Subtitle - APHL › conferences › proceedings › ... · As new and innovative technologies continue to evolve and change the practice of laboratory medicine, educational requirements\ബ

$Page 1: Subtitle - APHL › conferences › proceedings › ... · As new and innovative technologies continue to evolve and change the practice of laboratory medicine, educational requirements\ബ$
Subtitle

DEBORAH K. SEVERSON, BS MT(ASCP)DIRECTOR, LABORATORY SERVICES

FAIRFAX COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

LABORATORY

[email protected]

Fairfax County Health DepartmentFairfax, Virginia

OBJECTIVES

o Provide an overview of Fairfax County Health Department

Laboratory

o Review current LPHL structure

o Review difficulties in recruitment and retention of qualified

individuals

o Review benefits and challenges faced in creation of Career Ladder

o Provide examples of resources and tools used by FCHDL to create a

Career Ladder for Public Health Scientists in a local public health

laboratory setting

FAIRFAX COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT LABORATORY

FCHD lab is LPH performing over 200,000 clinical and environmental tests annually

Clinical

STD, TB, foodborne illness(enteric pathogens & parasites), HIV,

Hepatitis B, QFT

Drugs of Abuse Screening

Environmental Drinking Water

Rabies

Molecular testing for WNV, ZikaV in mosquito pools and Borrelia burgdorferi in

ticks

Multiple regulatory bodies; CLIA, EPA, VaDEQ

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Supports the 10 Essential Public Health Services Assists other county agencies and government entities in the enforcement of State and Federal regulations Microbiology Lab has strong focus on Communicable Disease, assisting in the identification of disease outbreaks and planning of effective public health intervention including: TB, STD, food borne illness (enteric pathogens & parasites), HIV, Hepatitis B, & Rabies Clinical Lab includes: Urine Drug of Abuse screening, routine Chemistry, Urinalysis, & Serology Environmental Lab includes: Inorganic Chemistry, heavy metals, & bacteriological testing of drinking water. Molecular Lab includes: Testing of mosquito pools for WNV

O V ERV IEW O F F AIRF AX C OUNTY H EAL TH D EPARTM ENT L ABORATORY

Population – 1.14 million

Area – 390.97 sq. miles

Median Age – 35.7

Foreign born population – 31.5%

Persons 5+ who speak a language other than English at home – 39.5%

POPULATION SERVED*

*Information from 2015 census estimates

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Fairfax County's 1.1 million residents are diverse, well-educated and overwhelmingly employed in business and professional services

P ARTNERS AND S TAKEHOL D ERS

INT E RNA L C L IE NT S

Five Health Department Clinics

Eight Fairfax County Agencies

E X T E RNA L C L IE NT S

Three Neighboring jurisdictions Hospitals Local, Regional, State, and National

Parks Washington Dulles Airport Universities Private Companies- Clarke (Mosquito

Testing) Private Water System Operators Private homeowners

F AIRF AX C OUNTY H EAL TH D EPARTM ENT L ABORATORY S TAF F

Total Staff = 22

P ROFESSIONAL S TAFF

• Public Health TechnologistsFull-Time – 9Part-Time – 3

• Public Health Laboratory

Supervisor – 2

• LIS Administrator – 1

• Laboratory Director – 1

S UPPORT S TAFF

• Administrative Assistants – 3Admin IV – 1Admin III – 2

• CourierFull-time – 1Part-time – 2

CURRENT STRUCTURE

LABORATORY DIRECTOR

LIS MANAGER

PUBLICH HEALTH LABORATORY SUPERVISOR (PHLS)

PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY TECHNOLOGIST (PHLT)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Assess current structure and tackle easiest items first

CHALLENGES OF CURRENT STRUCTURE

One level of PHLT

Multiple disciplines requiring different levels of expertise

• Clinical

• Molecular

• Environmental

No room for advancement

No incentive/compensation for certification (ASCP, AMT, etc.) or advanced

degrees

PHLT at same classification as Administrative Assistant V

Compensation rates not competitive with private sector

CHALLENGES

Low Morale

Loss of per sonnel through at tr i t ion ; r e t i r ement , r e locat ion , and

higher sa lary of fer s

56% FTE technologis t

50% FTE Management

44%FTE e l ig ib le for re t i r ement

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Over the last six years, FCHDL has lost 8 of the 9 (56%) professional FTE personnel responsible for all scientific testing, and 2 of 4 (50)% lab management personnel through attrition; retirement, relocation, and higher salaried job offers. This constant personnel loss results in a significant amount of time spent by remaining staff on-boarding, orienting, training, and determining competency of new scientists in addition to the daily performance of a high volume of scientific testing. In addition to this, 4 of 9 (44%) PHLTS, are either currently eligible, or eligible within the next 5 years, for retirement. As staff retires, they take with them years of collective knowledge and experience which is invaluable and often irreplaceable.

CHALLENGES

Difficulty in recruitment and retention of qualified personnel

Qualified candidates declined interviews due to salary

2017- three technologist left for higher paying jobs1 PhD Chemist

2 CLS

Presenter

Presentation Notes

In addition to this, FCHDL has experienced difficulty in attracting, hiring, and retaining staff qualified under CLIA, to perform moderate and high complexity clinical laboratory testing. In April 2015, recruitment efforts for a PHLT resulted in 3 of the 5 (50%) qualified candidates selected declining an interview due to job salary. Of the 8 qualified candidates selected for interviews in FCHDLs’ April 2016 recruitment efforts for a PHLT, 1 declined an interview due to salary, 1 declined an interview after accepting another position at a higher salary, and 1 did not show. Lack of career mobility has been cited as one of the leading roadblocks when trying to recruit and retain qualified laboratory personnel. Check #s for 2017 In the first 6 months of 2017, we have lost 1 PhD and 2 CLTs to higher paying jobs in the private sector and other governmental agencies

HOW DO WE…

Attract and retain high quality employees who are motivated to advance their careers?

Prepare for retirement and turnover?

Meet technical development needs?

Improve technical knowledge and skills?

Maintain critical competencies ?

Presenter

Presentation Notes

So we were left with the questions

CREATION OF CAREER LADDER

• Education

• Training

• ExperienceREVIEW AND

ACCESS CURRENTHIRING STANDARDS

• Increasing levels of

responsibility

• Encourages professional

development

• Recognition of

professional growth

ESTABLISH CAREERLADDER

• Education

• Training

• Experience

requirements

• Level of

Responsibility

REVIEWED CAREERLADDERS IN PRIVATESECTOR AND OTHER

PUBLIC HEALTHLABORATORIES

Presenter

Presentation Notes

As new and innovative technologies continue to evolve and change the practice of laboratory medicine, educational requirements, and staff qualifications, the competition for individuals possessing these desired qualifications in the field of clinical laboratory science will become increasingly difficult but necessary in order to identify, monitor and mount a timely response to both clinical and environmental health hazards. in an effort order to remain competitive in attracting and recruiting qualified individuals, FCHDL began development of a multi-step career ladder, including position and classification titles, grade levels, and minimum educational qualifications for public health scientists. We wanted to develop career ladder based on competencies, PDs class specs all based on competencies

C REATION OF A C AREER L AD D ER B ASED O N C OM PETENCIES

APHL Career Ladder/Position Description Tool

Identify “Steps” in Career Ladder

Presenter

Presentation Notes

APHL tool uses the Competency Guidelines for the Public Health Laboratory Professionals, to create a framework of competency statements for a progressive job series of increasing responsibility and expertise. These competency statements are concrete and defined, making it easy to differentiate between steps of the career ladder. By using this tool, it allowed us to customize the career ladder to our needs in a local PHL.

C REATION OF A C AREER L AD D ER

Identify Domains for each level


Identify Competencies


Identify Sub-Competencies

CREATION OF A CAREER LADDER

Identify Tier Statements for Each Domain

F CHD L ABORATORY C AREER L AD D ER

F CHD L P OSITION D ESCRIPTIONS

F CHD L CL A SS SP E C IF IC A T IONS

FCHDL POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

PHLS IPHLS II PHLS III

ORG A NIZ A T IONA L ST RU C T U RE

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Re-organized the structure of lab staff re aligning duties and responsibilities

SU MMA RY

Opportunity for career advancement is essential in attracting

and retaining qualified individuals in laboratory science.

Provide a high level of technical expertise

Career ladder based on competencies assures quality results

Motivate individuals to continue education and advance

career

Provides a basis for mentoring and developing employees

Succession planning – preparing for turnover

Increase earning potential

R EF ERENCES

APHL Career Ladder Tools and Resources

Competency Guidelines for Public Health Laboratory Professionals,

MMWR / May 15, 2015 / Vol. 64 / No. 1,

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/other/su6401.pdf

CDC. National assessment of capacity in public health, environmental,

and agricultural laboratories—United States, 2011. MMWR Morb

Mortal Wkly Rep 2013;62:161–4.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/other/su6401.pdf

Documents

Subtitle - APHL › conferences › proceedings › ... · As new and innovative technologies continue to evolve and change the practice of laboratory medicine, educational requirements\ബ