Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) Phlebotomy and Laboratory Science teacher Jim Payne was a panelist for the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s “Inside the Lab” podcast. He was selected for the episode “Getting People in the Seats: Recruitment for MLS Programs.” Payne contributed a unique perspective to the program, due to his knowledge of pre-college career exploration for understanding opportunities in the medical laboratory while providing employability skills to students.
The hosts and other guests were extremely interested in the BOCES 2 CTE programs and agreed that the need for skills-based medical laboratory education is high. Payne highlighted the value of having students learn about the medical laboratory by gaining skills, working with industry mentors, and getting into the field via work-based learning such as shadowing or co-ops. He talked about how most of his students end up employed in local laboratories and often go to college for laboratory based careers. The students have a strong understanding of what they want to do and a better drive to be successful because they have already seen and experienced the working life of lab professionals.