Pacific Paramedical Training Centre

The Pacific Paramedical Training Centre (PPTC) has been operating for nearly 25 years and is one of the few centres in the region providing short-term training courses for health laboratory technicians from the Pacific, Southeast Asia and other areas within the WHO Western Pacific Region. In addition to these formal courses (detailed below), the PPTC can also arrange placements in appropriate laboratories for specialised or refresher training programmes in any Medical Laboratory Science discipline.

Training Courses 2005

Laboratory Management, Laboratory Information Systems & Quality Systems – 7 March – 1 April 2005
This course will provide senior laboratory staff with information on the theory and practice of Laboratory Management and Laboratory Information Systems. It will also introduce the concepts and principles of Quality Systems and quality management as it applies to medical laboratories so that participants can return to their laboratories and introduce QA systems to improve the quality of the service offered.
Topics will include laboratory management; quality management; laboratory standards; the use of statistics and charts; QA in biochemistry, microbiology, haematology and blood bank; validation of results; internal and external QC; control and maintenance of instruments; internal audits; establishing a national QC programme. The course will give an introduction to the role of computers in the laboratory and include training in basic computer skills and the use of spreadsheets, word-processing and databases.

Blood Bank Technology – August 2005
This course will include units of study covering the theoretical and practical aspects of the following topics: routine blood grouping, blood group antigens, crossmatch techniques, antibody detection, transfusion reactions, haemolytic disease of the newborn, screening blood for infectious agents, blood donor selection, organisation of a blood bank and the appropriate use of blood components in transfusion medicine.

Online Distance Learning Courses
It is hoped that throughout the year several courses will be offered utilising the POLHN website. These courses could include a course in Clinical Biochemistry and a repeat of the Laboratory Diagnosis of Bacterial Diarrhoea Courses that is being run currently. Other courses in Medical Laboratory Technology are also under discussion with WHO and SPC for development and inclusion in this programme.

For further information contact:
PPTC, PO Box 7013 Wellington, New Zealand Telephone: 64 4 389-6294 Fax: 64 4 389-6295 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pptc.org.nz