Curriculum and Courses
Each of the four subject areas has a 1-credit didactic
(lecture-type) course and a 2-credit laboratory experience.
The format for the didactic (lecture-type) course is as
follows:
- 15 lessons, one on-line practice exam, and one on-line
final exam
- each lesson has a lesson plan that describes the goal,
objectives, course materials, and things to do, and
concludes with self-assessment questions
- all educational materials are available on the Internet
- usually includes a set of Internet calculation and
plotting tools
- a student electronic discussion forum
- e-mail correspondence with the course instructor
- course evaluation and feedback forms.
The format for the laboratory experience is as follows:
- student selected mentor and real-world laboratory
- 15 assignments with deliverables via e-mail
- each assignment describes the objectives, materials to
review, things to do, and deliverables
- 5 scheduled discussions with the course instructor
- a project report
- course evaluation and feedback forms
Areas of Study and Required Courses
1. Validation of Laboratory Methods and Technology
Students will develop the expertise to validate the
performance of analytical testing processes and assess their
acceptability for the clinical needs in patient testing. The
courses focus on quality requirements for laboratory tests,
design of experiments to estimate method performance
characteristics, collection of data from validation
experiments, statistical analysis of that data, and an
objective decision-making process to judge the acceptability
of new methods and technology.
- Method Validation Basics is a 1-credit
didactic course that provides the fundamentals for
understanding the method validation process. All the
materials are available on the Internet.
- Method Validation Projects is a 2-credit
laboratory experience that provides practical application
of the method validation process to a new method in a real
laboratory. A method validation plan is developed and
executed, in collaboration with a mentor from a healthcare
laboratory.
2. Quality Control Practices for Laboratory Tests
Students will learn to implement, operate, and supervise
statistical quality control applications for laboratory tests.
The courses focus on the fundamental principles and practices
of statistical QC, decision rules, control materials, data
calculations, control charts, data interpretation, and
appropriate actions in response to QC results.
- Quality Control Basics is a 1-credit
didactic course that provides the principles and
procedures for applying statistical QC in healthcare
laboratories. All the materials are available on the
Internet.
- Quality Control Projects is a 2-credit
laboratory experience that audits statistical QC
applications in a healthcare laboratory. The student
studies the data collection, review, calculation,
graphing, and interpretation in a real laboratory setting.
In addition, laboratory inservice training in statistical
QC is reviewed and a training exercise is developed to
improve skills in interpreting QC results.
3. Quality Planning for Laboratory Testing Processes
Students will develop skills to select appropriate QC
procedures (control rules, numbers of control measurements)
for measurement processes on the basis of the quality required
for a test and the performance (imprecision, inaccuracy)
observed for a method. These courses build on an understanding
of method validation and routine QC applications.
- Quality Planning Basics is a 1-credit didactic course
that begins with quality requirements and leads to
appropriate method specifications and QC procedures. A
practical planning process is developed with the aid of a
graphical tool - the chart of operating specifications.
- Quality Planning Projects is a 2-credit laboratory
experience that applies the quality-planning process to
selected tests, methods, and instruments in a working
laboratory. Quality requirements are defined, method
performance characteristics are estimated, and QC
procedures are selected. The student has an opportunity to
contribute to the optimization of QC procedures in a real
laboratory.
4. Quality Assurance Practices in Healthcare
Laboratories
Students will develop a Total Quality Management
perspective for a laboratory testing service. Laboratory
regulations and accreditation standards are reviewed and
quality plans and procedures are developed to satisfy
regulatory and accreditation requirements.
- Quality Assurance Basics is a 1-credit
didactic course that examines the regulatory requirements
brought about by CLIA and Medicare laws and the
accreditation standards of professional organizations such
as the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO), the College of American
Pathologists (CAP), and the Commission of Office
Laboratory Accreditation (COLA).
- Quality Assurance Projects is a 2-credit
laboratory experience that involves auditing and
inspecting laboratory policies and procedures, as well as
making improvements and, when necessary, developing new
policies and procedures.
For further information, please contact:
Sharon Ehrmeyer, Ph.D.
Director, Clinical Laboratory Science Program
Room 6173 Medical Science Center
University of Wisconsin Medical School
1300 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
E-mail address ehrmeyer@facstaff.wisc.edu
Telephone (608) 262-2085
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