Health Sciences and Social Services Curative Health

Immunochemistry Specimen Handling in Medical Labs Training

SAQA US 257216 | NQF 3 | Credits 8 | Duration 5 Days
From $913 per delegate

Description

This course equips laboratory professionals with the skills to safely and accurately handle biological specimens for immunochemistry analysis. Participants will learn proper collection, transport, storage, and processing techniques to ensure test integrity and compliance with South African health and safety regulations.

Learning Outcomes

  • Apply standard operating procedures for the collection, transport, and storage of biological specimens for immunochemistry.
  • Demonstrate correct labelling, documentation, and chain-of-custody procedures to ensure specimen traceability.
  • Analyze potential pre-analytical errors and implement corrective actions to maintain specimen integrity.
  • Evaluate biosafety risks and apply appropriate personal protective equipment and containment measures.
  • Implement quality control checks for specimen acceptability and rejection criteria.
  • Demonstrate proper disposal of biological waste according to South African environmental and health regulations.

Target Audience

This course is designed for medical laboratory technicians, technologists, and scientists who handle biological specimens for immunochemistry testing in clinical or research laboratories.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment.

Course Outline

Day 1: Fundamentals of Immunochemistry and Specimen Integrity

Objectives:
• Understand the principles of immunochemistry and its role in medical diagnostics.
• Identify key factors affecting specimen integrity for immunochemistry tests.
• Recognise proper specimen collection techniques and container requirements.
• Explain the importance of pre-analytical variables in immunochemistry.

Topics:
• Overview of immunochemistry: antigens, antibodies, and immune reactions.
• Common immunochemistry assays: ELISA, chemiluminescence, immunofluorescence.
• Pre-analytical phase: patient preparation, timing, and specimen types (serum, plasma, CSF).
• Specimen collection devices: tubes, additives, and order of draw.
• Factors affecting specimen stability: temperature, time, light, and haemolysis.
• Chain of custody and labelling requirements.
• Introduction to quality control in specimen handling.

Day 2: Processing, Storage, and Transport of Immunochemistry Specimens

Objectives:
• Describe procedures for centrifugation, aliquoting, and processing immunochemistry specimens.
• Apply appropriate storage conditions for different specimen types.
• Outline transport requirements to maintain specimen integrity.
• Implement safety protocols during handling and processing.

Topics:
• Centrifugation protocols: speed, time, and temperature for serum/plasma separation.
• Aliquoting techniques to avoid contamination and freeze-thaw cycles.
• Storage conditions: short-term (refrigeration) and long-term (freezing) guidelines.
• Transport logistics: cold chain, packaging, and shipping regulations.
• Safety in the lab: PPE, biohazard disposal, and spill management.
• Documentation: logs for storage and transport temperatures.
• Case studies: common errors in processing and storage.

Day 3: Quality Assurance and Troubleshooting in Specimen Handling

Objectives:
• Understand quality assurance principles specific to immunochemistry specimen handling.
• Identify common pre-analytical errors and their impact on results.
• Implement corrective actions for specimen rejection and retesting.
• Apply proficiency testing and internal quality control measures.

Topics:
• Quality indicators: rejection criteria for haemolysed, lipaemic, or clotted specimens.
• Troubleshooting: causes and solutions for insufficient volume, wrong tube, and mislabelling.
• Internal quality control: use of controls and calibrators in specimen handling.
• External quality assessment: proficiency testing schemes.
• Root cause analysis of pre-analytical errors.
• Documentation and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Audit trails and continuous improvement.

Day 4: Special Considerations and Advanced Techniques

Objectives:
• Examine special specimen handling for immunochemistry assays (e.g., tumour markers, hormones).
• Discuss handling of specimens for infectious disease serology.
• Evaluate emerging technologies in specimen processing.
• Analyse the impact of interfering substances on immunochemistry tests.

Topics:
• Handling of light-sensitive and unstable analytes (e.g., vitamins, catecholamines).
• Specimen requirements for autoimmune and allergy testing.
• Infectious disease serology: handling of high-risk specimens (HIV, hepatitis).
• Interference: effect of drugs, haemolysis, and heterophilic antibodies.
• Automation in specimen processing: barcoding, robotic aliquoting.
• Point-of-care immunochemistry: specimen handling considerations.
• Regulatory compliance: SANAS and SAQA standards.

Day 5: Practical Integration and Assessment

Objectives:
• Synthesise knowledge through case-based problem solving.
• Demonstrate competency in specimen handling procedures.
• Evaluate real-world scenarios and propose corrective actions.
• Prepare for workplace application of immunochemistry specimen handling.

Topics:
• Case studies: complex specimen handling scenarios.
• Review of day 1-4 content with Q&A.
• Mock audits and error identification exercises.
• Final assessment: written test and practical demonstration.
• Career pathways and continuing education.
• Course wrap-up and feedback.

Practicals

16 hours of practicals To be conducted online or on-campus or in-house
Overview

Hands-on practical sessions are essential for learners to develop competence in specimen collection, processing, storage, and troubleshooting. These exercises reinforce theoretical knowledge and ensure learners can apply standard operating procedures in a laboratory setting.

Practical Activities
  • Specimen Collection and Labelling — Learners practice venipuncture and capillary collection techniques, correctly label specimens, and complete requisition forms. (4h)
  • Centrifugation and Aliquoting — Learners centrifuge specimens at correct settings, aliquot serum/plasma into secondary tubes, and store appropriately. (4h)
  • Quality Control and Error Identification — Learners inspect specimens for quality indicators, identify common errors, and perform corrective actions. (4h)
  • Simulated Transport and Cold Chain Management — Learners package specimens for transport, monitor temperature, and complete transport documentation. (4h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total
Component Out of Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored) 100% 30%
Daily Average (multiple choice) 100% 20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) 100% 50%
Final Total 100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Awarded to delegates who achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher on the Final Total (Practicals 30% + Daily Average 20% + Final Test 50%).

How it works
  • Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
  • Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
  • You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
  • If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.
Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.

Upcoming Training Sessions
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Training Discounts
Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% off per 5 delegates, up to 40% for 100+

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