Staff shortage in medical laboratories foreseeable

„On average, only 1.6 applications are received for a job advertisement for medical assistants,

said BDL Chairman Dr Andreas Bobrowski on 13 October 2023 at the German Congress for Laboratory Medicine in Mannheim. The employment agency therefore already classifies the profession as a bottleneck occupation.

As a system-relevant discipline with a central position in the German healthcare system, not only doctors and scientists work in the medical laboratory. Qualified medical technologists are also needed to provide laboratory services promptly and comprehensively. A survey by the Hans Böckler Foundation concludes that a lack of personnel in most medical laboratories is currently the greatest threat to the provision of laboratory medicine and microbiology services close to home.

„The number of trainees has been declining significantly for years, as many MTA schools have been closed“, said the BDL chairman. There is also an increasing trend towards part-time work, which means that many positions in laboratories can no longer be filled. „Unfortunately, the law on professions in medical technology that came into force at the beginning of the year has not changed this, said Dr Andreas Bobrowski. Although the law would contain some improvements, such as appropriate training remuneration, the specific implementation and funding requirements are inadequate, criticised the BDL chairman.

Too few staff for practical training
So there would be a lack of trainers in many laboratories to implement the personnel and resource-intensive practical training. Whereas the training was previously provided by the MTA schools and the practical training was completed in the laboratories, the students are now employed by the hospitals and receive their theoretical training at the schools. The BDL chairman warned that the compensation for the costs of school education, the necessary release and qualification of the practical instructors and the training allowance, which should be provided in the form of training grants for inpatient cases, are far from sufficient. This applies to both the inpatient and outpatient sectors. The result: after the great interest in laboratory jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, the number of applicants and the number of training positions has fallen sharply. This will lead to a further deterioration in the supply situation, warned the BDL chairman.

In order to counteract these trends, medical laboratories in Germany are already actively involved in recruiting young talent - both at trainee fairs and through a strong presence on social media. „However, these measures are still not enough“, says Dr Andreas Bobrowski. The BDL is therefore proposing a round table of all those involved. This would allow the funding problems to be tackled and the training conditions for junior staff, which were largely agreed at the round table, to be adapted to the actual healthcare practice in clinics and private practice laboratories.

Source: LABO from 13 October 2023