17 Jul 2026
Histotechnologists, the professionals responsible for preparing tissue samples for microscopic examination, have become one of the rarest and most valuable resources in laboratory medicine. Their expertise directly supports diagnostic accuracy, turnaround times, and ultimately patient care. Yet many laboratories are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain them.
The challenge extends beyond staffing. As workforce shortages persist and competition for talent intensifies, laboratories must reconsider how they support and retain the specialized professionals they already have.
Why are histotechnologists becoming harder to find
Workforce shortages across laboratory medicine are well-documented, but histology faces unique challenges.
Histotechnologists require specialized technical training, meticulous attention to detail, and hands-on expertise that cannot be developed quickly. When experienced professionals leave, organizations cannot easily replace that knowledge and experience.
At the same time, many of the factors affecting the broader laboratory workforce continue to impact histology teams:
- Ageing professionals and retirements
- Limited educational pipelines
- Growing testing volumes
- Burnout and workload pressures
- Increasing competition for qualified talent
The result is a workforce gap that many pathology departments feel every day. Vacancies can increase turnaround pressure, stretch existing staff, and limit operational flexibility during periods of high volume.
Perhaps more concerning, the profession remains relatively invisible outside the laboratory community. Histotechnologists play a critical role in cancer diagnosis and disease detection, yet awareness of the profession among students and healthcare career seekers remains low, creating additional challenges for workforce development.
A new competitor for histology talent
Historically, hospitals and reference laboratories competed primarily with one another for histotechnologists. Today, many laboratories are facing competition from an entirely different sector: pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations.
As precision medicine, biomarker development, and translational research continue to expand, demand for histology expertise has grown well beyond traditional diagnostic settings.
Pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, and contract research organizations increasingly recruit histotechnologists to support:
- Drug development programs
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC) workflows
- Biomarker discovery
- Spatial biology initiatives
- Clinical trial research
These opportunities often expose histotechnologists to emerging technologies and specialized research applications. In some cases, they also provide clearer career advancement pathways and access to cutting-edge laboratory environments.
For pathology leaders, this means the talent competition is no longer limited to neighboring healthcare systems. Laboratories may now be competing against organizations with different resources, different career models, and different approaches to employee development.
The retention challenge behind the histotech shortage
While education and workforce pipeline initiatives remain important, many leaders recognize another reality: recruitment alone will not solve the histotech shortage. Retention has become equally critical. When experienced histotechnologists leave, laboratories lose not just headcount, but also institutional knowledge, technical expertise, mentorship capacity, and operational stability.
The impact can create a cycle that is difficult to break. Extended vacancies increase workload for remaining staff. Increased workload contributes to frustration and burnout. Burnout can lead to additional turnover.
Breaking that cycle starts with creating an environment where skilled professionals want to stay. That is where digital transformation is becoming part of the workforce conversation.
Digital pathology's role in supporting histology teams
Technology investments are often discussed in terms of productivity, efficiency, or cost savings. Increasingly, however, laboratories are viewing digital tools through another lens: workforce support.
Histotechnologists spend significant portions of their day on tasks that are essential but repetitive, including specimen tracking, manual quality checks, slide management, and administrative documentation.
Digital pathology platforms, workflow automation tools, and modern laboratory information systems can help reduce the burden of repetitive tasks, giving histotechnologists more time to apply their specialized expertise.
Examples include:
AI-assisted quality control
Digital quality control solutions can automatically identify slide quality issues and flag potential concerns for review. By automating portions of the QC process, laboratories can reduce the time spent on repetitive manual checks while maintaining quality standards.
Digital pathology workflows
Digital slide management can help streamline case handling, improve traceability, and reduce the risk of misplaced slides or manual workflow bottlenecks. In many organizations, digital workflows also simplify collaboration between pathology teams and laboratory staff.
Workflow automation
Modern histology workflow platforms can automate specimen tracking, workload assignment, and reporting processes. These capabilities reduce administrative burden while providing greater visibility into laboratory operations.
Advanced instrumentation
Automation in sectioning, staining, and slide preparation continues to evolve. These technologies can improve consistency and help laboratories manage growing volumes while reducing repetitive manual tasks.
Technology as a retention strategy
The most forward-thinking laboratories are beginning to view technology investments as more than operational improvements; they are also workforce investments.
When histotechnologists have access to modern tools, advanced workflows, and opportunities to develop new skills, the daily work experience changes. Instead of spending valuable expertise on manual administrative processes, they can focus on activities that require judgment, precision, and technical knowledge.
Today's laboratory professionals increasingly want opportunities to build expertise in areas such as digital pathology, workflow automation, and AI-enabled technologies. Organizations that support those opportunities may be better positioned to engage and retain skilled employees over the long term.
Technology cannot solve every workforce challenge. Competitive compensation, professional recognition, career development, and workplace culture remain critical factors in retention.
However, digital tools can help address several of the issues that laboratory teams consistently identify as sources of frustration, including inefficient workflows, repetitive tasks, and resource constraints.
Looking ahead
The histotechnologist shortage is unlikely to disappear soon. Educational pipelines take years to expand, and competition for experienced professionals continues to grow. The National Society of Histotechnologists (NSH) cites ASCP workforce data showing a histology vacancy rate of 8.37% and significant expected retirements among histology supervisors.
For pathology leaders, the immediate question is not simply how to recruit more histotechnologists. Rather, how do you create an environment where existing staff can thrive? Supporting retention may involve a combination of professional development, workforce well-being initiatives, career growth opportunities, and workflow-enhancing technologies.
Histotechnologists remain the foundation of anatomic pathology. Every tissue sample, cancer diagnosis, and pathology report depends on the quality of their work.
As these professionals become increasingly difficult to replace, laboratories that prioritize both workforce support and technological modernization will be best positioned to retain the talent that makes high-quality pathology possible.