Assessing the Pre-Analytic Phase of Laboratory Testing and Measuring the Impact of an Educational Knowledge Translation Strategy on Medical Imaging Teams

摘要

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge base of the radiology team regarding preanalytic laboratory specimen collection and to determine the effectiveness of an educational knowledge translation seminar on improving the understanding of these core concepts. Materials & Methods: 30 examinations sets were distributed to eligible personnel who participated in an educational seminar presented by three diagnostic laboratory physicians. Following the seminar the same written examination was completed anonymously and the post-seminar examinations were collected and tallied. Results: 24 of these examination sets were complete sets (80%) and used for data analysis. The breakdown of respondents were 2 radiologists (8%), 3 registered nurses (12.5%) and 19 technologists (79.2%). Before the seminar the range of scores of the written examination ranged from 0-57.1%. The mean pre-seminar score was 40%. Following the educational session the range of scores of the written examination were from 57% - 100% and the mean score was 88.5%. Conclusion: Based on the authors' results of this study there is a need for additional training regarding proper specimen collection. The study also suggests that a knowledge translation strategy, such as an educational seminar addressing institutional specific specimen collection protocols, can be an effective tool to address deficiencies. Introduction Specimen collection for diagnostic laboratories is a common task performed by many general and interventional radiology departments. The total testing process of laboratory medicine comprises of three traditional steps: pre-analytic, analytic and post-analytic phases. The pre-analytic stage of the total testing process includes specimen collection by the medical imaging team. Technological advances in hospital medical laboratories have substantially improved laboratory medicine outcomes leaving the pre-analytic phase, primarily specimen collection, as the leading cause of error in the total testing process. An assessment of the knowledge base, specific to laboratory sample collection, of the radiology team comprising of radiologists, registered nurses and medical imaging technologists was conducted to determine the level of understanding of sample collection at our institution in the format of a written examination. Following this these radiology personnel participated in an educational training seminar addressing specimen preparation and collection learning objectives. The written examination was retaken after the session to determine the effectiveness of this knowledge translation strategy. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge base of the radiology team regarding pre-analytic laboratory specimen collection and to determine the effectiveness of a laboratory training seminar on improving the understanding of these core concepts. Materials & Methods Our departmental team responsible for pre-analytic laboratory specimen collection involves a multidisciplinary group comprising of radiologists, registered nurses and medical imaging technologists consisting of 35 fulltime personnel. Each written examination comprised of 2 copies of a 2 page, 7 multiple choice question examination in multiple choice format. 30 examinations sets were distributed to eligible personnel. Eligibility criteria include full-time medical imaging personnel (radiologists, registered nurses and technologists) involved with sample collection in our department and those who attended the educational seminar and those who completed the examination sets. The educational seminar was presented by three diagnostic laboratory physicians from our institution. The training seminar was presented as two repeat sessions on the same day to accommodate the radiology personnel’s work schedule. No participants attended both seminars. The duration of each session was one hour ,and they were presented consecutively during the mid-day. Prior to each session the participants underto