Cervical Cytology
Quality assurance
Objective |
- Understand the concepts of quality assurance, quality control and quality standards
- Be aware of the main sources of error in cervical cytology and understand the reason for introducing IQA and EQA into the laboratory
- Understand the significance of a false negative smear report and how the risk of false negative reporting can be minimised
- Be aware of the main systems of IQA and EQA and how they are applied to laboratory procedures
- Understand the routine laboratory work flow in the cytology laboratory and the process of tiered screening and reporting protocols
In addition an advanced practitioner should:
- Improve their knowledge of IQA and EQA procedures and how to set and achieve quality standards
- Understand the role of managers and senior cytotechnologists in the cytology laboratory
- Understand how to monitor the screening program at local, regional and national level
- Understand some basic statistical methods of monitoring laboratory performance
On completion of this section the cytotechnologist should know: