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Job design and work context reactions among medical technologists.

This paper examines the interaction between job design and several aspects of work context as contributors to employee affective and motivation responses. Data were collected from 115 medical technologists in 7 medical laboratories. Significant interactions were found between job complexity and interpersonal components of the work context. A positive work context contributed to high affective response when the job was low in complexity, but jobs high in complexity allowed a person to escape from a negative work context by turning to the job itself. The form of the interactions was complex, yielding several practical and theoretical implications.

Allied Health Personnel↗

Special Unit and Medical School Laboratory Technicians in New Zealand. A follow-up review and survey of training and qualifications 1970-1975.

In 1970 a survey was undertaken to ascertain the training opportunities and career prospects of laboratory technicians employed in medical research and special unit laboratories. After an interval of five years a follow-up survey was undertaken in an attempt to reassess numbers of technicians employed, qualifications, and training course preferences. This 1975 survey has revealed an increase from 26 to 49 departments undertaking laboratory investigations. There was also a 100 percent increase in the number, 150 to 290, of technicians employed. Heads of departments and senior staff responsible for employment have indicated a concern for and a high degree of satisfaction with technical institute courses and the certification authority's qualifying system in the field of technician training.

Adolescent↗

[What does accreditation of medical microbiological laboratories mean to patients?].

Accreditation of a medical microbiological laboratory according to the ISO 17025 standard confirms that the analyses included in the accreditation are performed with high quality. This paper gives an overview over various quality aspects of direct importance to the patient and the patient's doctor: i) the relationship between the doctor and the laboratory; ii) the selection of relevant analyses; iii) the accuracy of the results; iv) sources and estimation of uncertainty; v) stability of test results; vi) review of complaints; and vii) interpretation of test results. Special aspects of medical microbiology in relation to accreditation are mentioned.

Accreditation↗

The EC4 register of European clinical chemists and EC4 activities.

The freedom of movement of people and goods within the European Union (EU) has a large impact for the member states. Particularly within health care it is important to recognize, or if necessary obtain, an adequate level of the quality of profession and practice, so that citizens know that health care is offered in their country at a level comparable to other countries. The importance of recognition also applies to laboratory medicine. European Communities Confederation of Clinical Chemistry (EC4) is the organization of societies for clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine in the EU. In Europe, health care develops in the direction where patients are treated in a health care chain environment. In this chain, patients move quickly from primary health institutes to secondary and tertiary institutes, and vice versa. This situation involves many health care workers including several laboratories. Diagnosis and therapy are now 'core business' of health care. Medical laboratories play an essential role in this. The broad spectrum of medical laboratory investigations make consultancy of medical laboratory specialists ever more important. The quality of both professionals and laboratories, as well as continuity of laboratory data within and between laboratories, are of utmost importance.EC4 is active in giving support to attain such quality. In most countries, this is the case at present. EC4 plays a central role in the Coordination of Automatic Recognition of Equivalence of Standards (CARE), if such a level exists or is achieved. Such CARE is focussed at three levels, the profession, quality of laboratories and calibration of laboratory data. The EC4 Register of European Clinical Chemists is open for colleagues educated in (bio)chemistry, pharmacy, biology as well as medicine, and trained according to the EC4 Syllabus. Equivalence of standards has been granted to national training schemes of 13 European Union countries. Since its opening in 1998, the number of applicants is growing steadily and quickly, reaching 1225 in May 2001.EC4 has published essential criteria for quality systems of medical laboratories, which formed the basis for a ISO draft international standard regarding quality and competence of medical laboratories.EC4 stimulates projects like the Calibration 2000 project in the Netherlands which focus on continuity of laboratory data, within-as well as between-laboratories.

Calibration↗

[External quality assurance: a significant--and 25-year-old--element of quality management in the medical diagnostic laboratory].

An external quality assurance system in the medical diagnostic laboratory, which is an essential part of the modern total quality management (TQM) concept in the public health system, was established in Austria already 25 years ago. The development and the scope of this quality assessment system by the "Austrian Society for Quality Assurance and Standardization of Analyses in the Clinical Laboratory" (OQUASTA) are presented. The decreasing coefficients of variation of several parameters of the external quality assessment exercises demonstrate an increasing analytical precision and might be interpreted as an effect of this quality assurance system.

Austria↗

Effect of accreditation schemes on the setting of quality specifications by laboratories.

In the future, there will be a universal standard for quality management in medical laboratories: ISO 15189. This standard follows the basic principles of ISO 17025, the general standard for test laboratories, but also adds several specific aspects. A comparison between these standards is given. The language of ISO 15189 is designed to be understood by medical laboratory professionals. As this standard is applicable to all medical laboratory fields, requirements are given in general terms requiring the laboratory to implement them correctly. Because it is essential that information provided by laboratory results is useful for healthcare, the requirements covered by ISO 15189 are compared with those needed for providing good medical laboratory services. The capabilities of the personnel at the laboratory clinic interface are the most difficult to assess and evaluate in an adequate quality management system.

Accreditation↗

[Capability of health services of the city of Ouagadougou to diagnose sexually transmitted diseases].

BACKGROUND: Quantitative and qualitative shortage of both human and material resources in the diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) remains one of the difficulties in dealing with these diseases in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the capability of health and medical laboratories personnel to diagnose STD's prevailing in Ouagadougou. METHOD: The study has been conducted in all the health centres and the medical laboratories of the town. The personnel ensuring out-patient clinics and the director of each medical laboratory have been interviewed. The interview as well as the assessment of the consulting room and the medical laboratories technical equipment were carried out. RESULTS: The range of STD's that the staff was able to point out was limited only to classical diseases. One member of the staff out of five mentioned two probable diagnoses of STD's in a case of a genito-urinary symptom. Errors in the diagnosis of vaginal discharge were significantly more frequent in the paramedical staff than in the medical one (p < 0.01), likewise the number of erroneous diagnoses of urethral discharge was more significant among the health agents in the private sector than those in the public sector (p = 0.04). The number of medical laboratories and the range of medical tests conducted in the town were lacking. Moreover, the results of these tests were not taken into account while prescribing the treatment for STD's. CONCLUSIONS: The above observations indicate a limited capability of the urban health services in establishing diagnoses of STD's on a rational basis. The transformation of current laboratory activities to a centralized specialized laboratory capable of a) identifying microorganisms circulating in the town and determine their magnitude and sensitivity to the main antimicrobials available, b) maintain regular surveillance of microorganism susceptibilities, and c) ensure quality control of laboratory tests conducted at a lower geographical level would contribute to the information and training of health care personnel and better acceptability of diagnosis and treatment strategies by this personnel.

Burkina Faso↗

Computer-based neuroanatomy laboratory for medical students.

BACKGROUND: To present the laboratory portion of our first-semester Human Neuroanatomy course at Temple University Medical School more effectively and efficiently and to replace the glass slide/microscope-based laboratory component of the course, we developed a computer-based substitute. METHODS: For this computer-based neuroanatomy laboratory program, we photographed the (a) gross brain sliced and dissected specimens and (b) all the glass slides, from the sacral cord through the head of the caudate nucleus. We digitized the photographed images and, using Multimedia ToolBook (Asymetrix), created a computerized atlas, laboratory guide, and a clinical problem-solving section. To assess the effectiveness of the computerized laboratory, we compared student performances between those classes that previously had the traditional laboratory with two succeeding classes that used the computer-based laboratory. RESULTS: Test score results of the laboratory portion of the course suggested that performance on laboratory material was virtually unchanged by the substitution of the computer program. By a survey taken at the end of the course, the students were very satisfied with the computerized program as a teaching method. CONCLUSIONS: The students and faculty enthusiastically agreed that the computer program was an effective substitute method for the traditional glass-slide laboratory and that it was a beneficial self-educational tool that fostered independent learning. The program encouraged student interaction and group learning and fostered independence. It was a more efficient method for faculty and students without sacrificing performance.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

Infection control when servicing medical and laboratory equipment.

The risks of infection in servicing medical and hospital laboratory equipment are reviewed. Recommended procedures and precautions for dealing with these risks are detailed. These are based upon the practice adopted in the authors' own department. A 'permit to work' scheme is not felt to be universally applicable and the guiding criteria to judge any applied procedure are set down.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Initiating a secondary education apprenticeship program for the clinical laboratory.

The shortage of medical laboratory professionals entering the work field has prompted the clinical laboratory at North Memorial Medical Center to take a proactive stance. Working together with Minnesota School District 287 and North Memorial's education and human resources departments, we have created a high school-age program to teach young students. The focus of this program will be the science behind health care. The state has chosen our program to be the template for the statewide model. Labs in the state will follow this template when starting their new programs. This is the first apprenticeship program in the state of Minnesota for a health-care laboratory. The new program will bring students to our lab and teach them practical skills. These skills will include client services skills (phone etiquette, critical thinking) and technical skills (computer skills, EKGs, testing a patient's blood sugar). More important, it will expose high school students to a career in science--a career option that they might not have been familiar with. This article presents the steps we have completed to introduce this new program.

Adolescent↗

Total quality management for clinical laboratories: a need or a new fashion?

In most European countries, concepts of quality management in medical laboratories have been proposed. These concepts are based on general standards for test laboratories (EN 45001, ISO 25) or specific adapted standards. Improvement of quality lays on the foundation of the implementation of quality systems in medical laboratories. This new approach will have consequences on management style and on working conditions. Efficacy on the implementation can only be tested by external audits. During this audit, not only the quality system and analytical competence must be examined, but also if there is a real contact between pathologists and clinicians and if laboratory results are clinically validated (clinical audit). This new vision on quality in medical laboratories will ask a reconsideration of the tasks, duties and knowledge of clinical pathologists.

Clinical Competence↗