Education and training in blood transfusion safety
Education and training is fundamental to every aspect of blood safety but evidence from the WHO Global Database on Blood Safety 1998-1999 indicates that 72% of countries are unable to meet their identified training needs, even though many of the factors threatening the safety of the global blood supply can be attributed, in part, to inadequate training. This is due to limited budgets, inadequate facilities and insufficient numbers of experienced trainers make it impossible to meet the training needs of large numbers of staff who may be scattered over wide geographical areas.
The BTS aims to:
- Assist in strengthening national capacity in education and training in all aspects of blood transfusion;
- Support the establishment of sustainable national education and training programmes in blood transfusion;
- Strengthen inter- and intra-regional collaboration in training in blood transfusion between WHO and its Collaborating Centres, national blood transfusion services, education and training institutions, and nongovernmental organization.
Distance learning programme in blood transfusion safety
Even where suitable training facilities and personnel exist, services may be unable to release staff for prolonged periods and many individuals are unwilling to leave their families to attend a lengthy course. In practice, opportunities for training are often not available for those who most need it, particularly for staff working in small hospital blood banks without easy access to training institutions. Many have received inadequate training in the past and work under limited supervision. Even where in-service training is available, it is often provided by staff who themselves may not have had opportunities for updating or further training. As a result, there may be considerable variations in the quality of training-and therefore in the quality of staff performance.
Recognizing the practical constraints facing countries that wish to expand their training programmes but do not have the resources or facilities to do so by conventional means, the Blood Transfusion Safety Team has included distance learning as a key element in its strategy to support national training initiatives.
Distance learning is a decentralized approach to delivering education and training in which much of the teaching-learning process takes place outside conventional training institute. Distance learning is widely used in professional and vocational education throughout the world, but not has been previously used in the field of blood transfusion. The WHO BTS has included distance learning in its strategy to support training in blood safety because it offers blood transfusion services a cost-effective way of expanding their training activities when resources and facilities are limited. It is not meant to replace other approaches, but to be used in conjunction with existing training programmes.
Related documents
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Distance learning in blood safety. a flexible, cost-effective approach to staff development
pdf, 69kb
