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 MINICOURSE DESCRIPTION: |
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MINICOURSE DESCRIPTION: |
Welcome!You've found the website for the internet minicourse on the Levey-Jennings control chart. This course has been developed by Dr. James O. Westgard, who is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Medical School and also a Principal in Westgard Quality Corporation (WQC). This course is approved at the Basic Level of Instruction for 5 hours of PACE credit by the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS). |
Your instructorJames O. Westgard, Ph.D.
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 The course coordinator
and primary instructor is James O. Westgard, Ph.D., who is pictured
here with fellow instructors Trish Barry, BS, MT(ASCP), and Elsa
Quam, BS, MT(ASCP). |
The Levey-Jennings Minicourse is an online course intended for professionals in Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS). This course is approved at the Basic Level of Instruction for 5 hours of PACE credit. Participants must register with the ASCLS and pass a final exam to receive the credits. The internet materials are being provided on the website of Westgard QC.
This course is intended to provide education and training in
quality control (QC) to a broad audience of healthcare practitioners
who perform laboratory tests in central laboratories, clinic or
outpatient laboratories, and point-of-care settings.
The Levey-Jennings control chart is the workhorses of the laboratory.
For healthcare practictioners who perform laboratory tests, it
is essential that they understand these tools in order assure
the quality of their tests. Control results must be plotted and
interpreted using the Levey-Jennings control charts. Critical
decisions about in-control and out-of-control results are made
on the basis of these charts. Still, many technologist and analysts
are confused about the use and interpretation of results on a
Levey-Jennings chart. This course gives a definitive explanation
of the Levey-Jennings chart, as well as practical advice on how
to use and properly interpret control results on one.
When you complete this course, you will be able to:
The Levey-Jennings minicourse is approved at the Basic Level of Instruction for 5 hours of PACE credit. Participants must register with the ASCLS and pass a final exam to receive the 5 PACE credits.
Lesson 1. What is QC? Do we really
need QC in the laboratory? Why not just assume theinstrument is
perfect? In QC - The Idea, Dr. Westgard presents the concept
of measurement variation and its use to monitor method performance
with the aid of a control chart.
Lesson 2. What is a Levey-Jennings chart?
In QC - The Levey-Jennings chart, Dr. Westgard
and Patricia Barry BS MT(ASCP) describe how to construct a control
chart, how to plot control data, and how to interpret control
results. The QC Plotter, QC Trainer, and QC Checker
online tools allow you to create Levey-Jennings charts, plot data
on them, plot random data on them, and test your interpretation
of randomly generated data on a Levey-Jennings chart.
Lesson 3. What questions do you have about Levey-Jennings charts? You will be able to ask questions via e-mail or via an internet forum. In The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Levey-Jennings charts, questions from current and past course participants are summarized and answers presented on-going "page" that is periodically updated.
