Advancing medical laboratory practice in Pakistan: insights from a focus group study on technologists' training needs.

BACKGROUND: The realm of medical laboratory technology (MLT) training and education is unstructured in Pakistan. The primary challenge currently confronting the workforce in MLT is the absence of standardized curricula and assessments in education and training. This was an exploratory study aiming to inquire experiences of trainees, alumni and teaching coordinators regarding the technologist training program in a single institute at Pakistan. METHODS: To gain an in depth understanding of MLT program, three focus group discussions (FGDs) were held at Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Pakistan during Feb-April 2024. A team of pathologists and educationists developed interview guides for FGDs in English. Interviews were bilingual, transcribed verbatim and coded using thematic analysis. Participants included current trainees, alumni, teaching and learning coordinators and moderators for the interview. RESULTS: A total of 29 participants were engaged; these included current MLT trainees (n = 10), alumni (n = 10), and teaching/learning coordinators and sectional supervisors (n = 9). Five main themes emerged from the analysis of FGDs: (Scott MG, Rifai N, Smith B, Oellerich M, Panteghini M, Apple F et al. The changing face of laboratory medicine: a more service and less academically oriented profession? 2015;61(2):322-9.) Recognition of key features of the MTT program, (Ferraro S, Braga F, Panteghini MJCC, Medicine L. Lab Med new Healthc Environ. 2016;54(4):523-33.) Evaluating curriculum design, (Waheed U, Ahmad M, Wazeer A, Saeed M, Saba N, Rasheed FJMJMS. Medical laboratory science education; shaping competent and skilled healthcare professionals. 2023;1(1):58-63.) Teaching and learning strategies, (Ned-Sykes R, Johnson C, Ridderhof JC, Perlman E, Pollock A, DeBoy JM. Competency guidelines for public health laboratory professionals. 2015.) Addressing the need to improve assessment methods, and (Linder RJJM, Education B. Educating medical laboratory technologists: revisiting our assumptions in the current economic and health-care environment. 2012;13(2):150-4.) Navigating the transition from a trainee to a competent technologist. CONCLUSION: Our investigation demonstrated its potential as a valuable needs assessment study, highlighting key strengths, drawbacks, and challenges of the existing MTT program. Importantly, these findings at our institute can inform further research efforts to design competency-based MLT education and training programs in Pakistan.

WeChat mini program in laboratory biosafety education among medical students at Guangzhou Medical University: a mixed method study of feasibility and usability.

BACKGROUND: Laboratory biosafety should be a priority in all healthcare institutions. In traditional laboratory safety teaching students typically receive knowledge passively from their teachers without active involvement. The combination of experiential learning and mobile learning may provide students with greater engagement, retention, and application of knowledge. To address this issue, we developed and conducted a convergent mixed methods study to assess the feasibility and usability of a WeChat mini program (WMP) named WeMed for laboratory biosafety education for medical laboratory students at Guangzhou Medical University (GMU). METHODS: The study was conducted between November 2022 and October 2023 among second-year undergraduate students at GMU. It involved the concurrent collection, analysis, and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative data to assess feasibility and usability. In the quantitative strand, two evaluations were conducted via online surveys from students (n = 67) after a four-week study period. The System Usability Scale (SUS) was used to evaluate usability, while self-developed questions were used to assess feasibility. Additionally, a knowledge test was administered 6 months after the program completion. In the qualitative strand, fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted, whereby a reflexive thematic analysis was utilized to analyze the interview data. RESULTS: The overall SUS score is adequate (M = 68.17, SD = 14.39). The acceptability of the WeMed program is in the marginal high range. Most students agreed that WeMed was useful for learning biosafety knowledge and skills (13/14, 93%), while 79% (11/14) agreed it was easy to use and they intended to continue using it. After 6 months, a significant difference in the knowledge test scores was observed between the WeMed group (n = 67; 2nd year students) and the traditional training group (n = 90; 3rd year students). However, the results should be interpreted cautiously due to the absence of a pretest. CONCLUSION: The combination of experiential learning and mobile learning with WMP is a feasible tool for providing laboratory biosafety knowledge and skills. Ongoing improvements should be made in order to increase long-term acceptance.

Establishing and Leading a 3D Postprocessing Radiology Lab: A Managerial and Leadership Perspective.

The rapid acquisition of larg volumes of thin-section CT images has created a considerable need and interest for 3D postprocessing during the interpretation of medical imaging. As a result of the increasing number of postprocessing applications, requiring diagnostic radiologists to perform postprocessing is no longer realistic. This article is a comprehensive review of medical resources regarding establishing a postprocessing radiology laboratory. Besides, leadership and managerial aspects have been covered through a professional business lens. In large-volume settings, a dedicated 3D postprocessing lab ensures the quality, reproducibility, and efficiency of images. Adequate staffing is necessary to fulfill the postprocessing requirements. Educational and experience requirements for 3D technologists may vary among different running laboratories. To evaluate the establishment and running of a 3D lab, it is beneficial to implement diagnostic radiology cost-effectiveness tools. Although establishing a 3D lab has many benefits, certain challenges should be considered. Outsourcing or offshoring may serve as alternatives for establishing a postprocessing laboratory. Building and operating a 3D lab is a significant change in healthcare facilities, and it is crucial for organizations to be aware of the strong resistance toward alternatives the status quo, known as the status quo trap. The change process has essential steps, and skipping the steps creates an illusion of speed but never produces satisfactory results. The organization should ensure the engagement of all interested parties in the whole process. Moreover, a clear vision and proper communication of the vision are vital, and it is crucial to value small wins and ensure expectation clarity in leading the lab during the process.

Self-reported continuing professional development needs of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Because of the essential nature of the work of medical laboratory professionals, continuing development in knowledge and skills is indispensable. The study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the development and training needs of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana. This is expected to help in developing focused continuing professional development (CPD) that meets the needs of practitioners as well as the changing medical trends. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey in February 2022 using a structured questionnaire was conducted. Respondents were asked questions that collected demographic and work-related data about them, their participation, preference, and challenges in being part of CPDs. Finally, a list of topics based on (i) quality management systems, (ii) technical competence, (iii) laboratory management, leadership, and coaching, (iv) pathophysiology, and (iv) data interpretation and research were asked with the option to rate them on a 3-point scale (most, moderate, and least) in order of importance. RESULTS: A total of 316 medical laboratory professionals participated in the study. Overall, the most frequently selected topics for training based on domains for CPD training and ranking as most important were (i) quality management systems, (mean = 80.59 ± 9.024; 95% CI = 73.04-88.13); (ii) pathophysiology, data interpretation, and research (mean = 78.0 ± 6.973; 95% CI = 73.97-82.03); (iii) technical competence (mean = 73.97 ± 10.65; 95% CI = 66.35-81.59); and (iv) laboratory management, leadership, and coaching (mean = 72.82 ± 9.719; 95% CI = 67.44-78.2). The factors affecting the choice of training needs included the medical laboratory professionals' current place of work, years in service, the reason for attending CPD activities, the period for attending the last CPD, being in a supervisory role, and the number of staff being supervised. Face-to-face presentations, training workshops, and hands-on workshops were the most preferred modes of CPD delivery with financial implications and workload/time constraints being the main challenges impeding CPD participation. CONCLUSION: The identified needs will help in developing CPD programs that address what medical laboratory professionals prioritize as training needs. Stakeholders should incorporate these training needs into future programs and address the challenges highlighted in this study to have more relevant training for medical laboratory professionals.

Clinlabomics: leveraging clinical laboratory data by data mining strategies.

The recent global focus on big data in medicine has been associated with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnosis and decision-making following recent advances in computer technology. Up to now, AI has been applied to various aspects of medicine, including disease diagnosis, surveillance, treatment, predicting future risk, targeted interventions and understanding of the disease. There have been plenty of successful examples in medicine of using big data, such as radiology and pathology, ophthalmology cardiology and surgery. Combining medicine and AI has become a powerful tool to change health care, and even to change the nature of disease screening in clinical diagnosis. As all we know, clinical laboratories produce large amounts of testing data every day and the clinical laboratory data combined with AI may establish a new diagnosis and treatment has attracted wide attention. At present, a new concept of radiomics has been created for imaging data combined with AI, but a new definition of clinical laboratory data combined with AI has lacked so that many studies in this field cannot be accurately classified. Therefore, we propose a new concept of clinical laboratory omics (Clinlabomics) by combining clinical laboratory medicine and AI. Clinlabomics can use high-throughput methods to extract large amounts of feature data from blood, body fluids, secretions, excreta, and cast clinical laboratory test data. Then using the data statistics, machine learning, and other methods to read more undiscovered information. In this review, we have summarized the application of clinical laboratory data combined with AI in medical fields. Undeniable, the application of Clinlabomics is a method that can assist many fields of medicine but still requires further validation in a multi-center environment and laboratory.

Training undergraduate students for rapid on-site evaluation of fine needle aspiration cytology samples using a simulation-based education activity.

INTRODUCTION: Demand for rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) of fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology is rising and the role is increasingly being performed by non-medical cytologists. Undergraduate training for cytologists has traditionally focused on laboratory-based procedural activities and their theoretical underpinning, with minimal attention given to communication and other skills required to operate in an interprofessional setting. We evaluated the effectiveness and student reaction to a simulation-based education (SBE) exercise in ROSE designed to fill this void. METHODS: We designed and evaluated an SBE exercise based on FNA ROSE across two tertiary institutions with 79 students. The exercise accurately reproduced the demands on cytologists operating as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a time- pressured environment. FINDINGS: Pre- and post-simulation questionnaires indicated an improvement in technical knowledge related to the procedure. Students' perception of their competence and confidence in their role also improved significantly post simulation. Students uniformly found the exercise engaging and a valuable addition to their curriculum. DISCUSSION: The simulation successfully provided a pseudo-clinical environment that highlighted the realities of practising technical and diagnostic tasks under time pressure and interacting with other health professionals to provide an optimal patient outcome. The exercise is a useful supplement to on-the-job training for ROSE.

Incorporating modified team-based learning into a flipped basic medical laboratory course: impact on student performance and perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Basic medical laboratory courses (BMLCs) play an essential role in medical education and offer several benefits to students. Although various student-centered and active learning strategies have been increasingly incorporated into medical education, their applications in BMLCs are limited. This paper aimed to explore the educational effects of a flipped classroom (FC) combined with team-based learning (TBL) strategy in BMLCs at Zhejiang University School of Medicine. METHODS: Four hundred eight 3rd-Year medical students were assigned to either the FC-TBL group (n = 235) or the FC group (n = 173) to complete three experiments on the respiration block of BMLCs. The two groups' immediate and long-term academic performance were compared, and the FC-TBL students' perceptions of different instructional strategies were surveyed. RESULTS: Students in the FC-TBL group scored higher on the immediate post-tests after class and higher on the final exams in two of the three experiment sessions. They preferred FC-TBL to FC for its higher engagement, more feedback, and better learning environment. Students felt the FC with TBL blended instructional strategy stimulated their interest in learning and deep thinking. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the FC group, students in the FC-TBL group improved academic performance and had a more positive experience overall. Our findings support the feasibility and advantage of the flipped classroom with team-based learning as a blended learning strategy in the BMLC curriculum.

Competency for Japanese novice medical laboratory scientists: a Delphi method.

BACKGROUND: Competency is used to channel abilities into successful processes and is employed in the medical field. Globally, several laboratory competencies exist, but the job descriptions of Japanese medical laboratory scientists differ from those of other countries and little evidence-based information on novice medical laboratory scientist competency is available in Japan. This study clarified the competencies of novice medical laboratory scientists based on various expert opinions in Japan. METHODS: The Delphi method was used to achieve an expert consensus on novice medical laboratory scientist competencies. We asked the participants to evaluate the importance of each item using the Likert scale and set 70% as the final consensus rate. RESULTS: We obtained 106/400 (26.5%) and 95/106 (89.6%) responses from participants in rounds 1 and 2, respectively. Their professional experience mean ± standard deviation was 32.4 ± 6.0 years (range: 13-41). The average of each category consensus rate was > 99.1%. Ninety-five expert opinions converged and agreed that the competency comprised 8 categories and 54 items. CONCLUSIONS: The survey results revealed that novice medical laboratory scientists were expected to have relatively higher main laboratory skill competencies in the 'Preparation and analysis' category than in other categories. Nevertheless, competencies in other categories required basic skills. In addition, our competencies contained unique competencies compared with others due to their divergent roles and their environment. Further research is warranted to explore assessment tools by developing a competency scale, thereby helping clarify the differences between ability and correlated factors. The unique competencies scale can help assess the efficacy of educational programmes for Japanese medical laboratory scientists.

Factors associated with burnout among medical laboratory professionals in Ontario, Canada: An exploratory study during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine factors associated with burnout among medical laboratory technologists (MLT) in Ontario, Canada during the second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHODS: We employed a cross-sectional design and used a self-reported questionnaire designed for MLT in Ontario, Canada. RESULTS: There were 441 (47.5% response rate) MLT who were included in the analytic sample. Most of the respondents were women, with a mean age of 43.1 and a standard deviation of 11.7. The prevalence of experiencing burnout was 72.3% for MLT. In the adjusted demographic model, those ≥50 (OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.22-0.59) were 0.36 or about one third as likely to experience burnout as those under 50. Similarly, those who held a university degree were less likely to experience burnout compared with high school degree (OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.15-0.79). In the adjusted occupational model, high quantitative demands (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.21-3.88), high work pace (OR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.25-3.98), high job insecurity (OR = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.39-4.82), high work life conflict (OR = 5.08, 95% CI: 2.75-9.64) and high job satisfaction (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.20-0.88), high self-rated health (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.17-0.56) were significant. CONCLUSION: This study provides preliminary evidence regarding the factors associated with burnout in MLT. Additional research is needed to understand their relationship with workers health and well-being and in the delivery of health services.

Clinical, laboratory and imaging characteristics, and outcomes of hospitalized children with suspected COVID-19 infection: A report from Isfahan-Iran.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, laboratory and imaging characteristics, and outcomes of hospitalized children with suspected COVID-19 infection in Isfahan. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all children aged < 15 years, who hospitalized as suspected case of COVID-19 were enrolled. During this study, all demographic, clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics as well as follow-up data and outcomes of the hospitalized children were recorded by pediatric residents using a questionnaire. The findings of studied populations in the two groups of definite/or suspected and negative COVID-19 patients were compared. Results: During 6 months' period, 137 children with suspected COVID-19 infection were evaluated. Mean age of studied population was 4.3 (0.38) years. The most common symptoms in order were fever, cough, dyspnea and diarrhea. The most common computed tomography scan findings were bilateral ground glass and subpleural involvements. The rate of mortality was 7.3%. COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test was positive in 22% of the patients. Based on the specialist's diagnosis, 30/25 patients were definite/or suspected to COVID-19 and reminder (79) were negative. O2 saturation <90%, was significantly higher in children with definite/or suspected diagnosis for COVID-19 (46.7% vs. 22.4%, P < 0.05). Dyspnea and shivering were significantly higher in children with definite/or suspected diagnosis for COVID-19 than those negative for COVID-19(P < 0.05). Mean duration of hospitalization was significantly associated with level of lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings of our studied population were similar to other studies, but outcome was not similar which may be due to our studied population (inpatients cases). It is suggested that a better understanding of the infection in children may give important insights into disease pathogenesis, health-care practices, and public health policies.

Recent evolutions of machine learning applications in clinical laboratory medicine.

Machine learning (ML) is gaining increased interest in clinical laboratory medicine, mainly triggered by the decreased cost of generating and storing data using laboratory automation and computational power, and the widespread accessibility of open source tools. Nevertheless, only a handful of ML-based products are currently commercially available for routine clinical laboratory practice. In this review, we start with an introduction to ML by providing an overview of the ML landscape, its general workflow, and the most commonly used algorithms for clinical laboratory applications. Furthermore, we aim to illustrate recent evolutions (2018 to mid-2020) of the techniques used in the clinical laboratory setting and discuss the associated challenges and opportunities. In the field of clinical chemistry, the reviewed applications of ML algorithms include quality review of lab results, automated urine sediment analysis, disease or outcome prediction from routine laboratory parameters, and interpretation of complex biochemical data. In the hematology subdiscipline, we discuss the concepts of automated blood film reporting and malaria diagnosis. At last, we handle a broad range of clinical microbiology applications, such as the reduction of diagnostic workload by laboratory automation, the detection and identification of clinically relevant microorganisms, and the detection of antimicrobial resistance.

Impact of malaria diagnostic refresher training programme on competencies and skills in malaria diagnosis among medical laboratory professionals: evidence from Ghana 2015-2019.

BACKGROUND: The quality of malaria test results is crucial for optimal patient treatment and care. The Ghana Health Service is successfully shifting from presumptive clinical diagnosis and treatment of malaria to the Test, Treat and Track (T3) initiative. In line with the initiative, the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) set out to improve the capacity of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana through a five-day Malaria Diagnostic Refresher Training (MDRT) to build competencies and skills in malaria diagnosis, especially in the three components of microscopy: parasite detection, species identification and parasite quantification. This study evaluates the impact of the training on malaria microscopy. METHODS: The training which was based on the World Health Organization basic malaria microscopy training guide employed presentations and practical approaches to malaria diagnosis. A total number of 765 medical laboratory professionals from various health facilities across the country were trained every other year from 2015 to 2019 and were included in this evaluation. Evaluation of this training was done using pre-test and post-test microscopy scores. The Negative Binomial fixed effect model was used in determining the overall effect of the training in improving the competencies of the participants on malaria microscopy. RESULTS: The ability of the medical laboratory professionals to correctly detect malaria parasites increased significantly from a median score of 64% prior to the training to 87% after the training (p < 0.001). The competencies of the medical laboratory scientists to correctly identify malaria parasite species and quantify the number of malaria parasites increased significantly from a median score of 17% and 20% pre-test to 78% and 50% post-test, respectively (p < 0.001). The results showed that participants' competency level and skill to perform malaria microscopy (species identification, parasite quantification and detection of malaria parasites) increased by approximately two folds after the training compared to the no-training scenario (adjusted rate ratio = 2.07, 95% CI 2.01-2.13, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The MDRT programme significantly improved participants' performance of malaria microscopy over a short period of time.

Elementary Laboratory Assays as Biomarkers of Ageing: Support for Treatment of COVID-19?

Youth, working age and the elderly: On a timeline, chronological age (CA) and biological age (BA) may dissociate; nosological entities manifest themselves at different BAs. In determining which disease corresponds to a given age decade, statistical registries of causes of death are unreliable and this does not change with SARS CoV-2 infection. Beyond adolescence, ageing metrics involve estimations of changes in fitness, including prediction models to estimate the number of remaining years left to live. A substantial disparity in biomarker levels and health status of ageing can be observed: the difference in CA and BA in the large cohorts under consideration is glaring. Here, we focus more closely on ageing and senescence metrics in order to make information available for risk analysis non the least with COVID-19, including the most recent risk factors of ABO blood type and 3p21.31 chromosome cluster impacting on C5a and SC5b-9 plasma levels. From the multitude of routine medical laboratory assays, a potentially meaningful set of assays aimed to best reflect the stage of individual senescence; hence risk factors the observational prospective SENIORLABOR study of 1,467 healthy elderly performed since 2009 and similar approaches since 1958 can be instantiated as a network to combine a set of elementary laboratory assays quantifying senescence.

Outcome-based student assessment enhances academic performance in basic medical laboratory course.

Basic medical laboratory courses (BMLCs) play an important role in medical educational courses helping the student acquire three important skills of surgical operating, collaborative learning, and problem solving. The outcome-based student assessment (OBSA) is a learning evaluation method that establishes specific evaluation points based on performance of students in three aspects: surgical operating, collaborative learning, and problem solving in the BMLC curriculum practices. The purpose of the present randomized controlled trial study is to explore the efficiency of OBSA program in BMLCs. The 233 students attending BMLCs were randomly divided into 2 groups, 118 in the OBSA group and 115 in the control group. We conducted multiple-choice examination questions (MCQs) test and two questionnaires with the method of two-sample t test for statistics. The results of MCQs in total eight BMLC blocks showed that the academic performance of the OBSA group was significantly better than that of the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, the average scores of direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) and mini-experimental evaluation exercise in OBSA group were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). The majority of the medical students preferred the OBSA and considered OBSA could effectively improve their surgical operating skills (83.9%), collaborative learning skills (92.1%), and problem-solving skills (91.1%). From the above, OBSA is an effective evaluation method for the implementation of the BMLC curriculum.

[Course Design and Discussions of Integrating Ideological and Political Theories Education in Medical Laboratory Pathways and Their Clinical Application].

Specialty courses are an important carrier for driving forward the education reform of integrating ideological and political theories education in all courses and implementing the philosophy of fostering character through moral education. Medical Laboratory Pathways and Their Clinical Applicationis an undergraduate specialty course offered by the Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. The paper is based on the campaign of Integrating Ideological and Political Theories Education in All Courses and takes into consideration the features of the medical laboratory technology specialty. The paper proposes the organic unity of knowledge and skills teaching objectives and emotions and value-guided teaching objectives. In regard to the teaching content, horizontal integration was carried out, transforming the design of the course content from being laboratory test-centered to being disease-centered. Ideological and political theories education was organically incorporated in the content of the specialty course, assigning to the course the important task of values guidance. In addition, we made discussions on course design and instruction of Medical Laboratory Pathways and Their Clinical Application mainly in regard to the instruction, teaching methodology, and the form of classroom instruction of the course. We hope that the paper will provide useful information and reference for the ongoing education reform of the medical laboratory technology specialty under the new circumstances.

Essential role of laboratory physicians in transformation of laboratory practice and management to a value-based patient-centric model.

The laboratory is a vital part of the continuum of patient care. In fact, there are few programs in the healthcare system that do not rely on ready access and availability of complex diagnostic laboratory services. The existing transactional model of laboratory "medical practice" will not be able to meet the needs of the healthcare system as it rapidly shifts toward value-based care and precision medicine, which demands that practice be based on total system indicators, clinical effectiveness, and patient outcomes. Laboratory "value" will no longer be focused primarily on internal testing quality and efficiencies but rather on the relative cost of diagnostic testing compared to direct improvement in clinical and system outcomes. The medical laboratory as a "business" focused on operational efficiency and cost-controls must transform to become an essential clinical service that is a tightly integrated equal partner in direct patient care. We would argue that this paradigm shift would not be necessary if laboratory services had remained a "patient-centric" medical practice throughout the last few decades. This review is focused on the essential role of laboratory physicians in transforming laboratory practice and management to a value-based patient-centric model. Value-based practice is necessary not only to meet the challenges of the new precision medicine world order but also to bring about sustainable healthcare service delivery.

Blended learning in basic medical laboratory courses improves medical students' abilities in self-learning, understanding, and problem solving.

Blended learning, is a teaching approach that integrates online self-learning and classroom teaching. When designed well, blended learning courses in medicine can facilitate students to improve themselves in self-learning, understanding, and problem solving, ultimately enhancing their learning efficiency. However, blended teaching methods are usually used in only a single course, so it is unclear whether these methods can work well in a variety of basic medical courses. The goal of this study is to explore students' perceptions of whether blended laboratory courses are helpful for them in overcoming the difficulties they experience. Blended laboratory courses were taken by medical students at Guilin Medical University. Approximately 71.1% of the students agreed that online lecture courses improved their understanding of threshold concepts and the underlying theories. The majority of the students (63.01%) held the opinion that the blended laboratory courses were more effective than other types of courses in achieving the knowledge goals. The majority of the teachers believed that students' interest in experimentation operations, hands-on abilities, confidence, and other factors were greatly improved compared with those of students taught using the traditional teaching model (face to face). In addition, the average scores for the quizzes of laboratory courses were significantly improved in the blended learning method compared with the traditional learning method. Blended laboratory courses are successful and welcomed by both students and teachers in undergraduate laboratory courses.

Benchmarking the research track record and level of appointment of Australian medical laboratory science academics.

BACKGROUND: Benchmarking across and within universities is a common tool to evaluate performance of a program and maintain accreditation requirements. While teaching remains a primary responsibility of many academics, academic research performance is a major contributor towards career advancement and standards in the medical laboratory science profession. While anecdotal evidence suggests academics are active contributors to the evidence base of the profession, there is a high variability in research output in relation to institution and level of appointment. The aim of the study was to benchmark the research track record of Australian medical laboratory science academics and provide insight into how research productivity informs the level of appointment of academics across their career pathway. METHODS: A bibliographic analysis of Australian medical laboratory science faculty websites and corresponding Scopus citation database profiles was conducted. A description of current research track record and relationships with holding a doctorate, academic appointment level, research and teaching interests, and institutional characteristics were explored. Quantitative data and frequencies were analysed using IBM SPSS version 26 to benchmark research track records by academic appointment level. RESULTS: There were 124 academics identified from 13 universities who had a teaching and research position in an undergraduate medical laboratory science program in Australia. Academics at the level of lecturer or higher typically held a doctorate (89%). Holding a doctorate strongly influenced the number of publications. The top 20% of researchers authored around half of the overall publications. The majority of academics did not have alignment of their major research and teaching areas however, alignment had no influence on number of publications. There was, however, an inconsistent relationship between metropolitan or regional university location and the number of publications. CONCLUSION: Data from this study provides academics with benchmarks for the research track record required at each level of appointment. When drawing conclusions on academic progression, promotion and tenure through research track record it would be mindful to assess each on a case by case basis. Institution (metropolitan versus regional) and research interest appears to influence publication number, h-index and citation scores.

No apparent association between lecture attendance or accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes in a medical laboratory science course.

BACKGROUND: The effect of availability of lecture recordings on academic outcomes is not clear and it is not known whether these recordings change the association between lecture attendance and academic outcomes. Few surveys of lecture attendance or lecture recordings use by students are linked to academic outcomes. The aims were (i) to determine any association between lecture attendance and academic outcomes for students who had access to lecture recordings, (ii) to determine any association between accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes and (iii) to use a survey to determine why students attend lectures and/or access lecture recordings in a course in medical laboratory science. METHODS: Consenting students signed in when attending lectures and/or completed an online survey. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated to determine whether there was an association between attending lectures or accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes. RESULTS: Consent rates were high for both the sign-in (90%) and survey (64%). The main findings were that in 2017 and 2018: (i) the average lecture attendance was 39 and 27%, respectively, (ii) there was no association between lecture attendance and academic outcomes, (iii) there was no association between accessing lecture recordings and academic outcomes. Survey respondents were almost equally divided between those attending lectures weekly, sometimes or not. Reasons for attending lectures included greater perceived learning and interaction with staff and other students, while reasons for not attending related to inconvenience or other commitments. Lecture recordings were accessed to clarify, revise or catch up on content, or as an alternative to attending lectures. One-third of students provided additional feedback on accessing lecture recordings, and the most common themes were 'flexibility' and 'useful'. Lecture slides (PowerPoints), independently of lecture recordings, were used extensively by the students. CONCLUSIONS: From this study, it does not seem that either lecture attendance or accessing lecture recordings are major determinants of academic outcomes for most students. As students vary in their lecture attendance and use of online resources including lecture recordings and lecture slides, academic staff should continue to provide a range of resources for students.

[The particular aspects of improvement of laboratory service of region].

The analysis of various needs in medical laboratory services among physicians of the Samara oblast is targeted to further improvement of laboratory service at oblast level. It is established that effectiveness of laboratory service depends on the needs of customer of service sector which are both physicians and patients. Ignoring their needs results in an increasing both of number of unsatisfied customers and level of mistrust individual operators and laboratory service itself. On the contrary, client-centric approach facilitates dialog of all participants of process of providing laboratory services.