Part I of the 2002 Wage and Vacancy Study appeared in the September issue of Laboratory Medicine.1 That report focused on the response rates by laboratory type and the wages associated with 12 categories of clinical laboratory staff. The detailed methodology related to the design of the questionnaire, sample size, response rate, and sampling error were previously described.
This report will cover vacancy rates for 12 categories of clinical laboratory staff—medical technologist (MT), MT super- visor, MT manager, cytotechnologist (CT), CT supervisor, his- totechnician (HT), histotechnologist (HTL) and HT/HTL supervisor, medical laboratory technician (MLT), MLT supervi- sor, phlebotomist (PBT), and PBT supervisor, as well as recruit- ing and hiring practices for these positions as reported by laboratory managers.
The primary objective of this study was to determine whether or not there is a shortage of nationally certified or licensed technical personnel and to understand the distribution of the personnel shortages. This survey was also designed to deter- mine the vacancy rates for certified or licensed staff positions compared to non-certified or non-licensed staff positions.