerging leaders; effective ways to achieve greater productivity and improve staff harmony and morale.
• Third, essentials of coaching; creating coaches among your lab’s most promising managers, how to unleash the power of coaching.
• Fourth, the management and career development path, ranging from goal-setting and succession planning to sustaining the improved performance of your lab managers.

Full details for the “Transforming Lab Middle Managers into Top-Performing Team Contributors!” can be found at this link (or put this URL into your browser: http://darkdaily.com/management-training-for-clinical-laboratory-managers). There are substantial discounts for laboratories which want to send several members of their management team.

Reserve your place at this important lab manager training workshop. Space is limited, so it is important to register today.

Scholarships available for each of the 4 locations!
Advance for Medical Laboratory Professionals, Advance for Administrators of the Laboratory, and The Dark Report have entered into a collaboration to offer scholarships to each of the four Laboratory Managers Workshops. Use this link to submit a scholarship application

Four Easy Ways to Register:

1. Register ONLINE
2. Call 800-560-6363. Our friendly staff can register you quickly and easily, as well as answer any questions you may have.
3. Fax this complete registration form to 512-264-0969
4. Mail the one page form with payment to:
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, TX 78669

Related Information:

Transforming Clinical Lab Middle Managers into Top-Performing Team Contributors!

Full PDF of Lab Manager Training Workshop with Agenda

Succession Planning Omission Will Dearly Cost Many Clinical Labs and Pathology Groups

Update on the laboratory workforce-shortage crisis