Education

Kansas City Area: Community Blood Center in Kansas City, All conferences will be held at 1 PM in the 2nd Floor Classroom.

Wichita attendees please RSVP to Brent Yoder at yoderb@usa.redcross.org or at 316-268-0879

Changes to CT Standards - Wichita ARC

February 10, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: This program introduces the 4th edition of Standards for Cellular Therapy Product Services. The speakers will summarize the new and revised requirements incorporated into the 4th edition. In addition, the rationale for the changes will be reviewed.

Problem Solving: It's Not All About the Reactions - Kansas City CBC; St Louis ARC Locations and Wichita ARC

February 24, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: Sometimes patient samples may present confusing, complex and conflicting serologic findings. In other patients with straight-forward-appearing serology, there may be information that would drive the experienced clinician and/or technologist to question the serology results. In both of these cases, the clinical and serologic history, current therapies and additional serologic investigation will assist the clinician in making informed decisions regarding patient treatment and management. This presentation will include case studies illustrating the problem solving process.

Distance Education: Is it an Answer to the Personnel Shortage? - Kansas City CBC

March 24, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: Education using the internet has changed the normal paradigm of face-to-face lectures. With creativity and innovation, more people can have access to education and training. Along with change comes unique problems or concerns; distance education is not immune from problems. Universities and Specialist in Blood Banking programs are developing more distance education programs for different types of students. This session will present how one university uses distance education at the medical technology level, review the results of a distance Specialist in Blood Bank Technology program and examine the opinions of a clinical rotation supervisor regarding problems encountered in on-line learning.

Complications of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation - Wichita ARC

April 14, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: This program will explore complications of hematopoietic cell transplantation that have relevance to blood bank practices and the use of blood bank resources. Topics to be covered include thrombotic microangiopathy, bleeding and thrombosis, and infectious hepatitis. Instructional methods will include review of pathophysiological mechanisms, published data and management algorithms.

Coding and Reimbursement - Kansas City CBC and St Louis ARC Locations

April 21, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: Payment for blood and related services is subject to a complex array of difficult to understand coding and billing policies. In this program, new coding and billing rules for blood products and related services – including the latest Medicare policies – will be explained. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about transfusion medicine billing issues.

Addressing Common Citations: AABB and CAP - Kansas City CBC and St Louis ARC Locations

May 5, 2010    1 PM

Event Description: The AABB and the College of American Pathologists accreditation programs provide assessment teams to assist in the continual improvement of laboratory quality, safety, and operations. This audio conference will present the most common citations encountered by AABB and CAP assessors in 2009 and provide suggestions on how to avoid noncompliance. Experts will help you identify best practices based on accreditation standards to maintain and enhance your facility’s technical performance.

Effective Auditing of Blood Ordering and Utilization - Kansas City and St Louis ARC Locations

May 19, 2010    1 PM

Event Description: Assessment of blood bank and transfusion services is a Quality System Essential that requires a well developed strategy for data collection and the analysis of the data. The importance of blood ordering and utilization assessment through monitoring and audits are not only critical in patient outcome but also are needed in management of limited resources. While ordering of blood products is the responsibility of the physician, the ordering and utilization of blood products can be greatly influenced by the medical guidance from the blood bank or transfusion service. This audio conference will provide principles of audits including data collection, measurement thresholds that trigger an audit, analysis of data, and process improvement. Case studies will be discussed.

Use of Electronic Tools in Performing Audits of Transfusion - Kansas City CBC

June 2, 2010    1 PM

Event Description: Process and outcome improvement in blood ordering and utilization is achievable through analysis of data collected. Establishment of blood measures or indicators that are evidence-based and accepted by attending physicians are parameters for data collection. Collection of the data can be tedious and time consuming; however, manual or automated tools can facilitate the process. Tools are also available either through the information technology system or office computer software for analysis of data. The audio conference will discuss electronic tools that can facilitate data collection and analysis in performing audits.

Collection of HPC Apheresis - Wichita ARC

August 4, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: HPC apheresis products are the primary source of grafts in autologous and allogeneic adult hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The quality of the product has an impact not only on engraftment but also on the long-term outcomes of the patients. This program will focus on different parameters that affect the quality of the products as well as the ways to improve product quality. In addition, donor characteristics in both the autologous and allogeneic setting and their effect on the collection will be reviewed.

Hot Topics in Transfusion Medicine - Kansas City CBC; St Louis ARC Locations and Wichita ARC

August 25, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: What issues will be the most pressing ones in transfusion medicine in 2010? Three experts in the field will discuss timely issues and answer questions from the audience. Paul D. Mintz, MD, editor of the AABB text Transfusion Therapy: Clinical Principles and Practice; John Roback, MD, PhD, editor of the AABB Technical Manual; and Paul Ness, MD, editor of the journal TRANSFUSION, will select from topics submitted by the audience shortly before the audio conference that represent the current problems facing physicians and technologists in transfusion. Join us for an opportunity to hear from the experts regarding pressing subjects in the field.

Platelet Antibody Case Studies - St Louis ARC Locations

September 1, 2010 1 PM

Event Descriptions: The first half will provide an overview of basic platelet antibodies (allo, auto and drug induced antibodies), the testing methods used to detect and identify various types of platelet antibodies, as well as provide some insight as to what sorts of technical problems can be seen when performing platelet testing. The second half will answer a number of questions with regards to the clinical side of platelet transfusions and refractoriness. What leads to refractoriness? Can alloimmunization be prevented (e.g. the TRAP trial data)? What products are the best for patients with antibodies that may or may not have refractory issues? Does ABO type play a role in patients with antibodies? Lecture and case study will be the instruction method.

Continuiing Education on a Limited Budget - Kansas City CBC

September 22, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: In an environment of continuing budget constraints, providing quality educational opportunities for the blood banker is a challenge. This audio conference will present tools that can be used for blood bank education and training programs, keeping in mind time, financial and other resource limitations. Use of current web-based applications and how they can be adapted to blood bank education will be discussed. The appropriate use and preparation of blood samples will be reviewed.

Personnel Matters: What Supervisors Should Know - Kansas City CBC

October 13, 2010 1 PM

Event Description: Supervisors have a challenging enough task to engage and retain a workforce without having to deal with the consequences that may result from personnel issues related to employment laws. To avoid problems of this nature, supervisors need a basic understanding of significant employment laws such as Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and, for federal contractors, the Affirmative Action obligations under Executive Order 11246. This program will familiarize supervisors with the basic information about each law and suggest when it is appropriate to consult with one’s Human Resources department. Secondly, the program will briefly review what supervisors should know about labor unions and what they can or cannot do in a unionizing effort. Finally, participants will learn how to document employee performance in a manner that effectively prevents employment claims and makes such claims easier to defend.

Blood Management Overview: A Hospital Perspective - Kansas City CBC; St Louis ARC Locations and Wichita ARC

October 27, 2010    1 PM

Event Description: Blood bankers are increasingly involved in helping clinicians understand how to use products and also when not to use products. Since its establishment in 2001, the blood management program at St. Vincent Hospital in Indiana has reduced hospital transfusions by over 30%. The medical director of the program will discuss the details of implementing this kind of strategic blood management program. The medical director of transfusion services at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston will share the application of a blood management program in a large surgical hospital using an interdisciplinary approach. As blood management achieves new awareness with The Joint Commission, all involved with the distribution and utilization of blood will want to attend this audio conference.

Transfusion Management of Obstetric Hemorrhage - St Louis ARC Locations and Wichita ARC

November 3, 2010

Event Description: Obstetric patients often present with a normal delivery and birth of a baby. There are no complications and mom and baby usually go home within a day or two. But what happens when thing do not go as planned. A bleeding obstetric patient may present with many challenges that are not easy to handle. This audioconference will look at why OB patients hemorrhage and talk about providing OB transfusion protocols.

Antibodies: Coming in from the Cold - Kansas City CBC and Wichita ARC

November 17, 2010    1 PM

Event Description: This audio conference will provide a brief overview of what a cold agglutinin, both allo and auto, is in blood banking. It will look into ways that blood banks are currently resolving cold-reacting allo and auto antibody issues, in particular, how blood banks can determine if any other clinically significant antibodies are present. Finally, it will look into the typical clinical issues associated with cold agglutinins, especially in situations involving a cardiac patient.

On-line Continuing Education opportunities can be be found at the following websites.

American Society of Clinical Pathology

American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science

Clinical laboratory Management Association

BioMarker E-Symposium

Discovery Health CME

TraQ Program: Case Studies

NOW ON SALE:                   4-DISC DVD set of the 36^thAnnual Meeting

                                           The North Carolina Association of Blood Bankers

September 15-16, 2008

Click here for details!!!

Certification Programs

For information on Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB) and Blood Bank (BB) certification contact AABB Education Department at education@aabb.org

AABB OnLine

The AABB web site aabb.org contains facts about donating and receiving blood, message board for feedback and interactive sessions, listing of meetings across the nation, FDA reports and monthly updates.

Other Regional Blood Bank Associations

Kentucky Association of Blood Banks

South Central Association of Blood Banks:   Texas; Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

                                              Illinois Association of Blood Banks

                                         Indiana State Association of Blood Banks

                                                   The North Carolina Association of Blood Bankers



For information on blood donation, click one of these links:

America's Blood Centers
It's About Life

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