The Human Factor: Competency Assessment Challenges and Opportunities

Dr. Alec Saitman will define competency assessments and outline the key elements they must include. He will also take a closer look at the advantages and challenges of specialization within the framework of competency assessment.

This webinar is part of the series, From CLIA to Competency: Raising the Standards of Excellence in Clinical Laboratory Practice.

Objectives:

• Explain the regulatory requirements for competency assessment under CLIA and accrediting bodies.

• Identify common barriers to performing comprehensive competency assessments across all laboratory staff.

• Evaluate practical strategies for overcoming staffing, documentation, and workflow challenges in competency programs

• Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of staff specialization versus generalist training models.

• Develop approaches to ensure ongoing staff competency that support both compliance and operational efficiency.

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Dr. Alec Saitman, PhD, C(ASCP), DABCC (CC, TC)

Associate Professor and Director of Chemistry and Toxicology

Dr. Alec Saitman completed PhD training in total synthetic organic chemistry at the University of California, San Diego. He then went on to complete fellowship training in Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego. He is board-certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry (ABCC) in Clinical Chemistry and Toxicological Chemistry.

Dr. Saitman is currently an Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) and serves as the director of chemistry and toxicology. His research focuses on the development of small molecule quantitation assays using mass spectrometry. His areas of interest include laboratory stewardship and laboratory informatics. He is particularly interested in establishing efficient production workflows to meet the growing testing demands in his laboratory.

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