25 June 2021 (Friday) - IBMS Newsletter

The IBMS sent their newsletter today. I mention it because I feel I should mention my professional body, and because it is they who will pass judgement on how good (or not!) I am doing with recording my CPD.

However…

I do feel (rather strongly) that as far as CPD goes I have (yet again) been let down by them. Again the newsletter is very light on anything practical; preferring to focus on people. I suppose that the IBMS Newsletter is only as good as the articles they get sent. I *really* should stop grumbling about it and start contributing…

24 June 2021 (Thursday) - NEQAS Parasitology

Two months ago I looked at the NEQAS parasitology blood film CPD. Today I finally got to see the result.
At the time I saw:

 

2102 PA1  No parasites seen (100)

2102 PA2   Microfilaria (105)

 

I got both correct.

24 June 2021 (Thursday) - NEQAS Blood Films

Two months ago I looked at the NEQAS blood film CPD. Today I finally got to see the result.

 

At the time I saw:

 

2103BF1    Sickle cells           (013)  Target cells         (010)  NRBCs                   (022)  Polychromasia   (005)  Fragments          (012)    ? sickle cell crisis

2103 BF2    Target cells                         (010)  Howell-Jolly bodies         (020)  Macrocytosis                     (003)  Spherocytes                       (016)  Fragments                          (012)    ?? post splenectomy (poor film)

 

The top ten features (and diagnosis) were

 

2103BF1    Sickle cells           (013)  NRBCs                   (022)  Polychromasia   (005)  Howell-Jolly bodies         (020)  Target cells         (010)    Fragments came in at #8   This was indeed a case of sickle cell crisis

2103 BF2    Howell-Jolly bodies         (020)  Target cells                         (010)  NRBCs                   (022)  Hypochromia Macrocytosis                     (003)    Fragments came in at #7 and spherocytes  at #10   This was a post splenectomy case. No mention was made of the poor film quality though.

 

I’ll take that as having got it right…

23 June 2021 (Wednesday) - BTLP - TACT Excercise

It has been a while since I last did a BTLP-TACT exercise… So I thought I might crack on with one.
I pressed the button, and immediately got the “spinning wheel of nothing happening” which is the bane of much IT these days. Eventually I was presented with two cases: 

02560 – a ninety-seven year-old woman going for surgery requiring group & save.

She typed as A Rh(D) Negative with a weakly positive antibody screen (1+ in cells 1 & 2)

I requested antibody panels. The IAT and enzyme panels were positive in cells 1, 2 and 3 and negative in all others. This is consistent with anti-D but doesn’t rule out anti-Cw

53086 – a twenty-five year-old woman in the maternity unit also requiring group & save

She too typed as A Rh(D) Negative but with a negative antibody screen 

I got the green light.

21 June 2021 (Monday) - Feeling Appreciated

 

I’ve not written up much CPD over the last week – I’ve had some time off. I came back to work today t find a letter of thanks…

It is good to feel appreciated…

15 June 2021 (Tuesday) - HCPC Newsletter

The HCPC sent their newsletter today. I particularly liked the bit about reflective practice… Having a post-graduate certificate in the stuff I still find it difficult to do. There is a world of difference between thinking about what you’ve just done and blathering platitudes in a shallow attempt to pretend you’ve done something you don’t understand.