Medical Laboratory Practices and Management Course

Laboratory services are an essential component of healthcare delivery and can be utilised effectively at every level of healthcare delivery. In the African region, many commonly presenting diseases may be diagnosed using basic, essential laboratory tests. Access to reliable laboratory diagnostic services is among the major challenges contributing to lack of appropriate and timely patient care. In Africa, many health facility managers sideline the laboratory, and diagnostic services are not recognised as an integral component of an effective, quality healthcare system.

Medical laboratories in Africa are managed by laboratory technical staff, many of whom have not received adequate training in all aspects of laboratory Quality Management Systems (QMS). Currently, many medical laboratories are preparing for national or international accreditation, and in some countries this is becoming a requirement for registration, making the training of laboratory supervisors and managers of paramount importance. The Medical Laboratory Practices and Management Course is designed to prepare laboratory managers to ensure laboratories meet accepted standards in all aspects of laboratory operations, and provide quality and reliable diagnostic services to communities.

Laboratory staff with diploma level training or above with at least two years’ practical experience, including responsibilities in laboratory management and staff supervision.

The Medical Laboratory Practices and Management Course contributes to improved health through competency-based training of medical laboratory supervisors.

By the end of the Laboratory Practices and Management Course, participants should be able to:

1. Discuss principles of quality management systems
2. Demonstrate knowledge and skills in effective laboratory documentation and personnel management
3. Employ knowledge and skills in the management of laboratory resources
4. Demonstrate quality measures employed in the diagnostic cycle
5. Organise the laboratory to enhance safety and productivity
6. Develop systems for continuous quality improvement
7. Demonstrate competency in the evaluation of quality management systems and customer satisfaction
8. Employ laboratory data in problem solving and decision making.

The course is organised to run in Three Phases. Phase One and Phase Three of the training are conducted through distance learning at the participants’ work stations, and Phase Two (residential training) is conducted at the Amref Health Africa’s Central Laboratory facilities in Nairobi.

The course involves a minimum of 270 hours and a maximum of 570 hours of course work.

In the year 2021, these would be covered as follows:

• Phase 1: 5 July – 27 August 2021 (80 hours)
• Phase 2: 120 September – 1 October 2021 (70 hours)
• Phase 3: 11 October − 20 December 2021 (120 hours)

This course is organized into 10 modules as follows:

• Module 1: Course Introduction and pre-training course tasks and exercises
• Module 2: Overview of Health Facility Management
• Module 3: Organization, Documentation and Personnel Management
• Module 4: Laboratory Resource Management
• Module 5: Managing Laboratory Testing Process
• Module 6: Laboratory Design and Bio-risk Management
• Module 7: Laboratory Evaluation and Continual Improvement
• Module 8: Customer service and Management Reviews
• Module 9: Information Management, Utilisation and Application
• Module 10: Work-based Training (including implementation of improvement projects and other course tasks).

US$ 2495 – The fees cover tuition, course materials, books and other reference materials, stationery and photocopies, courier services, local travel and field trips to supervisory sites, accommodation, meals, and incidental costs within Nairobi.

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