By Anu S. Maharjan, PhD, DABCC
Imagine this scenario: Quality control (QC) for level 2 is failing, even though you put a new QC vial on analyzer 1; meanwhile, analyzer 2 is inoperable as you keep getting reagent aspiration errors.
Or picture this: Your hospital is expanding, and you have incorporated volumes from two other sites. Many specimens are arriving beyond their stability time. What do you do now?
While these are not uncommon situations, they can be tricky to navigate. To provide guidance and prevent laboratory crises, this afternoon Paul Jannetto, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, MT (ASCP), will moderate an interactive and fun Jeopardy!-style seminar, titled “You are in Jeopardy: Effective strategies for laboratory crisis management.”
“While laboratories are generally good at putting out the daily fires, thoughtful crisis management and risk-mitigation strategies can facilitate improved preparedness when unexpected issues arise,” Jannetto says.
The seminar will include expert panelists Jane Dickerson, PhD, DABCC, medical director from Seattle Children’s; Mark Marzinke, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, medical director of chemistry from Johns Hopkins; and Shannon Haymond, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, medical director of chemistry from Lurie Children’s Hospital.
As the seminar’s title suggests, audience members will be separated into groups that compete against one another in a game show format. Just like on the show, the groups will choose among numerous categories, including Quality Issues, Analytical Issues, Business Continuity/Management, and Talent Management, and among levels of severity, including Mild, Moderate, or Atomic Meltdown.
Jannetto will serve as host, and the expert panelists will judge the audience’s responses and provide the correct answer to the scenario, which will be revealed behind the game board.
Marzinke will lead the discussion on “Quality Issues,” while Dickerson will cover “Analytical Issues,” and Haymond will tackle “Business Continuity/Management.” Each panelist will further lead scenarios for the “Talent Management” category. The clinical scenarios provided will help attendees to identify tools and techniques they can use to handle similar situations. Because there can be more than one solution, the panelists will provide context when evaluating the audience’s answers and sharing best practices.
The session is sure to be full of laughter and heated debates. It will cover tools and strategies such as policy development, fishbone diagrams, process maps, the “5-whys,” and risk frameworks. You don’t want to miss this enjoyable and productive seminar that will help you develop laboratory crisis management processes.
