SLS staffers.
CAY HILL--Fifteen phlebotomists of St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS) recently successfully completed a two-week course organised through the American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians.
Continuous certification of SLS team members is part of SLS efforts to secure international accreditation according to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 15189 for Medical Laboratories and the ISO 17025 for Environmental Laboratories. SLS aims to be ISO-accredited by the end of 2019.
Team members who took the course completed one or both of the theoretical and practical parts of the exam. A few members only took the practical exam, as this was needed to renew their certificate. The last course was in 2016 and the certificate is valid for two years.
The course was held in November last year, but because the theoretical exams were sent to the American Society of Phlebotomy Technicians headquarters in the USA, the results and certificates came back to SLS recently and were handed out to members on Friday, February 22, followed by a “happy hour” to celebrate “this wonderful accomplishment,” SLS said.
The SLS management team four years ago began preparations to apply for international accreditation. Being accredited requires a laboratory to have a high level of quality and competence to deliver timely, accurate and reliable results. As part of the accreditation, the laboratory’s quality management system (documented procedures of all laboratory processes) is thoroughly evaluated to ensure continued technical competence and compliance with the ISO norm.
Currently SLS has a vast number of documented procedures available in the laboratory as part of its quality management system. One of these documents describes the “sample collection” process as part of the “pre-analytical phase.” A part of this document states that SLS employees dealing with the “withdrawal of blood from patients” (called phlebotomists) are to be continuously certified.
Sample collection (pre-analytical phase) is the first step in the process of acquiring quality results, so it is important for the phlebotomist to provide a precise and accurate sample, SLS said.
“The entire staff of SLS N.V. is extremely proud of all 15 team members for following this extensive Phlebotomy course and successfully passing. Each person worked very hard, which resulted in the positive results,” SLS said in a press release.
