Search

The quality management program in the Division of Transfusion Medicine at our institution had evolved to the point that the program generally was perceived to be the sole responsibility of our Quality Unit (which was administratively independent of day-to-day operations). It became clear that this administrative model was counterproductive to our new goal of instilling a responsibility for quality into every work level of our division. Such a culture change requires a considerable, organized educational effort. Quality School was established to meet these particular educational needs. The details of the modular structure of the courses and the initial results of their implementation are described. This Quality School approach was developed specifically for transfusion medicine, but the principles could be applied to any clinical laboratory.

The management of quality in the Division of Transfusion Medicine at our institution has undergone a lengthy, sometimes painful but always progressive evolution over nearly four decades. Initially, it consisted of one laboratory technologist who was assigned the task of performing certain basic QC checks on a predetermined list of laboratory, collection, and processing steps. This technologist reported directly to the medical director. The tasks gradually grew in volume and complexity so that a four-person quality unit was established, administratively quite separate from the operations and accountable only to the Medical Director. The next stage in the evolutionary process was more revolutionary in scope because it involved a comprehensive cultural shift toward the concept of "quality is everyone's responsibility." The evolutionary process in our institution to date and the planning and organization involved in the direction and management of the evolution itself are described.