Educational Resources to share Best Practice and Enhance Knowledge Offered

In support of the increasing need for training and reference materials in diagnostic laboratories, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has announced the extended availability of a number of educational resources for laboratory staff. These include a range of wall posters and case studies to assist haematology departments with staff development, along with a series of webinars offering personalised education, training and management solutions.

The range of haematology posters contain high-quality photomicrographs and associated text to provide reference information for many cell presentations seen in normal and pathological blood smears. They cover various subjects including haematopoiesis, red blood cell morphology, lymphoid blood diseases, peroxidase & nuclear density analysis, platelet & megakaryocyte morphology and plasma cell morphology. The series of educational posters provides excellent training opportunities and assists laboratories in maintaining blood film morphology reporting, consistency and quality. Other elements of this programme include case studies and a series of lunchtime CPD accredited training presentations that can be delivered by Siemens Product and Applications Specialists.

Siemens webinars are regularly hosted by its customers and experts exploring a variety of topics including laboratory best practice, compliance requirements and disease state management. Recently, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics hosted a webinar on ‘Clinical and Analytical Factors Impacting Vitamin D Results’. The objectives of the session were to learn the value of measuring vitamin D, and to understand the clinical and analytical factors that influence the measurement of vitamin D by immunoassay. “Maintaining staff competency is a key challenge for all laboratories, particularly with the recent implementation of the new ISO 15189 quality standard,” states Dave Barmby, Marketing Manager for Haematology at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.

“NHS Trusts and Health Boards are requesting tools to help with educating the next generation of staff and maintaining CPD for those already qualified; the posters and other educational tools we provide are an example of our commitment to supporting laboratories in this area.”