The Medical Research Laboratory MRL a Research Center of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences recently hosted a two-day workshop on ‘Good Clinical Laboratory Practices’ (GCLP) for staff and laboratory personnel.
The workshop was formulated with an objective of providing in-depth understanding of the principles and procedures of GCLP and to introduce for the first time the learning concepts of GCLP to the laboratory personnel and researchers in Fiji.
Dr. Santha Muller who is currently heading the Medical Research Laboratory and the Coordinator of the GCLP workshop is confident that the objectives of the workshop were achieved.
“The objectives were truly covered as we got positive feedback from the participants as well as the resource persons who attended the workshop,” said Dr Muller.
“We had 24 participants, who learnt a great deal of information about GCLP and the way the principles can be applied in the laboratory. It provided a forum for laboratory personnel from different testing laboratories to meet each other and get together to share their laboratory practices and personal experiences,” she said.
Topics discussed included laboratory and equipment safety and maintenance, documentation structure and systems, internal auditing, waste management and ethics in laboratory medicine.
The workshop also gave participants an opportunity to take information from the presentations and relate it to everyday laboratory practices.
Dr Muller said group discussions amongst participants and working through case studies gave all a chance to strengthen their understanding of the principles and how they apply to everyday situations encountered in the lab.
“Another outcome of the workshop was that both organizers and participants realised Fiji’s improvements in terms of laboratory practices but also the hurdles that still must be overcome to achieve GCLP in all labs across the country.”
Facilitators at the workshop included Dr. Karen Nahapetyan from the World Health Organisation, Australian Medical Lab Development Officer Dr. Ximena Tolosa and CMNHS academics.
Dr Muller believes the GCLP workshop has provided comprehensive guidance and practical help with the implementation of GCLP in all their clinical trials.
The next GCLP workshop will be in April 2015.
For more information please contact FNU Communications Office on 3393110.
MEDIA RELEASE