Evaluating Performance in the Clinical Laboratory

Evaluating Performance in the Clinical Laboratory

Homework Assignment

1. Imagine that you have five years of experience working at a large medical center and you have just been hired as the technical supervisor for a clinical laboratory in a small hospital. The staff includes a pathologist, 12 full time staff members (six MLSs and six MLTs), and five part-time MLT staff members. You are reviewing the previous supervisor’s file on competency testing. You see that the competency testing program consisted of proficiency testing. The previous supervisor made sure that each full-time employee was given a PT sample at least once during the year and she documented that employee’s performance. The supervisor also kept a file of the continued education sessions that each full-time employee attended during the year. Competency testing or CE was not considered necessary for the part-time employees.

a. Is the previous supervisor’s system for competency testing adequate to meet CLIA regulations? Why or why not.

b. If this competency testing system is not adequate, what changes would you make? Describe the

a) methods of evaluation you would use

b) documentation you would generate

c) frequency of each method of evaluation

Resources: Code of Federal Regulations (42 CFR 493.1451) http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr

2. Now imagine that you are a new clinical instructor in the hematology laboratory. You will be

teaching MLS students on all the procedures performed in your laboratory. Design a system for evaluating student performance in this clinical rotation.