'It's about educating people on what this field entails,' says academic
“Unsung heroes.” That’s what Erin Mandel-Shorserl calls medical laboratory professionals, who are in short supply in Ontario.
In talking with Canadian HR Reporter, the associate dean for Biomedical Sciences and Health Regulation at Humber College in Toronto says somewhere in the range of 2,000 new positions will be opening between 2023 and 2027 in the medical lab professional space in the province.
“They are what I would call the unsung heroes of helping a patient get from coming into a physician's office to receiving diagnosis and treatment,” she says.
“They're the ones who are receiving samples at all hours of days and nights and ensuring that the samples are properly handled and treated and confirmed with what the ailment or issue is.”
Without these services, physicians and clinicians can’t properly diagnose a patient, says Mandel-Shorserl, and “therefore determine the right course of treatment.”
Medical laboratory professionals play a crucial role in Ontario's health care system, ranking as the fourth largest health profession after doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, notes Humber College.
Ontario is facing massive shortages in nurse and personal worker (PSW) counts, and it could be worse in the coming years, according to a previous report.
Building awareness of medical laboratory professionals
One way to address the shortage of medical laboratory professionals is by building awareness, says Mandel-Shorserl.
“It's about educating people on what this field entails: What do medical lab assistants, technicians and technologists do? What are their roles? What are their scope and limits of practice? What would a career look like?
“And I think through education, we can help to solve that issue.”
Earlier this year, Humber College signed a memorandum of understanding with medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson & Company) that will include several initiatives to enhance education, training, and career opportunities for healthcare professionals.
The program offers a mix of classroom and lecture-based learning, along with laboratory experience, says Mandel-Shorserl.
“Students… need to be able to experience what they're going to experience [in the field], but in the safety of ‘I can fail, and I'm not injuring someone' or causing harm to a patient or delaying their diagnosis’,” she says, highlighting the importance of simulation.
This year, low performance from workers and a skills mismatch are rising among the reasons for job cuts, according to a previous report from LHH.
