Does this job fit? Clinical rotations as "tryouts" for students.

Abstract

Recruiting graduates of medical laboratory science programs remains an ongoing challenge for every clinical laboratory manager. Published studies report that 44 percent of all laboratories have difficulties recruiting or hiring medical laboratory professionals. This article explores the specific factors that influenced recent Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) graduates' decisions to accept or reject employment at particular laboratory sites. While compensation is a factor, this study found that successful recruitment of new graduates relies heavily on other incentives. Laboratories that want to be competitive in attracting the scarcity of new employees must be willing to invest considerable time in training MLS students during clinical rotations and be able to offer comprehensive benefits packages. Hospital-based laboratories, perhaps more than other types of laboratories, need to become more involved in the clinical rotation process.