The Epoch Times Medical laboratory professionals form the backbone of health care and the public health system. They conduct some 13 billion laboratory medicine tests annually in the U.S. As of January 2022, these individuals had also performed more than 860 million COVID-19 tests and counting during the pandemic.
Why should anyone care? Laboratory testing is the single highest-volume medical activity affecting Americans, and it drives about two-thirds of all medical decisions made by doctors and other health care professionals. Simply put, every time you enter a hospital or health care facility for care, your life is in the hands of a medical laboratory professional.
Like other health care and health professionals, these lab workers are experiencing dangerously low staffing numbers as a result of the pandemic. This includes a diverse group of professionals with varying levels of education and credentials including phlebotomists, medical laboratory technicians, medical laboratory scientists, specialists and the most recent addition to our profession, the advanced professional doctor of clinical laboratory science. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2021 that employment of medical laboratory professionals is projected to grow 11% from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations…
