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Posts posted by tbostock
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I'm on call 24/7. I tell them to consult the policy first. If you try and can't find it anywhere in a policy, ask your coworkers to show you where to find the answer. If nobody else on your shift can point you to it, THEN you call me. Do not guess!
I get a lot more text messages than I do phone calls. Usually they already know the answer, they are just wanting me to confirm their answer. We have quite a few generalists on my eve and night shifts that are not very experienced with difficult BB issues, so I have no problem with them calling me. I would much rather that than a patient gets hurt. I feel like it's part of my job as BB Manager to support them and have them feel confident in asking for help when they need it.
I think the key to "weaning" them from calling too much is giving them really great policies (written very simply so anyone can follow them, even if they have not done the test for a while) and some good flowsheets (which I am still working on) for antibody workups, RhIg workups, etc.
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We have the Bio-Rad Tango and we like it very much. We'll probably upgrade to a Bio-Rad Infinity next year. I like the company, the reliability of the analyzer and some of its features compared to others. Not as many false positives as other analyzers.
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The standard is 2 years usually. But check all of your regulatory/accrediting agencies. For example, NYS Dept of Health requires 10 years for most Blood Bank records.
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Yes, as long as you meet the minimum requirements, you can take the exam. I believe the pass rate is only somewhere around 20% if you do it without an SBB program, but it is certainly possible with a lot of commitment.
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I currently use the Bio-Rad Tango and love it; going to the Infinity next year.
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Availble on AABB website; this is a GREAT study book. Sample questions; not only do they have the correct answer, but they explain why each other answer is wrong. I learned a lot with this book.
Transfusion Med Self-Assessment and Review, 2nd edition
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- List Price:$110.00Sale$61.00
- Your Price:$88.00Sale$48.00
ISBN: 9781563952807 -
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I also use SoftBank with Epic and it works very well. I've heard Sunquest folks have had difficulty interfacing.
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Ours is 60. Insane.
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Lots of eating, some contests and fun giveaways.
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It's regulation heavy, and every Joint Commission inspector I deal with is VERY happy that our OR does not have a refrig. I would say Haemonetics or no deal.
- AMcCord and John C. Staley
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Congrats Phil!!!
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Blood Bank Manager/Tissue Compliance Officer wanted in Middletown, NY
Busy 383 bed hospital looking for experienced Blood Bank Manager. Apply online at http://www.ormccareers.org/
Minimum Education: B.S. degree with major in medical technology or related science required, Masters in Business Administration, or Health Care Administration preferred
Minimum Experience: At least six years’ experience in Blood Bank as a medical technologist with minimum three years Supervisory experience in Blood Bank. Must have a successful track record for achieving desired outcomes.
Required Certification/Registration: NYS MT licensure required. ASCP preferred. BB Specialist preferred.
Responsibilities : Under the direction of the Department Director, assumes primary day to day responsibility of the Blood Bank and serves as Tissue Compliance Officer. Manages the administrative aspects; plans, organizes and directs operations, leads employees and participates in other organizational activities.
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For panels, it's important to follow the manufacturer's instructions. We use Bio-Rad and Ortho panels and they both have different requirements. I wrote an IQCP for panels since I am not performing QC each day of use.
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Yeah, skip this book. Was not helpful to me at all.
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I have a copy of "Passing the First Time". Honestly I didn't find it too helpful. Especially since many of the answers were wrong (a known issue for this book).
This one was helpful for practice questions, not only did it give you the correct answer, but explained why the correct one was correct and why the wrong answers were not: Transfusion Medicine Self-Assessment and Review, 2nd edition, AABB.
- David Saikin, joe0310 and amym1586
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Yes, what goodchild says. My only exception is when a tech needs one K neg unit and screens 20. Ugh...I don't charge the patient 20 when the tech should have known to just screen one or two units.
- tricore, beverleyj, Malcolm Needs and 2 others
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2 hours ago, Belial said:
Tango Infinity ? is it stable and running or has it still some issues ?
The first machine we got was a desaster, having issues every week-.
The infinity is a disaster? Or did you have a Tango Optimo previously?
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2 hours ago, Marianne said:
The fact that some of us are getting conflicting information from CAP is a bit concerning. We implemented the lot to lot on Fetal kits a little over a year ago after being told it was required (like DebbieL). I would hesitate to drop that one unless I had it in writing from Denise Driscoll at CAP that it is not required.
That's because they are usually peer inspectors and they all have different ideas and practices at their laboratories. I would agree with Marianne and get something in writing.
I have had discussions with inspectors over the years over the lot-to-lot thing. So far I have prevailed. We just do it for Fetal kits and RPR reagents. Yes, we still do RPR in the Blood Bank (ugh).
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We did a lab tour one year that was great; they were given a sheet with questions for each part of the lab (so they would interact with the staff). If they filled in the correct answers they received a small bag of candy at the end. For Blood Bank it was "what is the most common blood type", etc. We also had an educational station for each department. After explaining how we read tubes to determine blood type, we showed them one and they had to figure out what the blood type was. In Hemo, they had slides of various diseases to show them (sickle cell, leukemia). In Chem, a demo of our automation and a big poster explaining how hemolysis, clotted samples, lipemia affect results. In Micro, they had a display called "the colors of Micro" with plates showing different organisms that are colored. We had a great turnout, many said that they had no idea what we do in the Lab. Our CEO loved it.
Other fun things: decorate a cookie contest (decorated like white cells, red cells, micro plates, and yes...even a C diff cookie...ewww). Decorate lab coat contest.
And of course food. Way too much food.
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On 3/1/2016 at 9:36 AM, goodchild said:
In a downtime (or locations without Epic BPAM) do you revert to attaching paper tags?
All locations here use BPAM, but yes, we use the old forms for downtime. We have also had to print one in a pinch when BPAM does not work so the patient can get their blood (usually if they don't transfer the patient in Epic from ICU to OR for example...if they don't move them to the new location, the person at the new location can't access BPAM for that patient. VERY frustrating.)
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We can't transfer a patient with blood hanging unless an RN goes with them. So that nurse would be responsible for filling in the data in the EMR after the fact.
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We have in our Patient Blood Management and Nursing Transfusion policy that we encourage single unit transfusions, with re-evaluation after the first to prevent TACO. Also mentioned in our Transfusion Reaction policy (that is a combined BB/Nursing policy) about TACO and how to prevent and react to it.
Old Antibody Cards
in Transfusion Services
Posted
Box them up, but no worries if you don't have a second identifier, those cards are not too helpful. It's a beautiful thing to finally get rid of the cards.