Today
togethr with two huundred and sixty others I was sent to the 17th
annual participant's meeting of NEQAS for general haematology. A day
of lectures.... would like to coment on the introduction but I
couldn't hear a word. For the rest of the sessions:
PLENARY
SESSION
Health
Education
This
was a very inteeresting session in which a speaker froom Health
Education England speculated on the future of healthcare; predicting
a major move into preventative medicine. I did like the fact that
(like me) the chap felt that poor press coverage was not
helping NHS recruitment. The chap touched on how difficult it is to
plan years in advance, and had one or two ideas.
Incredibly
thoght-provoking.... but not really relevent to me...
Pathology
Quality Review
I
thought that with the word "pathology" in the title this
might be interesting. But a droning speaker who could only talk in
meaningless acronyms sent me to sleep.
I
am told I didn't snore.
EDUCATIONAL
SESSION
Hb
Measurement
An
interesting insight into the variation of Hb levels between men and
women in venous and capilary samples. Apparently it's not just
huumans in which this difference happens. I learrned about the
Fahreus effect (!)
Cell
Counting in Fluids
There
would seem to be new guidelines on the matter from the ICSH. The
bottom line was that if anyone is going to do anything with an
analyser that the manufacturer hasn't specifically built it to do,
one has to have evidence to back up the validity of what one is
doing.
Rather
obvious really..... it was a shame that wwhat could have been useful
sent me to sleep.
Red
cell Membranopathies
The red cell cytoskeleton
(and its malfunctions) ha always been an interest of mine. But
devoting so much valuable time to an obscure condition such as
hereditary stomatocytosis seemed rather an odd thing to do. I nodded
off again.
AFTERNOON
SESSION
Devices
and Trend Analysis
The
MHRA are bringing in software to analyse error reporting as the MHRA
fervently hope that the amount of people squealing and
tittle-tattling gooes through the roof. Perhaps I am being flippant;
there *is* a place for error reporting. But it's getting out of hand.
Having
said that, this was one of the day's better talks and I stayed awake.
Automated
Counting Update
There
would seem to be changes afoot; NEQAS schemes for NRBC and ESR. And
"traffic lights" for poor performances.
The
speaker then touched on EQA analysis in his home laboratory. Much
like what I do aready myself, but with more peope in his team he
could do far more.
Haemoglobinopathy
Update
Oh
dear. This could have been so good, but the focus was on DNA
techniques which are used by only nine labs in the country.
More
snoring from me...
Mophology
Update
Fascinating.
A serious consideration of how one error in identification can send
one down entirrely the wrong track. I found this especially relevent
to me for reasons that anyone wo knows me would sympathise with.
Overall
the day was a mixed one. All sessions were interesting, but (in
all honesty) few were really relevent to my day-to-day duties.
For all that I did find many of the topics thought-provoking, had I
known in advance that it was going to be "all talk"
rather than "hands-on-useful" I'm not sure I would
have gone.
I
might suggest that
- Future events not focus on laboratory techniques used only by a tiny minority,
- Speakers be more concise and less soporific
- Whan asking for questions, the staff identify those delegates who only want to hear the sound of their own voces and sto handing the microophone to them
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