The impact of multiskilled practice on the job satisfaction of medical laboratory personnel.

This study examined practice patterns of medical laboratory personnel and investigated relationships of job-related variables and job satisfaction for single- and multiskilled practitioners. Data were collected from a random sample of American Society of Clinical Pathologist-registered practitioners in a five-state region. Twenty-five percent of the sample was categorized as multiskilled. Regression analysis revealed that work performed had a significant positive contribution to overall job satisfaction for medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) and medical technologists. The strength of the relationship was weakest for multiskilled MLTs. Results support the contention that when jobs are redesigned, enriching them by adding tasks of increased complexity and challenge is possibly more effective than simply enlarging the jobs with lower- or parallel-level tasks.