Global Outreach conducts Advanced Hematology Training in Guyana

In February 2009, ASCP Global Outreach staff and consultants traveled to Georgetown, Guyana to conduct their first Advanced Hematology training. The five day workshop took place at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL). ASCP staff member Shannon Castle accompanied consultants Karen Brown, MS, MT (ASCP) and Vincent Gallicchio, PhD, MT (ASCP) during the training.

While the department has already held basic hematology trainings in eight PEPFAR countries, the workshop held in Guyana was the first that went beyond the basics and provided more in-depth knowledge and hands-on activities.  The workshop was designed to provide participants with information about normal cellular maturation and morphology, hematologic disease conditions, haemostatic processes and procedures, and morphologic changes that occur in various abnormalities.  “For a first training, this workshop flowed very well,” Castle noted. The curriculum, originally created by the Pre-Service workgroup for university students, was a modified version for adult learners.

In addition to the new subject matter, participants had the opportunity each day to put into practice what they’d learned. Coupled with case studies, they performed several hands-on exercises, including preparing, staining, and reviewing blood smears for RBC, WBC, platelet morphology, and selected leukemias. “The participants really enjoyed the format of the new training and the immediate application of knowledge that the activities provided,” Castle explained.

Brown immeasurably enriched the exercices by providing a collection of peripheral blood smears for the participants to study. “Karen Brown’s passion for the subject was really appreciated by the students,” Castle commented, noting that the students were equally passionate and grateful for the opportunity to attend the training. “One unexpected by-product of this training,” she continued, “was that the participants were able to gain insight, advice, and recommendations by networking and interacting with their colleagues.”

Pleased at the success of this first advanced hematology training, Castle added, “We will definitely be conducting this training for other countries in the future.”