3D - International Training in Quality

All the rage in movies these days is 3D.  Movies like Avatar and the Alice in Wonderland attract big crowds.  Makes tons of money. 
Well we have our own version of 3D, a different kind of glitzy, and maybe not as lucrative, but pretty satisfying in its own special way.  Its our three dimensions of international training in medical laboratory quality.

1.  International training in Proficiency Testing.  
ILAC Proficiency Testing Consultative Group has done 2 surveys of PT providers.  There are a number of constituencies, but I will focus on 2.  There are a substantial number of PT providers that enjoy providing education about PT.  Some of it about how it can work well with Accreditation Bodies, some of it about pretty specialized topics, and some of it more general. 
CMPT is a good and typical example of this.  We see education as part of our university mandate.  Rather than send our fresh simulated samples around the world, we would rather teach other groups how to make our types of samples and how to use them for high quality programs.

Then there is another group.  Many, but certainly not all from developing countries that need and want assistance, training, and mentoring, but can't find a partner, or can't find the money.  There goal is to provide local PT for their own laboratories.

The challenge is how do we put these two groups together to find a solution.  We have been pretty successful over the years.  You can visit www.CMPT.ca and see the pictures from our training sessions over the years.  We have worked by word-of-mouth, and through our website and now this blog. 
This may be part of our solution, but is not the bigger answer.

Clearly some sort of inventory site where both groups can get together would be helpful.   Problem is that we don't have the resources for something like this. 
Any ideas?

2:  On-line UBC Certificate course in Laboratory Quality Management.
This course is very successful and we are pretty confident in our client satisfaction and our impacts on medical laboratory quality improvement.  Visit www.POLQM.ca
Registration for 2011 will start in September.

3: International Quality Management training session in concert with other events.  During our last 3 CMPT PT training programs we have introduced supplemental Quality Management lectures and dialogue.  And now we have embarked on a Quality Management Workshop to be held in Vancouver in the next year.  These sessions can have partners that provide funding support for deserving international delegations that would otherwise not be able to attend.  I have some in mind now.
If there is any group out there that would like to contribute, let us know.
More on this later.

I had a department head mentor that talked regularly about the university mandate of Education, Research and Outreach,  anther way of describing 3D activity.  That's what we think, that's what we believe, and that is what we do.

So its not as glitzy as Avatar, but it is still pretty darn good. 

m