“Laboratory testing is instrumental in our system of care providing physicians with actionable data to diagnose and treat patients. Unfortunately, the current shortage in the clinical laboratory workforce has reached a breaking point. It will take everyone working together to reverse the current trajectory.”

– Kathy Nucifora, MPH, MLS(ASCP), Chief Operating Officer, COLA

Workforce Action Alliance Summit

The 2024 Workforce Action Alliance Summit

The Laboratory Workforce Challenge

Nationwide, laboratory science professionals and private and public health laboratories are acutely concerned about the laboratory staffing shortage. In May 2024, at the second annual Workforce Action Alliance Summit, in response to the imperative for collaboration, executives representing diverse organizations from across the country convened in Fort Walton Beach, FL to identify the next three priorities for action. The 3 priorities are:

#1 Strengthen the data to understand the laboratory workforce  (continuation from 2023)

#2 Communicate career pathways for new and transitioning professionals  (continuation from 2023)

#3 Identify the future skills and rewards required for laboratory scientists

During the WAA Summit, the group outlined action plans for each priority and several Executives volunteered post-Summit to refine those action plans with practical steps, a timeline and metrics of success.  Subgroups were formed based on interest to begin collaborating and working together to implement the action plans for each of the three priorities. In May 2025, the Executive-level group will reconvene to evaluate its achievements and to establish a plan of action for the following year.

The 2023 Summit Proceedings Document is available here. The 2024 Summit Proceedings Document will be available soon.

The 3rd WAA Summit will occur adjacent to COLA’s 2025 Laboratory Enrichment Forum in Chandler, AZ. To learn more about the Laboratory Enrichment Forum you can visit the event website.

Organizations wishing to make a charitable donation in support of the 2025 Summit can email waa@cola.org to find out how to contribute.

Members of the Planning Committee for Summit