This is part of a series: “Shaping the healthcare talent pipeline together”
The following is the first blog in our “Shaping the healthcare talent pipeline together” series that highlights an internal workforce development process to cultivate new medical laboratory scientists (MLS). The series will also provide a blueprint for organizations to build accredited healthcare education programs via a commercial lab education model.
Every day, physicians make critical decisions about patient care based on laboratory results. In fact, 70% of clinical decisions depend on those results.
Yet MLS, the highly trained professionals who generate those results, remain largely invisible to the system they sustain. Simply put, MLS professionals translate specimens into clinical insight.
The growing complexity of advanced diagnostics requires a workforce trained to rigorous standards with the ability to put them into real-world practice.
What a medical laboratory scientist is…and isn’t
An MLS (sometimes called a clinical laboratory scientist or medical technologist) is a professional with a bachelor’s degree who is trained across core disciplines, including:
- Chemistry
- Hematology
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Immunohematology
- Urinalysis/body fluids
- Molecular diagnostics
In contrast, medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) typically complete an associate’s degree and perform testing supervised by an MLS. Both roles are vital to healthcare, with clearly defined scopes and certification pathways.
MLS expertise goes far beyond “running tests.” These professionals:
- Make independent clinical judgements
- Analyze intricate patterns in hematology
- Validate instruments and new methodologies
- Identify pathogenic organisms in microbiology
- Provide safe transfusion practices in immunohematology
- Troubleshoot unexpected results and quality control
- Flag clinically significant abnormalities before results reach physicians
- Correlate biochemical markers with disease states in clinical chemistry
- Perform and interpret complex testing and patterns like antimicrobial susceptibility profiles
- Consult on pre‑analytical variables and detect errors that can affect a diagnosis
An MLS serves as a quality control mechanism between sample collection and clinical decision-making. Their training underpins patient safety and diagnostic accuracy across high‑complexity environments.
The combination of technical precision and clinical reasoning makes MLS professionals the foundation of lab medicine integrity. However, the demand for MLS professionals is increasingly outweighing the supply.
The MLS workforce shortage: Demand without supply
An estimated 10,000–12,000 new medical lab professionals are needed annually in the U.S. to support growth while replacing vacancies and retirees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projected an 11% increase in demand for MLS professionals between 2018 and 2028.
Only 4,246 MLS graduates were reported in 2022 from accredited National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS) programs —a deficit of nearly 60%—representing a steep decline. This further demonstrates how the pipeline producing these clinicians is shrinking precisely as demand is growing, straining quality and throughput. , straining quality and throughput.
An MLS workforce shortage affects diagnostic turnaround times, increases the risk of quality incidents, limits adoption of emerging technologies, constrains organizations' ability to scale services and could even compromise patient safety. For commercial labs operating at a national scale, this constraint also directly impacts operational resilience and growth capacity.
While the gap between supply and demand is significant and consequential, it’s also structural, offering opportunities for improvement for those who seek it.
Why (and how) Labcorp built its own NAACLS-accredited program for MLS
Labcorp responded to this structural gap by creating an NAACLS-accredited program designed to meet immediate workforce needs and long-term strategic objectives by developing a healthcare talent pipeline. It provides a blueprint for how organizations can address talent gaps by building internal education programs.
The response emerged from an assessment of market dynamics, as traditional clinical rotation partnerships with academic institutions weren't generating an adequate pipeline of MLS students and graduates.
MLS make results more accurate and help prevent harm to patients. They learn the theory behind each test so when an analyzer drifts or quality control is flagged, they know what to do.
Kimacka Randle Program Director, Labcorp
The combination of technical precision and clinical reasoning makes MLS professionals the foundation of lab medicine integrity. However, the demand for MLS professionals is increasingly outweighing the supply.
The MLS workforce shortage: Demand without supply
An estimated 10,000–12,000 new medical lab professionals are needed annually in the U.S. to support growth while replacing vacancies and retirees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projected an 11% increase in demand for MLS professionals between 2018 and 2028.
Only 4,246 MLS graduates were reported in 2022 from accredited National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS) programs —a deficit of nearly 60%—representing a steep decline. This further demonstrates how the pipeline producing these clinicians is shrinking precisely as demand is growing, straining quality and throughput. , straining quality and throughput.
An MLS workforce shortage affects diagnostic turnaround times, increases the risk of quality incidents, limits adoption of emerging technologies, constrains organizations' ability to scale services and could even compromise patient safety. For commercial labs operating at a national scale, this constraint also directly impacts operational resilience and growth capacity.
While the gap between supply and demand is significant and consequential, it’s also structural, offering opportunities for improvement for those who seek it.
Why (and how) Labcorp built its own NAACLS-accredited program for MLS
Labcorp responded to this structural gap by creating an NAACLS-accredited program designed to meet immediate workforce needs and long-term strategic objectives by developing a healthcare talent pipeline. It provides a blueprint for how organizations can address talent gaps by building internal education programs.
The response emerged from an assessment of market dynamics, as traditional clinical rotation partnerships with academic institutions weren't generating an adequate pipeline of MLS students and graduates.
Schools were shutting down and existing partnerships weren't providing additional technicians for Labcorp. The need to ensure our future healthcare talent demanded a different approach.
Dr. Mary Williamson Vice President of Operations and Dean of Students, Labcorp
The program represents a dual investment. First, it creates workforce sustainability in healthcare that’s aligned to enterprise operational requirements and standards. It was designed to produce certified, practice‑ready scientists who will be prepared to strengthen quality and capacity.
Second, it leverages scale and operates across multiple labs along with select affiliates nationwide. Labcorp’s diagnostic breadth supports education that exceeds what most hospital-based programs can offer and enables standardized instruction and coordinated, high‑quality clinical rotations. Students gain exposure to esoteric testing, cutting-edge molecular diagnostics and clinical trial testing, experiences typically unavailable in academic settings.
It also creates meaningful faculty and preceptor opportunities for passionate leaders, boosting engagement and retention. Experienced staff members deepen their own expertise through teaching, strengthen their connection to our organizational mission and shape the next generation of colleagues.
What NAACLS accreditation programs require
NAACLS accreditation is the U.S. gold standard for laboratory education programs. It validates curriculum quality, reflects adherence to rigorous standards and makes graduates eligible for American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification, which is essential for independent high-complexity testing.
Accreditation entails:
- A structured review including an extensive application, comprehensive self-study and on-site peer evaluation
- Quality control infrastructure with documented policies, assessment mechanisms and continuous improvement processes
- Faculty standards requiring a doctoral-level program director, master's-level clinical coordinators and credentialed instructors in specialty areas
- Clinical rigor including access to sufficient test volumes, instrumentation and patient diversity to build competency across routine and complex analyses
- Tracking of graduation rates, board exam performance and employment metrics
Accreditation provides graduates with genuine competency and protects organizational quality and patient safety. The Labcorp MLS program completed its NAACLS site visit with zero findings, providing significant validation that employer-led programs can meet academic standards. Official accreditation is expected in spring 2026.
Our reviewers told us we should publish how we built this—proof that employer-led programs can meet, and even exceed, academic standards.
Kimacka Randle Program Director, Labcorp
Program architecture: Rigorous, real‑world, scalable
Labcorp's program requires that external candidates with bachelor's degrees in life sciences complete a 12-month program combining online coursework with hands-on clinical rotations. Internal employees, including MLTs seeking advancement, follow a two-year pathway building from their existing foundation, enabling employees to participate on a part-time basis.
Students complete didactic synchronous virtual instruction with evolving asynchronous components followed by structured clinical rotations across the core disciplines, along with lab operations and pre-analytical rotations.
Because Labcorp operates one of the most comprehensive reference lab networks, students experience specialty testing in genomics, special coagulation, complex allergy and more. What truly distinguishes the experience is the clinical environment itself, as Labcorp processes testing for thousands of patients daily, exposing students to test volumes and complexity that accelerate development.
Outcomes and strategic implications
The first cohort's outcomes validate the model's effectiveness. Of five graduates, four secured positions at the Labcorp locations where they completed clinical rotations, demonstrating program expectations, quality and cultural fit from day one.
Cohort two is in progress, while applications for cohort three are rising rapidly as the program expands to additional sites.
The program's significance extends beyond individual graduate outcomes. It establishes education as operational infrastructure—a strategic capability rather than an external dependency. This shift has implications for workforce planning, quality assurance and competitive positioning.
Organizations that control their talent pipeline can align education directly with strategic priorities, including:
- Embedding organizational culture during training
- Customizing curriculum to emphasize capabilities most critical to your operational model
- Adjusting scale in response to growth projections rather than competing in constrained external markets
Transferable lessons for senior health system leaders
As a leader, assess if it’s feasible to help address your workforce challenges by building from within. Consider where accredited, employer‑led education could de‑risk your operations, whether it’s blood bank reliability, molecular testing expansion or leadership succession planning.
The MLS workforce is foundational to healthcare, and the industry can help meet demand with new models of education. Organizations that wait for external solutions risk operational constraints, quality compromises and competitive disadvantage.
Building internal education programs isn’t merely a talent strategy; it’s how leaders safeguard quality, scale and the future of healthcare talent. Labcorp's MLS program demonstrates how enterprises can build critical education infrastructure from within.
Creating and maintaining a program requires a commitment to academic rigor, investment in accreditation and support for volunteerism to deliver workforce sustainability in healthcare, quality alignment and employee engagement. Labcorp's early results show the investment is worth it.
Collaborating for innovation in laboratory science education programs
Labcorp is proud to collaborate with hospital and health systems to improve healthcare workforce development. To discuss how we can work together to reduce the MLS workforce shortage, contact us today.
More in this series