Public health laboratory workforce outreach in Hawai'i: CLIA-focused student internship pilot program at the state...

Chronically understaffed public health laboratories depend on a decreasing number of employees who must assume broader responsibilities in order to sustain essential functions for the many clients the laboratories support. Prospective scientists considering a career in public health are often not aware of the requirements associated with working in a laboratory regulated by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). The purpose of this pilot internship was two-fold; introduce students to operations in a regulated laboratory early enough in their academics so that they could make good career decisions, and evaluate internship methodology as one possible solution to workforce shortages. Four interns were recruited from three different local universities, and were paired with an experienced State Laboratories Division (SLD) staff mentor. Students performed tasks that demonstrated the importance of CLIA regulations for 10-15 hours per week over a 14 week period. Students also attended several directed group sessions on regulatory lab practice and quality systems. Both interns and mentors were surveyed periodically during the semester. Surveys of mentors and interns indicated overall positive experiences. One-on-one pairing of experienced public health professionals and students seems to be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Interns reported that they would participate if the internship was lower paid, unpaid, or for credit only. The internship appeared to be an effective tool to expose students to employment in CLIA-regulated laboratories, and potentially help address public health laboratory staffing shortfalls. Longer term follow up with multiple classes of interns may provide a more informed assessment.