Getting to the Next Level in Your Lab Career
What makes it difficult for lab professionals to advance in their careers?
The needs of today’s clinical labs are constantly shifting. Specialized education programs are excellent at preparing medical laboratory experts for technical roles, but investing in the next generation of laboratory leaders is critical to ensuring the long-term viability of the profession.
Lona Small, MT (ASCP), MBA, PMP, CBPM, gave an insightful presentation on “Getting to the Next Level in Your Lab Career.” Lona has contributed to recognizing medical lab leaders as an essential component of health care through her techniques in process improvement, team dynamics, quality, and patient safety.
In her presentation, she answered the following question: What makes it difficult for lab professionals to advance in their careers?
The answer is often a lack of tools and training and insufficient preparation for more senior positions, including an inadequate understanding of career opportunities and which senior roles would be the best fit. Career advancement for medical lab professionals is typically met with unpredictability and tentativeness. Frequently, professionals leave a career they enjoy to pursue another field with greater confidence.
In her webinar, Lona discusses the importance of the 3-C career progression framework in planning for next-level career growth: contribution, courage, and core values are highlighted as the foundation for choosing the right career path.
Individual values are essential in approaching the first stages of this professional development transformation. You can determine the position to which you are best suited by understanding and addressing your fundamental skills and values. This will enable you to design a strategy to effectively advance to the appropriate next-level position. Lona concludes her presentation by discussing honing your confidence and seizing opportunities as they present themselves.
On-demand access to this webinar and all webinars from the Digital Forum is free. We look forward to the success of our future digital forums as we continue to support the needs of today’s clinical labs. For more information on these free virtual events, please visit our Events page.