| Speaker: | Dr Lawrence de Koning is an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary and a Clinical Biochemist with Alberta Precision Laboratories (formerly Calgary Laboratory Services) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He completed a PhD in Health Research Methodology (nutritional and genetic epidemiology) from McMaster University in 2009, and concurrent postdoctoral fellowships in nutritional epidemiology and clinical chemistry at Harvard University from 2009-2012. He became board certified in clinical chemistry by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry in 2013 and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry in 2015. Dr de Koning directs the pediatric clinical biochemistry testing laboratory at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dr de Koning’s clinical interests are in pediatric clinical biochemistry as it relates to the acute and chronic care of children with cardiac, metabolic and endocrine disorders. His research interests are in laboratory quality improvement and in the epidemiology of childhood and adult conditions with significant morbidity and mortality. |
| Overview: | Clinical biochemists routinely engage in quality improvement, although they may not always be aware of it. This presentation will describe the basics of quality improvement work and the benefits of publishing key findings. It will feature several projects I have led which have changed laboratory practices and have also been published in laboratory medicine journals. A major theme of this presentation will be methodologic innovation. I will also be reviewing my somewhat non-linear path to clinical biochemistry and focus on this area. |
| Learning Objectives: | At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: 1) Understand important similarities and differences between quality improvement and research. 2) Outline the benefits to publishing quality improvement studies. 3) Describe common project designs and statistical techniques that facilitate quality improvement work. 4) Provide examples of how laboratory data can be used to facilitate quality improvement work. |
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