Course Outline
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- Introduction to Quality Control
- Quality Control Tools
- Quality Control Tools
- Intralaboratory (Internal) Quality Control
- Assayed and Unassayed Controls
- Internal Quality Control Program
- Determining the Frequency for QC Testing
- Additional Variables
- Instrument Maintenance
- Record Keeping
- External Quality Assessment
- Commercially available control materials for some laboratory instruments or method systems may be assayed or unassayed. Both will monitor the method s...
- True or False: If a laboratory is part of a system, it can compare its proficiency testing (PT) results with other laboratories in the system prior to...
- Delta Checks
- Statistical Analysis of Control Data
- Accuracy and Precision
- Mean and Standard Deviation
- Calculating Acceptable Ranges
- Calculating Acceptable Ranges, continued
- Coefficient of Variation
- Choose, for each statement, to what it refers to: the mean, standard deviation, or coefficient of variation.
- For a particular method, a control has a mean result of 12 with a standard deviation (SD) of 2. What is the acceptable 95% range for this control?
- Quality Control Charts
- Levey-Jennings Quality Control Charts
- Random and Systematic Errors
- Random and Systematic Errors, continued
- Westgard Multi-Rule Approach
- Westgard Multi-Rule Approach, continued
- Responding to Out-of-Control Results
- Which type of error does each rule usually detect?
- A laboratory uses these Westgard QC rules as criteria for rejecting an analytical run: 13s, 22s, and R4sThe top chart is for control #1 and the bottom...
- References
Additional Information
Level of Instruction: Basic
Intended Audience: Medical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicians, laboratory supervisors, and laboratory managers. This course is also appropriate for MLS and MLT students and pathology residents.
Author Information: Brad Westover, BS received his BS in Physics in 2006 from the California Institute of Technology. He is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego.
The author has no conflict of interest to disclose.
Reviewer Information: Joshua J. Cannon, MS, MLS(ASCP)CMSHCM received his Bachelor
of Science and Master of Science in Medical Laboratory Science from Thomas
Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He holds Medical Laboratory Scientist
and Specialist in Hematology certifications through the ASCP Board of
Certification. He was a professor at Thomas Jefferson University for seven
years before transitioning into his current role as Education Developer at
MediaLab by Vastian. His areas of expertise and professional passions include
clinical hematology and interprofessional education.
Course Description: This course provides important fundamental concepts in quality control that are useful to laboratory personnel who report patient results. Topics include precision, accuracy, random and systematic errors, standard deviation, mean, coefficient of variation, quality control tools, and an overview of the Westgard multi-rule approach for evaluating QC results
