Competency assesments
Hi All - I'm a pretty new POCC (March 2019) starting the POC program at my large clinic (POC testing has been going on for years, but no one was ever in charge and it's just a big mess). Anyway, I recently found out that our pulmonary department has been running the moderate complexity CG4 test for Arterial Blood Gas on the Abbott iSTAT for years. There is only one person running the test - she has many years experience (although she is new to our organization). I am wondering how to assess her competency - since no one else runs the test I don't know who I could consider a technical consultant. I have never worked in a blood gas department, so I don't think I qualify. I'm sure she can't assess herself (and anyway I also don't think she would qualify as her degree is BS in healthcare admin rather than in a lab/chemical/physical science). We are CLIA only, not CAP or TJC. Any advice?
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Your CLIA Lab Director should qualify as a TC and may need to perform the assessments until there is someone else that they could delegate the task to.
Is this all under the same CLIA, or does pulmonary have a separate CLIA? The medical director who holds the CLIA is responsible for assessing competency of any testing personnel under that CLIA. Your operator definitely qualifies as testing personnel, but would not qualify as a technical consultant. If you are the technical consultant for i-STAT you could assess her competency as far as performing the test, even though you have not worked in a blood gas department. You would have to be designated as technical consultant by the medical director of that CLIA site, if you are not already designated. If the operator is new to your organization, then she would need the 6-month competency as well.
Thank you!