The Need for Academic Pathways to Promote Careers in Medical Laboratory Science and Public Health Data Sciences in Rural Counties.

The United States is presently experiencing a significant shortage of allied health professionals in medical laboratory and public health data science careers and is producing less than half the number of graduates that will be required to fill vacant positions in the field. There is a critical need for these professionals to handle the increasing burden of testing and data management required in the relevant healthcare fields. Academic training programs that highlight and educate high school students, teachers, and guidance counselors about the medical laboratory sciences and public health information technology fields will be crucial to address these and future shortages of health professionals in these skill areas. This is particularly important in rural underserved areas such as those found in West Tennessee, where barriers to public health are already insurmountable due to poverty and loss of rural community hospitals. We propose that instillation of specifically targeted programs will provide high school students with education about career options in allied healthcare that make valuable contributions to the patient care team, support for rising college students to earn dual-enrollment college credit, and professional and skills development in health care and data sciences for high school teachers.