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Updated January 16, 2013
 Comprehensive, Customizable, and Convenient
Managing competency requirements in the laboratory can be challenging. It seems every clinical laboratory is facing increased demands on staff and resources. While the problems may be similar, each laboratory is unique and requires a competency assessment and training program tailored to its distinct needs. To help you manage, the College of American Pathologists offers the Competency Assessment Program.
Dozens of assessment and training courses in 11 laboratory disciplines offer customized learning that is triggered by responses to questions. Courses are supported with extensive references just a click away. All CAP courses offer CE as well. Extensive management reports help you track performance, ranging from individual employee results to comparisons of your lab with peers taking the same courses. The Safety & Compliance courses to help you manage your safety training needs but with the added convenience of making assignments and keeping records with the rest of your Competency program.
Tools to customize existing courses or checklists (or create your own from scratch) allow you to tailor the program to your lab. More than 130 instrument-specific checklists are supplied by manufacturers for competency assessments or training.
All courses are delivered online on your schedule. Subject-matter experts help us develop course materials and gather images, and we integrate best-practice education techniques and methodologies. Then we pull it all together into a single, comprehensive program. All so you can offer education that’s up-to-date, high-quality, and interesting for your staff, with far less work than it would take for you to develop courses on your own.
Assessment Courses
Every six months, Competency Assessment Program publishes a new set of assessment courses in eleven disciplines. These courses include high-resolution color images, interactive exercises, and state-of-the-art education techniques.
| Competency Assessment Program — Assessment Course Schedule |
| Discipline |
January 2013 Release |
July 2013 Release |
| Blood Banking/ Transfusion Medicine |
Hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn and perinatal testing |
Compatibility testing and quality control |
| Chemistry |
Cardiac biomarkers |
Therapeutic drug monitoring |
| Hematology and Coagulation |
Erythrocyte inclusions |
White blood cells |
| Histology |
Quality Management in the Histology Laboratory |
Immunohistochemistry part 1 |
| Immunology |
Hepatitis testing |
Serology kit tests |
| Microbiology |
Monitoring the testing process in microbiology: specimen identification, quality control, and proficiency testing |
Microbiology of the gastrointestinal tract |
| Phlebotomy / Specimen Processing |
Common pitfalls in specimen processing |
General specimen handling and transportation requirements |
| Point-of-Care Testing |
Whole blood glucose testing |
Blood gases |
| Quality Programs/Management |
Investigating occurrences (occurrence reports, root cause analysis, corrective action) |
Development and implementation of a quality management program |
| Safety |
Bloodborne pathogens |
General laboratory safety |
| Urinalysis |
Physical and chemical urinalysis |
Microscopic urinalysis part 1 |
Pro Courses — Extra Courses, Extra CE
In addition to assessment courses, Competency Assessment Program includes an ever-expanding library of stand-alone courses. We call them Pro Courses.
Self-paced, interactive, and CE credit-bearing, Pro Courses include the same level of challenging, in-depth content featured in the assessment courses, but instead of scored assessments, Pro Courses offer educational material interspersed with ungraded questions that reinforce learning.
Because of this straightforward design, Pro Courses are perfect for use as:
- Supplemental refreshers for current employees
- Training for recently-hired laboratory staff
- Introductions to new areas for experienced staff
- Training to fulfill CE requirements
Like assessment courses, Pro Courses offer a bookmarking feature that allows participants to come back to any course and pick up right where they left off.
| Competency Assessment Program — Pro Course Schedule |
| Discipline |
January 2013 Release |
July 2013 Release |
| Blood Banking/ Transfusion Medicine |
Red Blood Cell components - composition, storage, processing, and selection |
Preparation, storage, and selection of Non-Red Cell Components |
| Chemistry |
Endocrine function testing |
Chemistry specimen and reagent handling |
| Hematology and Coagulation |
Common coagulation tests |
Platelet count, morphology, and disorders |
| Histology |
Safety issues in the histology laboratory |
Special stains |
| Immunology |
Qualitative HIV antibody testing |
Molecular amplification methods for the detection of infectious diseases |
| Microbiology |
Urine and body fluid cultures |
Blood cultures |
| Phlebotomy/Specimen Processing |
Challenges of phlebotomy: Pediatric collection, alternate sites, and difficult draws |
Specimen collection for workplace urine drug testing programs and forensic drug and alcohol testing |
| Point-of-Care Testing |
Point-of-care whole blood prothrombin time and INR (PT/INR) testing |
Point-of-care cardiac biomarkers |
| Quality Programs/Management |
Monitoring the quality control program |
Assessing competency in the laboratory |
| Safety |
Fire and electrical safety |
Ergonomics |
| Urinalysis/Body Fluids |
Cerebrospinal fluid analysis |
Semen analysis |
Add these courses to your Competency Assessment Program subscription
Unlike other safety and compliance courses, you can pull these “off the shelf” for your employees because they are designed for clinical laboratories. The illustrations and examples in the courses are lab-specific and you’ll find them appropriate for your employees. All seven courses are included in the package for one low price and are available year-round. The content is appropriate for annual laboratory compliance training and for clinical laboratory science students prior to clinical rotations.
| Competency Assessment Program — Safety & Compliance Courses |
Topic |
Description |
OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens |
Addresses the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standard as it applies to clinical and medical laboratories. Covers major bloodborne pathogens, including Hepatitis B and HIV. Focuses on proper handling of sharps, personal protective equipment (PPE), engineering controls such as microbiological safety cabinets, and proper work practices like hand-washing. |
OSHA Chemical Hygiene |
Describes the OSHA Chemical Hygiene Standard and helps satisfy OSHA requirements for annual training. Explains Haz-Com, the National Fire Protection Agency diamond, Material Safety Data Sheet along with common sense laboratory safety rules applied to clinical laboratory practice. |
OSHA Electrical Safety |
Addresses electrical safety and electrical hazards commonly found in the clinical laboratory. Covers prevention and safety measures, fighting electrical fires, and treatment of electrical injuries. |
OSHA Fire Safety |
Teaches the basics of fire safety in the clinical laboratory including classes of fire and key acronyms such as PASS and RACE. Addresses fire prevention, drills, and firefighting techniques. |
OSHA Formaldehyde |
Covers essentials for any laboratory that uses formaldehyde or formalin. Shares facts about formaldehyde, safety risks, proper handling procedure, monitoring, spill clean-up, and personal protective equipment in this comprehensive course. |
Tuberculosis Awareness |
Provides background information about spread of TB, PPD testing procedures, CDC guidelines, and methods of control. |
Medical Errors and Patient Safety |
Includes potential causes of medical errors in the clinical laboratory, important legislation and definitions along with steps laboratory professionals can take to reduce the impact of medical errors in the workplace. Serves as an ideal part of an effective medical error reduction program and appropriate for both experienced and newer laboratory personnel. |
Note: The Safety & Compliance course package must be purchased in conjunction with Competency Assessment Program subscription; it’s not available for purchase separately.
Safety & Compliance courses listed above do not offer continuing education credit.
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