1998 Wage and Vacancy Survey of Medical Laboratories Wages Up Slightly, Vacancies on Upswing

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1 SPECIAL REPORT Barbara M. Casleberry, PhD, MT(ASCP) Laurie L Wargelin, MA 1998 Wage and Vacancy Survey of Medical Laboraories Wages Up Slighly, Vacancies on Upswing Dr Casleberry is vice presiden, ASCP Board of Regisry, Chicago. Ms Wargelin is vice presiden for Morpace Inernaional, Deroi. horages in laboraory personnel have begun I o resurface, according o resuls of a survey W e' conduced by he American Sociey of Clinical Pahologiss' Board of Regisry (BOR). For mos posiions, salary increases from 1996 o 1998 were less han hey had been in previous years, and overall job vacancy raes in laboraories increased. The BOR, in conjuncion wih Morpace Inernaional, Deroi, conducs a biennial wage and vacancy survey of medical laboraory managers. The survey documens curren wage levels for 10 medical laboraory posiions, measures he vacancy raes for hese posiions, and compares and conrass hese daa wih ha from 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996 sudies. A quesionnaire was mailed o 2,500 randomly seleced medical laboraory managers lised wih he BOR. Six hundred eigheen medical laboraories reurned quesionnaires for a response rae of 25%. All responses were received beween July 30, 1998, and Ocober 30, Sample reurns were fully represenaive by ype, size of faciliy, and geographic region of he counry. The sample size provides a sampling error olerance of 3.9%. Wages The beginning and average wage levels were measured for each of 10 posiions commonly found in US medical laboraories: Three levels for medical echnologiss Two levels for cyoechnologiss Three levels for hisologic echnicians/hisoechnologiss One level for medical laboraory echnicians One level for phleboomiss The measuremen used for wages is he median wage. The median wage is he wage a he 50h percenile when all wages for a paricular caegory are ordered, from lowes o highes. In oher words, half Downloaded from hps://academic.oup.com/labmed/aricle-absrac/30/3/174/ by gues 174 LABORATORY MEDICINE VOLUME 30. NUMBER 3 28 Augus May of laboraory wages are below he median and half are above he median. The median wage is he base pay. The base pay represens moneary compensaion he employee receives per dayime work hour and excludes oher forms of compensaion, such as shif pay, bonuses, and benefis. In addiion, many laboraories pay above he saed beginning or "low end" rae for enry-level posiions, o arac qualified candidaes o vacan posiions. The median beginning wage paid o saff-level medical echnologiss for 1998 was per hour (up $0.40 and $0.92 compared o previous 2and 4-year period). This represens an annual salary of $27,040 ( X 2,080 hours, assuming a sandard 40-hour workweek). The median average rae paid o saff-level echnologiss was per hour ($33,280 annually), and he median op rae was per hour ($38,480 annually). Beween 1994 and 1996, he beginning wage raes increased 4.3%, roughly 2.1% per year, bu from 1996 o 1998 he increase was only 3.2%, abou 1.6% per year. In 1988 and 1990, he surveys requesed he op rae of pay for each posiion, in addiion o he beginning rae. In 1992, an addiional quesion requesed he average wage rae, considered more reflecive of overall wage raes. Thus comparisons for average wage raes were made only from 1992 o The average annual percenage increases in beginning wages for each posiion from 1988 o 1998 is shown in Figure 1. Naionally, rends have flucuaed by posiion beween periods. wage increases from 1988 o 1990 were larges for cyoechnologis supervisor and saff (22.1% and 19.1%, respecively). From 1990 o 1992, beginning wage increases were larges for phleboomis (19.9%) and cyoechnologis saff (17.4%). For all posiions, wih he excepion of phleboomiss, wage

25? 2 1988-1990 11990-1992 J 1992-1994 [~n 1994-1996 H1996-1998 15 10 f 5 S 0 a <n o a 5-10 Saff Supervisor Manager Saff Medical Technologis increases from 1990 o 1992 were less han in he previous wo

2 25? J [~n H f 5 S 0 a <n o a 5-10 Saff Supervisor Manager Saff Medical Technologis increases from 1990 o 1992 were less han in he previous wo years (1988 o 1990). From 1992 o 1994 increases in median beginning wages for all posiions were less han 10%, and wih he excepion of medical echnologis supervisor and manager, and hisologic echnologis, increases were less han 5%, or 2.5% per year. From 1994 o 1996 increases in beginning wages for all posiions, excep cyoechnologis saff and supervisor, and hisologic echnician and supervisor, were less han 5%. From 1996 o 1998 wages for 4 of he 10 posiions increased more han 5%: medical echnologis supervisor and manager, medical laboraory echnician, and phleboomis. For one posiion, Cyoechnologis Supervisor [ Technician Technologis Supervisor Hisologis hisologic supervisor, wages decreased 0.2%, compared wih a 7.2% increase in he previous 2-year period. The median beginning and average pay raes for 1998 for each of he 10 posiions are shown in Figure 2. The 1998 beginning, op, and average hourly wage raes for he 10 medical laboraory posiions by laboraory ype, hospial size (number of beds), and geographic region are shown in Table 1. Vacancies From 1996 o 1998, vacancy raes for 7 of he 10 posiions increased (Table 2). The hree excepions are for cyoechnologis supervisor, for which he vacancy rae decreased by 2.5%, and hisologic Medical Laboraory Technician Phleboomis Fig 1. percenage increase in beginning median hourly pay raes from 1988 o NA indicaes no available; NC, no change. Fig 2. Naional median beginning and average hourly pay raes for o e o o 41 n 24.3 Saff Supervisor Manager Medical Technologis Saff Supervisor Technician Technologis Supervisor JJ 611 '" 1 p^lebo,omis, Cyoechnologis Hisologis Technician Downloaded from hps://academic.oup.com/labmed/aricle-absrac/30/3/174/ by gues VOLUME 30, NUMBER 3 LABORATORY MEDICINE 175 on May Augus

Table 1. Hourly Median Pay Raes and Vacancy Raes for Laboraory P<srsonnel by /orkplace. Hospial Bed Size, and Region Workplace* Personnel/ Pay Rae Privae C/L Hospial Privae Group <100 $18.60 $14.

3 Table 1. Hourly Median Pay Raes and Vacancy Raes for Laboraory P<srsonnel by /orkplace. Hospial Bed Size, and Region Workplace* Personnel/ Pay Rae Privae C/L Hospial Privae Group <100 $18.60 $14.50 $12.80 $17.10 $19.90 $ $22.40 $14.40 $17.90 $19.50 $0 $24.50 $ $19.10 $27.00 $24.30 $27.00 $19.20 $27.00 $24.30 $28.00 $33.00 $30 $21.10 $30.80 $ $0 $0 $10 $13.30 $16.80 $19.10 $15.30 $19.10 $22.40 $ $23.10 $25.50 $23.50 $26.40 $24.10 $27.10 $ Toal Hospial Bed Size >500 Medical Technologis (saff) - Medical Technologis (supervisor) Medical Technologis (manager) Cyoechnologis (saff) Cyoechnologis (supervisor) E Hisologic Technician $11.30 $11.00 $14.00 $0 $14.00 $0 $ $10.90 $0 $16.60 $12.20 $10 $ $21.30 $18.10 S15.20 $14.10 $19.90 $15.20 $22.40 $ $10.40 $12.90 $0 $10.40 $12.80 $10.50 $0 $0 $0 $10.50 $13.30 $ $7.40 $9.00 $7.70 $11.00 $9.00 $7.40 $8.80 $7.00 $10.10 $9.20 $6.90 $9.80 $8.20 $7.40 $8.80 $7.90 $11.20 $9.70 $7.30 $11.20 $ $10.90 $0 $14.70 $12.10 $11.00 $15.80 $ $15.60 $12.30 $17.00 $14.00 $17.80 $21.30 $18.80 Hisologic Technologis Hisologic Supervisor Medical Laboraory Technician Phleboomis FTE indicaes full-ime equivalen. *Privae C/L indicaes privae clinic/reference laboraory; privae group, privae docors pracice group. lndicaes a sample size of less han 6 respondens and herefore, no daa are repored. Downloaded from hps://academic.oup.com/labmed/aricle-absrac/30/3/174/ by gues 176 LABORATORY MEDICINE VOLUME 30. NUMBER 3 28 Augus May

Table 1. (con) Region* Personnel/Pay Rae Medical Technologis (saff) Norheas Eas Souh Cenral Norh Cenral Alanic Wes Wes Norh Souh Cenral Cenral Far Wes $16.60 $12.70 $12.40 $0 11.4 12.2 11.6 11.2 6.

4 Table 1. (con) Region* Personnel/Pay Rae Medical Technologis (saff) Norheas Eas Souh Cenral Norh Cenral Alanic Wes Wes Norh Souh Cenral Cenral Far Wes $16.60 $12.70 $12.40 $ $16.40 $22.30 $19.60 $20.40 S18.50 $19.60 $14.20 $18.80 $22.70 $19.50 $ $24.60 $18.60 $27.40 $24.80 $23.80 $18.10 $21.10 $29.90 $ $14.60 $19.40 $16.20 S21.50 $15.20 $ $17.80 $25.10 $17.60 $26.20 $21.40 $27.60 $26.20 $24.90 $20.70 $29.60 S $11.30 $16.10 $10.80 $15.60 $10.70 $15.20 $10.80 $10.10 $14.60 $12.90 $ $12.30 $11.50 $16.20 $14.80 $18.10 $11.30 $18.20 $11.40 $12.40 $ $15.10 $20.50 $20.70 $14.10 $21.10 $22.10 $19.50 $14.40 $21.40 $17.20 $13.60 $15.30 $ Medical Laboraory Technician $11.40 $13.60 $10.50 $0 $14.70 $12.10 $0 $0 S12.60 $10.40 $14.40 $ $8.10 $11.40 $0 $7.80 $10.80 $9.10 $7.00 $10.10 $0 $6.50 $9.60 $7.90 $7.20 $0 $8.50 $8.50 $ Medical Technologis (supervisor) Medical Technologis (manager) Cyoechnologis (saff) Cyoechnologis (supervisor) Hisologic Technician Hisologic Technologis Hisologic Supervisor Phleboomis!M_ e u 0 9, *Sae composiion of regions includes he following: Norheas Connecicu, Maine, Massachuses, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermon; Eas Norh Cenral Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; Souh Cenral AlanicAlabama, Delaware, Disric of Columbia, Florida, Kenucky, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, Norh Carolina, Souh Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wes Virginia; Wes Souh Cenral Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; Wes Norh Cenral Iowa, Kansas, Minnesoa, Nebraska, Missouri, Norh Dakoa, and Souh Dakoa; and Far Wes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Monana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Uah, Washingon, and Wyoming. Downloaded from hps://academic.oup.com/labmed/aricle-absrac/30/3/174/ by gues 28 Augus May VOLUME 30, N UMBER 3 LABORATORY MEDICINE 177

Table 2. Vacancy Rae Percenages for 10 Medical Laboraory Posiions* 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996+ 1998 Medical echnologis: saff 11.6 13.8 9.6 8.2 10.2 Medical echnologis: supervisor 5.0 10.2 8.

5 Table 2. Vacancy Rae Percenages for 10 Medical Laboraory Posiions* Medical echnologis: saff Medical echnologis: supervisor Medical echnologis: manager Cyoechnologis: supervisor Hisologic echnician Hisologic echnologis NA Medical laboraory echnician Phleboomis Cyoechnologis: saff Hisologic supervisor NA indicaes no available. *Vacancy raes were compued for each posiion by dividing he number of currenly vacan posiions by he budgeed number of full-ime-equivalen employees. Differs from vacancy raes previously published for he 1996 Wage and Vacancy Survey (Lab Med. 1997;28: ) due o a change in he mehod of calculaing vacancy raes. All raes in his able were calculaed by he same mehod and are comparable from year o year. echnician and phleboomis, for which vacancy raes remained sable. The highes increase in vacancy rae was for hisologic echnician supervisor for which he vacancy rae increased from 10% in 1996 o 20% in Among he posiion groups, vacancy raes were highes in hisology which averaged a 14.4% vacancy rae for he hree posiions (echnician, echnologis, and supervisor). Of he 10 posiions surveyed, only he medical echnologis supervisor posiion had a vacancy rae of less han 10% for 1998; is vacancy rae was %. Medical echnologis saff, supervisor, and manager had a decline in vacancy raes from 1994 o However, 1998 daa shows increases for all hree levels in his group. Cyoechnologis saff vacancy raes had been decreasing since However, in 1998 his posiion experienced an increase in vacancy rae (from 7.1% o 10.5%). A decline in vacancy rae was repored for cyoechnologis supervisors for he firs ime in four years. Hisologic echnician and hisoechnologis vacancy raes have varied inconsisenly since he beginning of he sudy. The increase in vacancy rae for hisologic supervisor (from 10% o 20% in 1998) was he firs ime his posiion had an increase in vacancy rae since he sudy began. There is a paern in medical laboraory posiion vacancy raes across he Unied Saes. The Norheas and Eas Norh Cenral regions repored he highes vacancy raes for 7 of he 10 posiions, and he Wes Norh Cenral region had he lowes Downloaded from hps://academic.oup.com/labmed/aricle-absrac/30/3/174/ by gues LABORATORY MEDICINE VOLUME 30. NUMBER 3 28 Augus May vacancy raes for 5 of he 10 posiions. These concenraions of vacancies cause wide variaions in vacancy raes beween regions. This is mos noable in hisology and cyology supervisor posiions for which vacancy raes range from 0% o 3% and 0% o 18.2%, respecively. Phleboomiss had he mos consisen vacancy raes from region o region. Trends in posiion vacancy raes since he 1988 reporing period are shown in Table vacancy raes for each of he 10 laboraory posiions wih breakdowns by laboraory ype, hospial bed size, and geographic region are shown in Table 1. Reengineering This year's survey asked laboraory managers wheher heir insiuion had downsized saff wihin he pas 12 monhs; one hird (33%) of insiuions had. Mos insiuions who repored downsizing laboraory saff repored eliminaion of some managemen and saff posiions, mos commonly manager and medical laboraory echnician; 89% of he insiuions repored one o hree posiions eliminaed in hese wo caegories. Nearly hree fourhs of laboraory personnel are being cross-rained, consisen wih cross-raining aciviies repored by he 1996 survey. Of saff being cross-rained, 93% are being rained in oher echnical areas wihin he laboraory. In addiion, 12% are being rained in areas ouside he laboraory (eg, nursing, radiology), half he number reporing cross-raining ouside he laboraory in 1996.

6 Inerne Resources Here are some Inerne sies ha offer more informaion on opics discussed in his issue o/laboraory Medicine. M u a i o n Daabases Fibrin Glue Direcory of laboraories ha provide esing for geneic disorders hp://healhlinks.washingon.edu/helix/ Universiy of Virginia Healh Sysem, Tissue Adhesive Cener Web sie hp:// Cysic Fibrosis Muaion Daabase hp:// Geneics Haemosasis Research Group Daabase Resource sie includes Hemophilia A and Facor VII Muaion Daabases hp://europium.mrc.rpms.ac.uk Naional Human Genome Research Insiue "Talking glossary of geneics" hp:// Hemophilia B Muaion Daabase hp:// Microchips Affymerix Web sie "GeneChip M o v i e " hp:// Incye Web sie provides an overview of is gene expression microarray (GEM) echnology hp:// Nanogen Web sie provides informaion abou is microchip echnology hp:// von Willebrand Facor (vwf) Daabase hp://mmg2.im.med.umich.edu/vwf/ Poin-of-Care Tesing American Associaion for Clinical Chemisry, Poin-of-Care Tesing Division Home Page hp:// These sies were accessed January 29, 1999, and are offered for reader informaion only. A sie's presence on his lis does no consiue an endorsemen by he ASCP. D J Transfusion Therapy: Safer Blood and Some Ineresing Alernaives Improved mehods for deecion of viral nucleic acids are reducing he risk of virus ransmission o ransfusion recipiens. In addiion, numerous advances in surgery, pharmacology, and ransfusion medicine offer promising alernaives o radiional blood adminisraion. These new producs and pracices may have grea impac beyond he blood bank. Blood subsiues no only will change ransfusion medicine pracices, bu also could cause inerference problems in he chemisry laboraory. Phleboomiss and chemiss, as well as "blood bankers" will wan o read his imely review! i o processing and nucleic acid amplificaion and deecion mehods, are on he horizon. Learn abou hem in he firs insallmen of a new CE Updae series. Transfusion Medicine III- Transfusion of Infans Blood adminisraion o neonaes brings concerns unique o his populaion. Ofen, massive quaniies of blood are ransfused, giving rise o concerns regarding oxiciy of soluions and possible cyomegalovirus infecion. The presence of maernal anibodies is also an imporan consideraion. Learn wha prevenive seps and correcive ransfusion medicine pracices you can ake o help ensure a safe ransfusion. Q&A Hair Analysis Microbiology l-curren Trends in Molecular Microbiology Will molecular diagnosics replace he culure plae? Or will he ried-and-rue culure reain some advanages? An increasing number of pahogens are being idenified using DNA analysis. New procedures and improvemens o exising procedures, including auomaed specimen Do nuriional sudies from hair specimens have any value? Read our exper's response o his quesion o find ou when a hair analysis is warraned. For more informaion abou Laboraory Medicine call Sue Piscoran a (312) Downloaded from hps://academic.oup.com/labmed/aricle-absrac/30/3/174/ by gues 28 Augus May VOLUME 30, NUMBER 3 LABORATORY MEDICINE 179

TABLE 3c: Congressional Districts with Number and Percent of Hispanics* Living in Hard-to-Count (HTC) Census Tracts**

TABLE 3c: Congressional Districts with Number and Percent of Hispanics* Living in Hard-to-Count (HTC) Census Tracts** living Alaska 00 47,808 21,213 44.4 Alabama 01 20,661 3,288 15.9 Alabama 02 23,949 6,614 27.6 Alabama 03 20,225 3,247 16.1 Alabama 04 41,412 7,933 19.2 Alabama 05 34,388 11,863 34.5 Alabama 06 34,849 4,074