Mental health status of medical laboratory professionals

Although job satisfaction remains high, Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) and Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLAs) are experiencing increased levels of burnout and emotional exhaustion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress levels have increased by nearly 10% since 2018, and emotional exhaustion has increased by 14%. We are seeing a rise in non-specific serious psychological distress contributing to a reduction in capacity to perform work. Staff capacity being critical as laboratory testing resumes normal operations in the wake of the global pandemic. Herein, we discuss our findings and efforts to address these challenges. We emphasize the need to increase domestic training program capacity, including clinical placements, and work to create sustainable programs for international, foreign-trained MLTs to join our workforce to ensure a manageable level of workload and reduction in stress.