Practical Approaches to Quality Control in the Clinical Laboratory Certificate Program

Course overview

This program focuses on the principles and applications of good statistical quality control (QC) practices. Its aim is to explain how QC works, explain what errors interpretive rules are designed to detect, and suggests appropriate investigations for QC failures. Minimal mathematical or statistical theories are presented, as the emphasis is on practical and implementable practices and an explanation of why these practices are suggested. The content is primarily geared towards laboratory supervisors, managers and technologists in clinical laboratory settings. Trainees in laboratory medicine and laboratory directors may also benefit from this program. Quality control topics not expressly covered in this certificate program include: an Individual Quality Control Plan (IQCP), control processes that may be "built in" to a measurement system, preparing in-house QC material, using patient results as a QC parameter, or assessing if a measurement procedure is fit for its intended use in clinical care.