Lab Matters Summer 2018 | Page 91

APHL 2018 Annual Meeting Poster Abstracts

CDC ’ s Division of Laboratory Systems ( DLS ) provides leadership and support to enhance the clinical and public health laboratory workforce through initiatives that strengthen recruitment , retention , management and training . Several resources and activities are helping individual scientists , organizations and laboratory communities prepare to meet the needs of the 21st century laboratory workforce . Training courses and programs , which are available in person and virtually , help scientists learn evolving practices , combat emerging threats and improve their safety and quality of practice . The training offered is innovative and convenient , featuring state-of-the-art video and graphics production in a variety of formats . Over 30 free courses across a variety of topics are offered each year . Participants regularly rate courses positively and the majority report implementing new or improved laboratory procedures as a result of training . All training courses can be accessed at www . cdc . gov / labtraining . The 2015 Competency Guidelines for Public Health Laboratory Professionals were published through a collaboration between DLS and APHL ( www . cdc . gov / labcompetencies ); and these are intended to form the foundation for training and workforce development initiatives . The Competency Guidelines help improve the workforce in a variety of ways , including providing a guiding framework for : producing education , training and fellowship programs ; identifying worker roles and job responsibilities ; assessing individual performance and organizational capacity ; and guiding staff professional development . A robust suite of tools and resources — the Competency Implementation Toolbox — is now available to help laboratories implement behavior-based competencies into laboratory and human resource practices . DLS has also recently embarked on a Workforce Assessment of Laboratory Communities ( WALC ), an effort to identify critical training and workforce development needs and gaps within the national clinical and public health laboratory communities . This effort will better position DLS along with its public health laboratory and clinical laboratory partners to develop , implement and coordinate effective training programs and workforce development initiatives that address challenges in the workforce . A wealth of training and workforce development resources are currently accessible to the public or are in development to help support a competent , prepared and sustainable national and global laboratory workforce .

Presenter : Renee Ned-Sykes , MMSc , PhD , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta , GA , Phone : 404.498.0125 , Email : rin1 @ cdc . gov

Public Health Laboratory Internship with the United States Naval Academy : Experiences of the Inaugural Year

M . Vignoles , E . Quaye , S . White and L . Gillis , Florida Bureau of Public Health Laboratories-Miami , Miami , FL

During the spring of 2017 , the Bureau of Public Health Laboratories ( BPHL ) -Miami and the United States Naval Academy ( USNA ), Annapolis , MD , established a Public Health Laboratory internship for USNA midshipmen with the goals of exposing the students to the roles and responsibilities of the public health laboratory . Following several months of program and curriculum development by BPHL-Miami staff , three midshipmen spent approximately three weeks at BPHL-Miami learning and training alongside experienced laboratorians , partner epidemiologists and county environmental health staff . The USNA interns gained hands-on experience at the bench level as well as participated in guest lectures presented by

State and Federal subject matter experts , national webinars and trainings , a tabletop case study exercise and field excursions to witness public health in action . In addition , the interns selected a project and made presentations on their last day at the laboratory . To determine the effectiveness of the new USNA intern program , pre- and post-internship knowledge assessments were performed . An opportunity for final evaluations , including suggestions for improvements , was provided for the interns . The internship was well-received by both the midshipmen and the USNA and plans are underway to host the program in 2018 ; applications for the internship have increased 167 % for the upcoming summer program .

Presenter : Stephen White , MS , MLS ( ASCP ), Florida Department of Health , Bureau of Public Health Laboratories-Miami , Miami , FL , Phone : 305.325.2538 , Email : stephen . white @ flhealth . gov

Public Health Laboratory Internship and Employee Engagement — What the Student Leaves Behind

S . Mikorski and S . Robinson , New Jersey Department of Health , Ewing , NJ

Overview - The value of a public health laboratory internship program is demonstrated through the benefits derived by students , the laboratory and the department . In tangible terms , this can be measured as return on investment ( ROI ) of financial input versus outcome . Though , the intangible side of the transaction is where true value can be articulated and appreciated , if not always readily measured . PHEL is presenting its internship program and highlighting the value the laboratory derives through the internship by improved employee engagement ; by “ telling a story ” from the viewpoint of a QAO ’ s experience as an intern mentor . In the process of developing the New Jersey PHEL ’ s internship program , four overarching goals were identified :

1 . to serve student needs for real world experience , 2 . the laboratory ’ s need for visibility , 3 . pursuit of operational and scientific “ back burner ” projects 4 . the employee mentor ’ s need for professional development .

All four goals are met in part through each internship to varying extents . This story highlights the impact of an internship on the mentor .

Project : Approached by NJDOH Outreach manager , laboratory personnel were asked to work with college interns to provide exposure to work experiences in a public health environmental laboratory . The initial introduction to QA began with providing the intern a copy of the laboratory ’ s Quality Assurance Manual . Next the intern shadowed analysts performing various analytical methods . This exposure to laboratory operations led to interactive discussions between the QA officer and intern on how and why each activity in the QA Manual and test performance relate to regulatory requirements . The first consideration for a project was to create a power point presentation correlating to the eleven chapters of the QA manual . It was later changed to a poster depicting universal QA practices in the laboratory representing the three stages : pre-analytical , analytical and post analytical . New employee in-service training was then added to emphasize the importance of introducing all employees to QA and Safety protocols at the onset of laboratory employment .

Outcome : An educational QA poster entitled “ Quality Assurance Yields Quality Data ” was created to highlight and bring attention to QA practices and protocols . In addition to the poster and the students newly found knowledge and skills , the mentor gains much

Workforce Development