Laboratories

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Fundamentals of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Clinical Laboratories

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Safety is imperative when working with potentially harmful materials and other hazards in the laboratory. This course is designed to assist clinical and public health laboratory professionals with applying risk management strategies to identify hazards, assess risks, and select appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) options.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Describe how PPE helps protect...
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Fundamentals of Chemical Fume Hood Safety

Banner with centrifuge on left, and the course title on the right.  Various sets of concentric rings used for decoration.

A chemical fume hood is the main piece of laboratory equipment that protects laboratory staff working with hazardous chemicals. When properly used, fume hoods protect staff from inhaling chemical gases, vapors, and aerosols. They serve as a physical barrier between staff and the hazardous materials inside the hood, and provide some splash protection.

This basic-level eLearning course provides an essential understanding of the major components of a...

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Fundamentals of Centrifuge Safety

Banner with centrifuge on left, and the course title on the right.  Various sets of concentric rings used for decoration.

Centrifuges are instruments used to separate mixtures, based on particle size and density, by spinning the mixtures at high speeds. These instruments are essential tools in all types of laboratories. Serious injuries or potential exposures can occur if centrifuges are improperly used or maintained.

This basic-level eLearning course provides information on the safe use of centrifuges. Topics covered include major parts of a centrifuge, types of...

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Ethics and Data Integrity for Technical Staff

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This online course discusses ethics and personal integrity and illustrates how these traits apply to technical staff in a public health or other laboratory. Examples of general workplace ethics are provided. Many of the ways that data integrity can be affected by technical staff are explained, from recognizing when sample integrity has been compromised to documenting errors, handling calibration and quality control issues, and changing or correcting results. Examples are given to show how...

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Biosecurity for Clinical Laboratories

Biosecurity for Clinical Laboratories course title on an orange background fade of a laboratory testing bench.

There are several sections in this course:

  1. Biosecurity and Biosafety
  2. Risk Assessments and the AMP Model
  3. AMP: Assessment
  4. AMP: Mitigation
  5. AMP: Performance
  6. Developing a Biosecurity Plan
  7. Quiz

 

This course includes several interactions designed to underscore concepts discussed in the course, two downloadable risk assessment templates and laboratory guidance from APHL on specimen storage...

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Introduction to Resource Management for Public Health Laboratories

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Public health laboratories must ensure a sufficient flow of funds to attract and keep top-notch staff, as well as to obtain and maintain required facilities and equipment. Furthermore, like shareholders of a corporation, the stakeholders in a laboratory--funding organizations, state government, taxpayers, and so on---demand a demonstration of the value they get for the money they spend. Herein lies the real challenge for the laboratory manager: How can you create and maintain an environment...

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Introduction to Budgeting for Public Health Laboratories

Introduction to budgeting title logo

Budgeting and fiscal management are challenges to all laboratory supervisors, both new and not so new. Gone are the days when the laboratory received a significant amount of its funding from a single source. Today, government laboratories have numerous funding streams, including appropriated state or local revenue, direct federal funding, indirect federal funding (through other departmental grant recipients), fees or other earned income and third party reimbursement such as Medicaid. The...

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Organizing Your Lab with Lean 6 Sigma Principles

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Course Summary

This online course explains the use of Lean 6S principles in organizing the physical workplace for efficiency. The course shows how to eliminate the four types of waste: mistakes & reworks, excess inventory, unnecessary transporting and unnecessary motion. To accomplish this, the six sequential steps of Lean 6S are explained in detail and illustrated with photographs as well as graphics. Examples of Lean 6S initiatives at the State Hygienic Laboratory in Iowa...

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Introduction to Analytical Measurement Uncertainty

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Course Summary

This online course introduces the topic of measurement uncertainty and defines the basic terms of measurement. The reason that all measurements contain some level of doubt is explained and illustrated. A distinction is made between random and systematic error and examples are given. The importance of understanding measurement uncertainty in a laboratory setting is stated and examples are provided of situations in which the laboratorian will need this knowledge. The...

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Ethics and Data Integrity for Non-Technical Staff

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Course Summary

This online course introduces the concepts of ethics and integrity, defines the difference between the two and illustrates how these traits apply to non-technical staff in a public health laboratory. Examples of general workplace ethics are used throughout the course, from arriving on time to using the Internet for non-work activities. the term, "data integrity" is introduced and its relationship to fraud is given, including Information Technology and Public...

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