For inspectors, a new and better training course

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“It’s really about leadership,” Dr. Olgaard says. “It covers planning, making assignments, prepping the team. It’s about organizing the entire process for team members, communicating with them, facilitating their interactions with others, dealing with difficult situations, and conflict resolution. It also instructs on how to wrap up the inspection and associated responsibilities such as getting all the information and paperwork to the CAP.”

At the end of the previous training course, there was a test that users passed or failed depending on a percentage of correct answers. Now, there is no test at the end. Instead, the course tests knowledge throughout the training, in each of the sections. “It doesn’t let you fail,” Dr. Olgaard says. “It assesses your knowledge throughout your learning path, and you move on only once you’ve mastered or tested out of a particular topic.”

Some ancillary inspection content is presented in informational add-ons that are linked to the primary course. For example, virtual inspections that became common during the pandemic are discussed in a section linked to the training course. “We made it a separate course because it wouldn’t pertain to everyone,” Dr. Olgaard says. “However, those doing virtual inspections would still need to complete the full inspector training course.”

A new feature of the course is its ability to track what a user has completed and what still needs to be done. “It keeps track of which modules were visited, whether they were completed successfully, or whether they were failed and required retaking,” McNeal says.

The training course also returns users to the point at which they stopped the last time they were active. “It’s like a living course,” Donovan says. “It remembers you took it, even years later. If the content hasn’t changed, it will mark you as having completed the sections. However, if the content has changed, it will flag you and let you know there is additional material to learn and digest.” That push notification will also tell users exactly where to find the new content.

While the course is intended for inspector trainees, Dr. Olgaard says it would benefit anyone who works in a laboratory. “It certainly would behoove a lab director awaiting an inspection to know what inspectors will be looking for. And it is not infrequent that someone will take the course even if they do not have an inspection pending or are planning to be an inspector,” she says. “When residents rotate through our lab, we have them take the training. Some people may take it for the CME credits”—five for leaders, 4.5 for team members. “It’s open and accessible to everyone and there’s not a bad time to take it.”

Should inspectors re-train after a prolonged hiatus from inspecting? “It used to be a requirement that inspectors be trained every two years, but that requirement has not been retained. However,” Dr. Olgaard says, “I think everyone should refresh themselves before they do their next inspection, especially if they haven’t used this new platform.”

The new course, presented in sections, is mobile, McNeal says, and easily accessible via computer, laptop, tablet, or phone. “This allows users to complete the training at their convenience. Mobility also means an inspector can bookmark a page or a handy reference list and open it at the inspection site. Mobility is one of the improvements that makes the entire experience more user-friendly.”

“This training course contains information that every single one of our laboratories needs to know,” Dr. Olgaard says. “It offers high-yield information that is incredibly applicable. You and your colleagues will be using the information you get in the training modules for years to come. That’s a fact.”

Valerie Neff Newitt is a writer in Audubon, Pa.