Western Pathology Quality Assurance Association (WPQAA) is leveraging a small revenue stream to initiate a nationwide effort to relieve the shortage of medical technologists.

Scope of the Problem
Each year, 4,000 newly trained medical technologists are needed to replace others leaving the workforce and an additional 3,000 are needed to keep up with the growth in work volume. Fewer than 2,000 medical technologists, however, graduated in 2004. The graduation rate has edged up in recent years, but it remains well below historic levels of 3,572 in 1995 and 6,519 in 1977.

Many universities have reacted to the loss of interest in clinical laboratory careers by pulling the plug on their four-year MT programs. The number of these programs has declined from nearly 800 in 1970 to 232 in 2004. Nonetheless, as the technologists’ supply tapers off, the workload increases. In response, many labs have brought in more automation and hired staff with less training.

Seed Money for Endowments
In this setting, a cadre of highly trained medical technologists is more important than ever to maintain and improve laboratory medicine. WPQAA has, therefore, established initial $10,000 endowments at six schools of medical technology and one school with a masters program in laboratory medicine:

• British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, BC, Canada;

• University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA;

• Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, WA;

• Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ; 

• San Jose State University in San Jose, CA;

• Colorado Center for Medical Laboratory Science in Denver, CO; and

• University of Washington School of Medicine, Master of Science in Laboratory Medicine

Several other programs are presently under consideration.

Despite the high level of interest from Medical Technology programs, the endowments are so small that it can be difficult to persuade big universities to accept them. Once established, however, they can grow with money contributed by alumni and other sources directed to the endowments. For example, the endowment administered by the University of Washington grew to $65,000, Sacred Heart Hospital to $17,504, San Jose State University to $20,000, Arizona State University to $12,561, and Colorado Center for Medical Laboratory Science to $17,064.

WPQAA Endowment/Scholarship Progress Report