Lab Matters Fall 2023 | Page 114

APHL 2023 POSTER ABSTRACTS

the preferred learning methods . The pandemic has changed the methods in which professionals receive training . Now the top five professional development resources are online courses , mentorship , webinars / lunch-and-learns , professional conferences and target training programs . New career laboratorians are 61 % millennial and 65 % female , which also could contribute to the push for online professional development . As public health continues to grow and change , more online professional development resources would benefit the early career professionals .

Presenter : Samantha Marcellus , smarcellus00 @ gmail . com

Knowledge Management Resources for Public Health Laboratories

A . Hughes 1 , T . Theisen 2 , E . Basinger 3 , D . Toney 3 , R . Bernard 4 , J . Bennett 5 , S . Crowe 6 , E . Levings 7 , S . Maynard-Hewlett 8 , R . Tulley 9 , B . Wilcke 10 , L . Kurimski 11 ; 1 State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa , 2 Saginaw County ( MI ) Department of Health , 3 Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services , 4 Missouri State Public Health Laboratory , 5 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ,

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Florida Bureau of Public Health Laboratories , 7 Fairfax County ( VA ) Health Department Laboratory , 8 Ross University of Veterinary Medicine , 9 Louisiana Department of Health , 10 University of Vermont ,

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Association of Public Health Laboratories

Knowledge management is “ the process of capturing , developing , sharing , and effectively using organizational knowledge .” Knowledge enhances daily work , informs decisions , and increases efficiency . APHL encourages members to share knowledge , ranging from survey data , training , lessons learned through experience , technical assistance , and consultation . The APHL Knowledge Management Committee ( KMC ) captures a wealth of this knowledge and information generated and leverages that knowledge to develop resources to improve laboratory operations and management . This includes data repositories , toolkits , reports , and dashboards . For example , the Member Resource Center ( MRC ) is a document library for members to share and readily access practices and protocols in fields of study such as infectious diseases , environmental health , and emergency preparedness and response . The Public Health Laboratory System Database ( PHLSD ) provides a comprehensive inventory of laboratory testing and equipment capabilities as well as laboratory profiles for LIMS , document control software , and accreditations . This database supports training and knowledge sharing on new methods , instrumentation or software , surge support , and continuity of operations planning . Toolkits , including the Knowledge Retention Toolkit , provide a collection of resources and guidance to address topics within laboratory operations , workforce , and outreach . Surveys capture timely information that is used to generate model practices from the field or to develop infographics and dashboards to inform decision-making . These results have a particular emphasis on workforce recruitment , engagement , and retention . This poster will cover a full array of resources supported by the KMC and how they can be utilized within the public health laboratory .

Presenter : Amanda Hughes , amanada-hermann @ uiowa . edu

Structuring a Curriculum for Public Health Laboratory Fellowships in New Jersey

S . Mikorski and T . Kirn , New Jersey Department of Health Public Health and Environmental Laboratories

Between 2005 and 2019 , the New Jersey Public Health and Environmental Laboratories ( PHEL ) hosted 8 APHL and CDC fellows . Two of these fellows are now serving as Program Managers within our laboratory and one as Director of another public health laboratory . In 2019 , PHEL established our own fellowships with Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity ( ELC ) COVID funding for Molecular Microbiology and Informatics and are also participating as a host laboratory for CDC and APHL fellows . As of November 2022 , NJ PHEL numbers second only to CDC with 15 fellows onsite . Having fellows engaged in all aspects of laboratory operations has enabled a sea change for PHEL . Aside from providing fellows opportunities to develop competence in bench skills , knowledge and experience with regulatory compliance , confidence in leading technical efforts and presenting findings and to collaborate with colleagues in epidemiology and other state agencies , fellowships offer many direct benefits to our laboratory , to the larger laboratory community and the public . Staff gain confidence and experience by teaching and learning from fellows . PHEL increases the number and quality of tests in our molecular menu , gains a pool of trained candidates for employment as technical leaders and visibility in the academic community leading to collaborative opportunities . The residents of the state of New Jersey gain through improved laboratory services . PHEL decided to design the Molecular Microbiology Fellowship program similarly to health professions programs structured with didactic and experiential learning . Having long term experience with administering project-based internships , we added self-directed “ contracted ” projects to create a triad of learning : Experiential , Scientific and Business pyramid . We developed rotation schedules with learning objectives , identified Quality Assurance and Scientific Projects with Program Managers as mentors , and created online learning courses with a regulatory and business focus to add to existing mandated training . The goals for this program are to work with clinical and academic partners to apply for a post-graduate CPEP accreditation for Medical and Public Health Microbiology and to extend this workforce development model to other programs within the laboratory .

Presenter : Thomas Kirn , thomas . kirn @ doh . nj . gov

The Future Workforce of the Environmental Laboratory

H . Adams 1 , E . Morin 2 , N . Holloway 3 , A . Cottrell 4 , B . Thames 5 , L . Gillis 6 , K . Wangsness 7 , J . Loudon 8 , S . Wright 2 ; 1 City of Wichita Falls ,

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Association of Public Health Laboratories , 3 Beaver Water District ,

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Texas State University , 5 Charleston Water System , 6 University of Florida Miami , 7 Arizona State Public Health Laboratory , 8 Passaic Valley Water Commission

The primary goal of environmental laboratories is to protect public health and the environment . In addition to the widely recognized regulatory responsibilities of these laboratories , there is limited understanding of the fundamental purpose of this testing . The testing performed is diverse and complex , requiring a variety of technical skills . Laboratories must employ technicians and scientists that are able to prepare for sample collection events , perform field sampling and / or analysis , process and analyze samples in the laboratory , and perform quality assurance / quality control ( QA /