Blame it on the recession of 2008-2010, but the findings are not auspicious for medical laboratories
Salaries and compensation paid to medical technologists (MT) and other skilled clinical laboratory professionals are not keeping pace with yearly increases in the cost of living. This is distressing news for every pathologist and clinical laboratory manager concerned about the constantly growing shortage of MTs and Clinical Laboratory Scientists to staff the nation’s medical laboratories.
For example, one recent national salary survey determined that 24% of laboratorians received no salary increase in 2010! About 42% received an annual increase of between 2% and 4%. Another 20% received just 2% or less. This survey also reported that 28% of medical laboratory professionals received bonuses. These bonuses were based on their salaries or days off in lieu of extra pay. Overall, however, since 2008, this salary survey concluded that salaries for clinical laboratory professionals have increased since 2008.
The salary survey reported above was conducted by Medical Laboratory Observer (MLO). MLO magazine conducts an annual salary survey of the clinical laboratory industry. This year, 2,375 MLO subscribers between the ages of 22 and 80 responded to the survey, with the majority of respondents in their late 50s.
(Average salaries by location. Sourced from MLO-Online.)
Typical Salaries for Medical Laboratory Professionals for 2010 (Rounded to the Nearest Dollar Amount)
The type of job, the number of years in the industry, and the regional location all contributed to differences in salaries for similar job types. According to the MLO survey, the following jobs averaged these salaries. Your experience may vary:
| Job Function: | 2010 | 2008 |
| $60,815. | $53,781. | |
| 69,641 | ||
| 70,000. | ||
|
70,236. | |
|
70,500. | |
|
72,320. | 67,057. |
|
80,394. | |
|
81,165. | |
|
89,273. | |
|
104,500. | |
|
105,419. | 75,002. |
|
116,667. | |
| 119,250. | ||
|
221,500. | |
| 244,160. | 188,281. |
As a point of contrast, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-11 Edition provides salary information for medical laboratory professionals. In 2008, BLS published data showing that the median income for medical and clinical laboratory technologists was $53,800. In industries that employed the largest number of medical and clinical laboratory technologists, the wages were:
| Industry: | 2008 | |
|
$59,800 | |
|
54,200. | |
|
53,360. | |
|
49,080. | |
|
47,890. |
Job Satisfaction
MLO also polled respondents on their job satisfaction:
- 40% were very satisfied,
- 44% were somewhat satisfied,
- 10% were somewhat dissatisfied, and only,
- 3% were very dissatisfied.
According to MLO, “laboratorians overall are satisfied with their jobs.”
Personnel Shortages Reported by Many Clinical Laboratory Organizations
The shortage of qualified medical personnel is impacting the entire healthcare industry and clinical laboratories are no exception. MLO says that based on its survey data, medical laboratories are responding to the staffing shortage by automating and outsourcing some testing. In turn, this impacts job security. Of the clinical laboratories that responded to the MLO survey, the follow information resulted:
- 35% reported being impacted by the shortages,
- 14% reported outsourcing tests,
- 50% automated or further automated procedures,
- 54% intend to continue to automate.
Location, Location, Location Makes a Difference in Clinical Laboratory Salaries
MLO’s laboratory salary survey reported that the geographic area in which one lives directly impacts salaries. Medical laboratories in the Pacific and Northeast regions paid the highest salaries ($96,792 and $89,270 respectively). Clinical labs in the Mountain regions paid approximately $83,554. In the Midwest and the South, clinical laboratories paid $81,074 and $77, 312, respectively.
It should be noted that the clinical laboratory salary/compensation survey conducted annually by MLO magazine is based on self-reporting by readers who want to contribute information to the survey. However, because MLO has conducted this survey for many years, the relative change in the findings from one year to the next can be a useful guideline for understanding the compensation trends affecting the salaries paid to med techs, CLSs, and other skilled medical laboratory professionals.
Another respected study of medical technologist staffing and employment trends is produced annually by the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP). In a future Dark Daily e-briefing, we will assess the findings of ASCP’s latest study.
Finally, the fact that the compensation paid to the nation’s skilled clinical laboratory professionals is failing to keep pace with inflation in recent years—although not a surprise given the long-lasting recession of 2008-2010—is not auspicious for the entire medical laboratory testing industry. It will be difficult for both MT training programs and individual laboratories to attract talented individuals to work in laboratory medicine if annual compensation is declining relative to other career opportunities.
—Michael McBride
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I totally agree with mls seattle we work with passion but they make us hate our jobs by the salaries they give we should form our own organisation headed by us not doctors and put a stop to the insults and degradation we r as important as doctors without us doctors cant do 80% of their jobs we need respect, we need good salaries we need to be heard we are the most overstressed in the hospital doing 2, 3 tests at a time we need some compensation for our jobs i keep wondering why people just dont get it!
Yeah! That is all true. I mean… Its so embarrassing that this guys take us as somewhat lazy or expendables in the hospital. Salaries are not even good on our side. The doctors think that they are the owners of the hospital and so they foolishly think that they can control our laboratory. Nonesense!
There’s is one solution. All medical technologist/MLS should form a unified organization to which is govern by a chief Med tech not MDs and this organization should create a mandatory license not just certification. For instance, those respiratory therapist, they take CRT (Certified Resp. Therapist) certification first then once they pass this they have to take RRT (Reg. Resp Therapist). So in our case, we can have certified MLS like the one ASCP provides and the key thing license, we all need to be registered like RNs do. If we can make this happen then there will be a boost in MT/MLS salary and shortage can be resolved.
I feel sad that few people know what medical lab scientist do. They just know that everyone in the lab do is just to draw blood and that they all do the same job. They even mistakenly think that lab assistants do run tests, draw and process sp. etc. This is way too insulting for us professionals. We all should collaborate and start our own society that deals with licensing MT/MLS. We can name this ASRMLS (American Society of Registered Medical Laboratory Scientist)…. YES! you just read it right….
I certainly understand the frustration that we all feel as medical laboratory scientists at all levels, in that the medical community does not always recognize and value the critial contribution that laboratorians make to the health and wellness continuum. It is our challenge to make it unthinkable to disregard laboratorians by becoming the brokers of exceptionl decision support to clinicians, nurses and other ancillary services providers. We are in a position to contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of modern medicine by coalescing disparate portions of information into well organized knowledge that shortens the interpretation by providers and guides protocols for next steps. This is certainly hard work that will require all the skills and knowledge of clinical and anatomical pathology laboratorians but it is a way that we can earn the respect and admiration of our partners in the healthcare and wellness arena. I encourge all to contribute through their individual skills, knowledge and motivations.
Until laboratory scientists are recognized as the professionals we are, we will continue to be the Rodney Dangerfields of the medical team. I wish I knew the solution, but after over thirty years in the field, I have seen little or no change in this regard. We continue to be invisible and unappreciated.
I am not surprised at these statistics. Medical Technologists eventhough we needd to have more education, are not compensated to the degree they should. This has been since the 70’s when the current technologists were just starting. Reasons are many, but the clout within the medical community has never really been recognized as a true value. Maybe now that there is a shortage and the companies that make automation are becomming fewer that our knowledge and experience will be recognized.