IU Southeast, Louisville hospitals partner on medical lab science pathway
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NEW ALBANY, Ind. - Indiana University Southeast is teaming up with three Louisville-based hospital systems to build a degree program designed to create a pipeline for laboratory science health care jobs.
The university, along with Baptist Health, Norton Healthcare and UofL Health, are looking to train students to become medical technologists or laboratory scientists—jobs that Chancellor Debbie Ford says are greatly needed.
“We reached out to our health care partners, and asked a little bit about the demand,” Ford said. “What is the demand for medical lab scientists and technologists? And every single partner we talked to said there is a high demand and that we really need this program at the baccalaureate level.”
Medical laboratory professionals work in a variety of health care settings, including hospitals, diagnostic labs and research facilities.
Specifically in Indiana and Kentucky, demand for these positions has increased by 5.4%, according to Lightcast labor data. IU Southeast says monthly job postings for medical laboratory scientist positions averaged 435 across the two states.
“Lab scientists are vital members of the overall health care team,” Baptist Health President Mike Schroyer said in written remarks. “Their work is vital in determining the plan of care for both inpatients and outpatients. Their work is also vital in caring for chronic conditions that count on accurate testing to regulate medications and prevent recurrent hospital admissions.
The degree program isn’t a new one; it was previously offered through a consortium with Bellarmine University in Kentucky. But when Bellarmine decided to sunset the program, IU Southeast was asked about potentially taking it over.
As part of the new five-year partnership, IU Southeast will offer a Bachelor of Science in medical laboratory scientists on the New Albany campus beginning this fall.
Faculty members and laboratory equipment needed to teach the program will transfer to IU Southeast, and the three hospital groups will provide additional faculty and operational support, supply lab equipment, and offer students hands-on clinical experience through internships.
Students currently working through the program at Bellarmine will come to IU Southeast to complete their degrees, the university said.
Chancellor Ford said with the program nearly ready to go, another goal is to raise awareness not just of the program itself, but of the jobs that are available, starting with K-12 students.
“A lot of folks don’t know about it, and now that we have this program, we want to work jointly across all the health care partners to be able to promote that,” she said.
Ford said the partners aim to have 24 students in the program when it’s fully operational, and that’s a number they will have to work up to but one she is confident they will achieve.
“I can tell you from the press event that we had last week, there were students that had expressed interest in the program,” she said. “We had some pre-medical lab science students, and then some of the students who will be transferring and joining the program for Bellarmine University, and the health care partners were talking to each of them, because there is a high demand.”
Ford said there is room for additional growth with the program, and the partnerships with the health systems show that the university is well equipped to establish similar partnerships with leaders in other industries.