In every institution, is the dream of the workers to be are ranked number one in their profession in the region. This applies in practically all the professions among them the medical profession. The quality managers of a laboratory determines how credible the laboratory findings and researches will be. However, this quality depends on their efforts together with all the other parties that are associated with the laboratory. In addition, it is only after they have quality services that they will be able to solve some of puzzles that are found in the field of medicine.
However, quality managers alone can not provide quality services at the laboratories. There is a need to understand that for them to achieve this there are some other groups of professionals and individuals that they have to work and associate with. (Cembrowski, G. et al, 1996)
For quality managers to have good laboratory quality, it means that need to have all the necessary equipments that will help them to attend to their duties. Some of these needed equipments are electronic machines which are unpredictable on their performance. They therefore need to collaborate with the technicians who are always readily available to fix the machines should they have a problem. They also need to collaborate with the researchers who are responsible for carrying out researches and studies that may be needed in the laboratory. These are the scientists who research on some issues and then try out or experiment them in the laboratory. (www.fapas.com, 2010)
In addition, quality managers must also rely on distributors. These are the people who distribute the laboratory with the necessary equipments and substances that will be used for the research that will be conducted in the laboratory. Quality managers must also rely on the laboratory administration. These are the people who determine what needs to be done in the laboratory. For the laboratory to be of good quality and high standard it must be legal and the laboratory administration is the one responsible for this. The quality managers also find themselves relying on policy makers in the laboratory. These are the person who arranges when it is the appropriate time for some routine activities to be carried out in the laboratory. They also make the rules and regulations that must be followed in the laboratory other than the universally accepted laboratory laws. This is the group that assigns different tasks to different people or professionals in the laboratory. Such routine activities are measuring, monitoring of activities and subsequent improvement on some practices. (Cembrowski, G. et al, 1996)
There are some benefits that a laboratory can gain by performing a proficiency test. Testing makes the laboratory credible and therefore more customers can know where to get reliable testing. Testing also gives a laboratory a market advantage in that it will be able to get tenders and contracts from government and other high ranking institutions due to its credibility. This is because laboratory proficiency testing is recognized both nationally and internationally. Through proficiency testing, a laboratory is able to know whether it is doing its researches correctly and whether their work is of appropriate standards. (www.fapas.com, 2010)
There are some common weaknesses that are known to appear in performance of a proficiency testing in medical laboratories. The main weakness is found in the process of proficiency testing and it involves calibration which is a core aspect in process. Calibration has never been an exact process and therefore there are attempts that are aimed at reducing the biasness. More tests are therefore conducted as they allow more comparison to be made and therefore if there is a disparity, it is easily noted. In some cases, these attempts are known have even more biases. It also happens that in the medical field, these tests are very expensive and therefore very few people are used in proficiency testing. The more the participants the better the results and thus, since there are fewer people participating in medical laboratories, there are less accurate results obtained. (www.ilac.org, 2010)
In conclusion, there is a need to conduct a proficiency test as it helps the laboratory know whether it meets the required standards. In addition, it improves the credibility of the laboratory and in the process improves the marketability of the laboratory. Even though there are some weaknesses, it is clear that every medical laboratory conduct a proficiency test.
References
Cembrowski, G. et al. (1996, January). Pump up your PT IQ- Proficiency Testing. Retrieved June 5, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3230/is_n1_v28/ai_17901957/pg_3/?tag=content;col1
Crowe, M. (1998). Advantages of Testing Lab. The Business Journal .
www.fapas.com. (2010, May 31). Proficiency Testing. Retrieved June 5, 2010, from http://www.fapas.com/ptintro.cfm
www.ilac.org. (2010). Advantages of An Accredited Laboratory. Retrieved June 5, 2010, from http://www.ilac.org/assets/members_docs/download.php?file=the_advantages_of_being.pdf