Non è (più) un paese per laboratoristi

The number of physicians who have chosen to specialize in Laboratory Medicine (i.e., Clinical Pathology and Clinical Biochemistry) in Italy has continued to decline over time, reaching its lowest point this academic year. The first warnings about the shortage of laboratory professionals were made almost 20 years ago. However, an (often demagogic) policy of centralization of laboratory activities has allowed that the labor market was sufficiently ‘fluid’, so that the staff of closed laboratories could fill the gaps of those still active. This situation continued until the recent pandemic, when the huge increase in workload has exacerbated an already critical situation, leading to the collapse of many laboratory medicine and microbiology/virology facilities. Several aspects may have contributed significantly to the low appeal of laboratory medicine to medical students, including the insufficient visibility of our “profession,” the modest salary (compared to other medical specialties) and the lack of effective communication to convey the unique and exciting prerogatives of our “profession” to the younger generations. Influenced by a certain weariness and disillusionment, we now have the impression of being somehow out of place, with beliefs and a vision of Laboratory Medicine that do not seem to be shared by the new generations. Is this (really) no longer a country for laboratory physicians?