Oral Presentation Australian Institute of Medical Scientists National Scientific Meeting 2013

Accreditation updates in Medical Testing (#26)

Andrew Griffin 1
  1. NATA, ABBOTSFORD, VIC, Australia


Medical Testing Surveillance cycle and ISO 15189:2012
The Medical Testing accreditation assessment cycle has undergone significant changes this year. ISO 15189:2012 was also introduced on assessments on 1 July 2013.

The initial part of the presentation will include an update on the changes and any feedback received thus far.

Competency assessment
Staff induction and training in the tasks and activities expected of any new staff member is a matter of routine in all workplaces. Once staff are able to demonstrate competency in these tasks they are generally signed off by supervisory staff and the subsequent training records retained.

Ongoing competency assessments are also recognised as an integral part of good laboratory practice. Just because a staff member has been trained at some point in the past it may not automatically mean they are able to demonstrate competence in all tasks expected of them in the future.

NATA expects records of competency assessment to be available on assessment and reviews the process a facility uses to perform these activities. As in most things there is no one right or wrong way of performing these tasks. Continuing professional development (CPD)


What opportunities do organisations offer their staff for CPD? The provision of a CPD program has been mandatory for many years, What do facilities offer and how does the assessment process confirm CPD programs are made available to staff.

Scopes of Accreditation
NATA is undertaking a project to review how facilities Scopes of Accreditation are published. The emphasis of this project is to allow for uniform scopes across fields of accreditation.