The Program Office was developed in 2004 to fill a void in programs that could educate laboratorians about Quality Management and to create a supply that would fit the increasing demand for Medical Laboratory Quality Managers primarily for Canadian laboratories.
The process developed was our 20-week on-line course, culminating in a written examination. The style of the course is referred to as Virtual Classroom On-Line Education (VCOLE). Mentor and participant involvement is expected to be high and is closely monitored to ensure that all stay engaged. Certification is predicated upon a combination of discussion participation, small discussion work groups, group assignments, individual assignments, and the final examination. Information is shared as multimedia with text, video, audio segments and is ensured annually updated and refreshed.
In the spirit of transparency in quality and education, student evaluation of the course is available on the site.
Over time we have found an important constituency that has been largely ignored, and yet are critical to improvements in laboratory quality. Residents in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the future pathologists and medical directors have virtually no exposure to quality management information during their training years, and yet are expected to lead laboratories forward when the graduate and take their initial and subsequent postings. The Program Office has developed and provided a course for laboratory medicine residents which is given every 2 years. In addition several residents have been sufficiently inspired and have enrolled in the full course.
Training quality managers is critical for moving Quality Management in medical laboratories forward. Training residents to be quality aware pathologists and medical directors helps shape the medical laboratory for the future.
Just as our sister program Clinical Microbiology Proficiency Testing CMPT has learned the value of providing international education, the Program Office provides Quality Management training in many parts of the world. To promote our international awareness, we have created our Regional Ambassador program to inspire others and bring awareness to the advantages of Quality Management for all laboratories.
People interested in the Regional Ambassador Program are invited to contact the Program Office at ubcpolqm@gmail.comh
As of June 2022 Dr. Noble has changed his position with UBC and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He continues to be active in laboratory quality both within UBC and beyond.
He was able to secure a donor along with the Department initiated a new position in UBC identified as the Donald Rix Professorship in Laboratory Quality. The position was earned through competition by Dr. Lucy Perrone PhD who now heads CMPT and the Program Office.
Congratulations to Dr. Perrone.
