Report of CME held on 6th February, 2010.

“Dry Chemistry in Clinical Laboratory-Changing Trends with Newer Concepts”

St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences (SJNAHS), is one of the esteemed providers of excellent medical education and care together with ethical values and principles of morality. The institution seeks to make a qualitative contribution to health care, medical education and research through the training of medical and paramedical students. As a part of this training programme and keeping in mind the important role of technologists, paramedical and preclinical students in “Better Patient Care” through laboratory services, the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, St. John’s Medical College Hospital, held a CME series-III, entitled “Dry Chemistry in Clinical Laboratory-Changing Trends with Newer Concepts” on 6th February, 2010 as a continuum of the earlier CME Series I during March 2008 and Series II on 29th November 2008 on Semi-automation and Complete Automation in Clinical Laboratory.

The CME was conducted under the banner of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), Karnataka. The financial support for the event was extended by RGUHS, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, division of Johnson & Johnson limited and BD Diagnostics- Prenanalytical Systems.

The registration of the participants started at 8.30 am on 6th February 2010, in the 2nd floor mini auditorium, St. John’s Medical College Hospital. The CME kit given to the participants comprised of a bag with a notepad and pen along with a CD containing presentations of speakers. We had 253 enthusiastic participants from more than 20 different institutions from Bangalore, Mangalore and Gulbarga. The participants were a blend of healthcare professionals, academicians and undergraduate and postgraduate students. The audience clearly reflected the growing interest in the emerging new concepts in the field of Biochemistry. The registration was followed by breakfast.

The dignitaries for the CME were the Guest Of Honor Dr. Vasantha Kumar, Registrar-RGUHS, Rev.Dr. Lawrence D’souza, Director-SJNAHS, Rev Fr. Prakash Sagili, Joint Associate Director-SJMCH, Rev.Fr. Matthew Kattiyangal, Associate Director-SJMC, Dr. Karuna Rameshkumar, Vice Dean-SJMC, Dr. Adarsh Pal Singh, Sr. Manager, Medical affairs-China and India-BD Diagnostics and Mr. Rajesh mani, Business manager-South, OCD, Johnson and Johnson Ltd..

The inaugural function started at 10.00am with an introduction from Dr. Geraldine Menezes, the Organizing Secretary followed by a welcome song and Invocation from Post graduate students. The chairperson of CME, Dr. Sultana Furruqh, Professor and HOD, Department of Biochemistry, In-charge, Clinical Biochemistry, welcomed the dignitaries. This was followed by the lighting of the lamps. The key note addresses were given by Dr. Vasantha Kumar, Dr. Adarsh Pal Singh and Mr. Rajesh Mani. Dr. Karuna Rameshkumar addressed the gathering with an encouraging message. The presidential address was given by Rev. Dr. Lawrence D’souza. Dr. Prem Pais, Dean-SJMC, Rev. Fr. Glen Mascarenhas-Finance Director, SJNAHS and Rev. Fr. Immanuel Raj, Associate Director–SJMCH, in absentia sent their good and prayerful wishes for the CME.

The CME had esteemed speakers who enlightened the participants not only on various applications of Dry chemistry, but also on Laboratory Quality Management, soft skills in patient handling and time management in laboratory practices. The sessions were absorbing and very interesting. A feedback form was given to all the participants for the evaluation of speakers and various other aspects of this event to be assessed subsequently by the CME committee. Nandini Palace catered to our culinary needs from beginning to end.

The technical session-I started at 11.00 am after the inaugural function. The first speaker, Dr. Harish Ahuja, Consultant Pathologist, Jaslok Hospital, discussed the importance of lab results with regard to the patient and stressed on the very important role played by the laboratories in the management of patients. He also familiarized the participants with the various regulations to be followed in the laboratory to ensure accuracy, reliability and timeliness of the reports.

The second speaker Dr. Adarsh Pal Singh from BD Diagnostics-Preanalytical Systems, emphasized on the Quality improvements that can be made in laboratory systems especially with regard to pre- analytical variability. He focused not only on the various pre-analytical errors that can occur, but also discussed the key challenges in fixing pre- analytical variables and the strategy for pre-analytical error reduction. He made the talk very interesting by additionally discussing a few situations of pre-analytical errors that he had come across.

The third speaker Dr. Cheirmaraj, Business Executive – Application Support, Johnson & Johnson Ltd., focused on the use of microslide technology as a way to reduce pre-analytical errors. He elaborated on the principle behind microslide technology, its advantage over wet chemistry, and also the various benefits to the laboratory on using dry chemistry. It was a very informative session and threw a lot of light on the newer technologies developed.

The fourth speaker Dr. Srinivas - Sr. Consultant - Pathology & Lab Med, MIOT Hospitals, enlightened the participants about POCT in hospitals. He discussed the forces of POCT, the challenges and the benefits of POCT. He also gave information on immunochromatography and the use of nanotechnology in laboratories.

The fifth speaker Dr. Chitrasree, Associate Consultant-Lab Services, Madras Medical Mission, provided us with a bird’s eye view of dry chemistry in laboratories. She discussed the evolution and the principle involved in dry chemistry. She also focused on the quality goals and criteria to be met for good analytical performance.

The sixth speaker Dr. Raghunath, Director, Educational services, Narayana Hrudayalaya, focused on the evolution of electrolyte measurement. He discussed the various methods of electrolyte measurement and also stressed on the newer methods involving dry chemistry and the benefits associated with them.

The seventh speaker, Dr. Shilpa Prabhudesai, Consultant Pathologist, Triesta Reference Laboratory, Health Care Global, emphasized the importance of soft skills in a laboratory. She discussed the soft skills with special importance to etiquette and communication. She equipped the participants with ability to deal with the different kinds of situations encountered in the laboratory or with the patients.

The last speaker for the day was Dr. Sultana Furruqh. In her first presentation, she deliberated on Laboratory Quality Management and emphasized the importance of establishing a Policy, Quality System Essentials, Quality Processes, Procedures and Maintenance of Forms and Records. In her second presentation, she discussed the importance of Turn Around Time and its use in determining the patient treatment followed by Time management by Laboratory personnel.

At the end of the technical sessions there was quiz organized by Johnson & Johnson Ltd., “Kaun Banega Gyanpati”. The participants actively participated in this. The quiz covered all the talks given by the speakers and served as a very good exercise for the participants. It was enjoyable and well appreciated by the participants.

The valedictory function started at 4.45 pm. The BMLT students and Bond staff of our institution entertained the participants with a dance medley. This was followed by distribution of certificates to the participants by the dignitaries. The National Anthem was played at the end to mark the conclusion of the CME. The participants were provided with high tea before their departure.

Overall, the deliberations successfully sensitized the participants to the spectrum of newer concepts in Dry Chemistry. The sessions also enabled them in acquiring skills pertaining to laboratory management. The evaluation of the feedback form also showed the rating as EXCELLENT and indicated their desire to attend frequently the CME of this magnitude held by Biochemistry Department, St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences.