Field Laboratory Preparedness

During this course, students will be introduced to the requirements and knowledge necessary for establishing and operating a district laboratory in resource-limited settings, in accordance with Quality Management System principles. Through lectures, exercises, self-study, and face-to-face discussions, students will learn about the organization of a district laboratory, basics of staff management, laboratory equipment, logistics, and key aspects of the pre-analytic, analytic, and post-analytic phases of laboratory analyses.

The course will conclude with an integrated exercise where students will apply their acquired knowledge to: (i) conduct a root cause analysis of a laboratory incident and propose interventions, and (ii) discuss the establishment of a diagnostic evaluation study. This course is grounded in ISO 15189, the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), and Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) principles to ensure the reliability, quality, consistency, and integrity of laboratory-generated data.

This course focusses on laboratory quality management and does not include practical training on specific diagnostic laboratory techniques, unless relevant to specific course objectives or as part of a demonstration.