234: High School, the Laboratory, and Workforce Development

Workforce shortages continue to impact clinical laboratories across the country, especially in rural healthcare settings. In this episode of Let's Talk Micro, Luis is joined by Kenzi Haigler to discuss an innovative high school laboratory program designed to introduce students to laboratory medicine early and help strengthen the future workforce pipeline. Kenzi shares her journey into the laboratory profession, her experiences working in rural healthcare, and the unique challenges small hospitals face when it comes to staffing, training, and retaining laboratory professionals. She also explains how her community came together to create a hands-on clinical laboratory assistant program that gives students exposure to phlebotomy, microscopy, waived testing, and laboratory workflows before graduation. This conversation highlights the importance of mentorship, early exposure to laboratory medicine, and creative approaches to workforce development in clinical laboratory science. Follow Kenzi on TikTok:  @lablifewithmrsh Stay connected with Let's Talk Micro: Website: letstalkmicro.com Questions or feedback? Email me at [email protected] Interested in being a guest on Let's Talk Micro? Fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/V2fT3asjfyusmqyi8 Support the podcast: Venmo Buy me a Ko-fi