SMLTSA Cape Branch Academic morning CPD, Saturday 25/05/2019:
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Wendy Solomons: BHSc articulation course, Dr. Philip Fortgens: PSA, Dr. Philip Fortgens: Nutrition (lipids) and Eric Spencer: Ethics
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A busy morning, bustling with Medical Lab Professionals eager-to-learn and soak-up new knowledge, as everyone arrived to be registered for the Academic Morning CPD event on the 25th of May 2019.
There was coffee or tea, as well as delicious muffins to enjoy, during registration as well as after, before the first speaker started.
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Wendy Steytler introduced Wendy Solomons, from CPUT, giving a talk on the articulation course provided by the UoT to anyone interested in obtaining a BHSc degree in Medical Laboratory Science.
A brief explanation was given on what NQF and HEQF means regarding the transition from the BTech (NQF level 6) in Medical Lab Science to the BHSc (NQF level 8) in Medical Lab Science, as well as what the role of SAQA is pertaining to the criteria set for this particular degree and the NQF level of the degree. This then flowed into the changes made to the BTech to what the BHSc is now.
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The BHSc was introduced in 2011, and the last intake for BTech was 2018 - with the BTech and ND in MLS phasing out in the coming years, this poses a threat for individuals interested in obtaining postgraduate studies, e.g. Master's Degree, as the BHSc will replace the aforementioned qualifications.
Therefore, there was a demand for the articulation course from individuals working in the health profession.
Wendy also explained the difference between articulation from individuals being a Med Tech to MLS register, which is done by the HPCSA but is a work in progress, and what exactly the articulation course is presented by CPUT.
She also discussed the manner in which individuals are assessed to be able to partake in the articulation course, and that RPL (Recognised Prior Learning) and CAT (Credit associated transfer) is taken into account.
There was also looked at reasons for the articulation course and the pathways, for both academic and career options, it opens.
A blended learning approach is used, by means of e-learning and contact sessions, during a full-time two year period of studying.
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The next speaker was Dr Philip Fortgens, a Chemical Pathologist, giving a talk on PSA.
He provided statistics on individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer, discussed risk factors (ethnicity, age, BRCA 1 and 2 genetic mutations) and how PSA screening started out - efficacy of data was absent. This led to overdiagnosis of patients, but also reduced mortality rate. Overdiagnosis of patients was done by means of invasive procedures and as a result patients died of these procedures.
A new approach is shared decision making.
He discussed various clinical trials performed since 2012, such as the PLCO, which after research performed indicated that no difference was found in the mortality rate of patients regarding prostate cancer if screening methods were implemented. Whereas clinical trial studies such as the ERSPC (2014) and Goteborg Trial (2015) differences were found in the mortality rates regarding prostate cancer if screening protocols were implemented. The most recent clinical research performed were the ProtecTrial of 2016, which involved men aged between 50 - 70 years with localised prostate cancer. They were assigned to active monitoring, radical prostectomy and radiation and the study indicated that prostate cancer survival increased over a period of ten years for individuals involved in the study.
Furthermore, he discussed the methods utilised in South Africa, e.g. screening for prostate cancer if over the age of 40 years, taking ethnicity into consideration as well as family history.
The questions asked by the audience attending the Academic Morning were insightful and the answers provided by Dr Fortgens opened up to more questions.
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Thank you to all involved in making the evening a successful one!
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We look forward to hosting you again on the 24 July 2019.
SMLTSA Cape Branch Special Edition CPD, Wednesday 13/02/2019:
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Marie Ekholm: Human Milk Analysis and its uses in NICU - Preterm Infants
Lynne Heydenrych: "What's Hot and What's Not" in modern breast feeding strategies
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The beginning of the year welcomed an unexpected special event including guest speaker Marie Ekholm from MIRIS Sweden and lactation consultant, Lynne Heydenrych from Milk Matters. It was a pleasant summer evening and the venue had incredible views of our mother city and table mountain. The ambience was filled with utter intrigue. Thank you to Ampath Pathologists for the use of their beautiful venue.
The first presentation by Marie Ekholm highlighted the importance of milk analysis and personalised milk formation. In the era of personalised medicine, personalised milk formulation has arrived. In the NICU some infants require more of a certain nutrient than others, thereby creating a need for a precise formulation of proteins, carbohydrates, energy and fat content in the milk that a specific infant requires. In the NICU the infants mothers milk is collected over 24hrs as the nutritional content of the milk changes constantly, only 3ml of milk is needed for analysis and this is performed once or twice a week. An algorithm is used to determine the nutritional value of the milk and is performed by a qualified nurse. The data is then further analysed and interpreted by a dietician who would then advise the course to obtain the best nutritional value from the milk. This was a very interesting presentation that outlined a very important need of individual nutrition for infants faced in the NICU today. To find out more: https://www.mirissolutions.com
The second presentation by Lynne Heydenrych updated the audience on “What’s Hot and What’s Not” in modern breast feeding strategies. More research has been performed on breast milk and some new facts have come to light that was not known previously. This has caused many physicians and mothers to change their approach to the use of breast milk as well as the challenges faced while breast feeding a baby and the importance of donating breast milk. Today there are evidence based facts that show the importance of breast milk for the infants mental, psychological and health needs. Lynne mentioned that breast milk is not healthier or the best-but is the gold standard/baseline for health. It is now evident that the risk of using formula milk for feeding babies are far higher than the benefits. Breast milk is the most natural way to give a baby what it needs but is not always the easier option. Many mothers do not realise that formula/artificial milk pose risk to themselves as well. Lynne represents Milk Matters an organisation that is concerned with donating milk as well as educating mothers on the hands-off approach, encouraging kangaroo care, skin to skin contact and natural breast-feeding. In conclusion the psychological and mental benefits of breast feeding were stressed and that breastfeeding is brain wiring and not just about Nutrition. To find out more: http://milkmatters.org/donating-milk/
As the sun set, the evening was concluded with platters of good food and wine while different professionals from various disciplines had the opportunity to connect and discuss the topics of the presentation and what was of interest to them.
Thank you to all involved in making the evening a successful one!
We look forward to hosting you again on the 27 March.
SMLTSA Cape branch, 16/03/2016 AGM:
Bioethics and human dignity in the biomedical field
It was with great excitement that members of the SMLTSA Cape Town branch came to their branch's AGM on Wednesday, 16th March 2016. This was because the guest speaker for the occasion was Professor Angelo Nicolaides (DCom, DPhil, DTh), professor of Business Ethics, Corporate Governance and Stakeholder Management at UNISA's Graduate School of Business Leadership. Professor Nicolaides' talk promised to be a very interesting one because he was approaching the biomedical ethics field from his corporate governance perspective.
Professor Nicolaides started off with a broad look at the moral fibre of modern society. He swept over the phenomenon of medical malpractice lawsuits and highlighted this as an indicator of regard for human dignity in the broader medical field. Next Professor Nicolaides brought up the story of Henrietta Lacks, a cervical cancer patient in 1950's America, who was the original source of the ubiquitous HeLa clonal cell line. Her consent was never sought for the harvesting and use of her tissues and she never received any recognition for their widespread impact in science.
Next Professor Nicolaides took the audience through a brief overview of the ancient philosphical greats and their work in the field of ethics: the moral principles of Socrates, normative ethics, the Hippocratic oath and similar pledges made by medical practitioners, beneficence vs non-maleficence, and finally he defined bio-ethics. Professor Nicolaides also made mention of two of the attrocities that had taken place in modern history and the ethical codes that had stemmed from them: the Nuremburg code of 1947 which addressed the cruel medical experiments performed by Nazi scientists, and the Belmont report which came about after the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study.
Professor Nicolaides' talk continued by looking at the birth and honing of modern bio-ethics. He gave mention to the concepts of justice, benficence, and respect for persons. He noted that western bio-ethics is strongly rooted in abstract principles and is very philosophical in it's egalitarianism but that the practical application thereof can often fall by the wayside or that the abstract nature thereof may be used as a smoke-and-mirrors disguise for more nefarious hidden motives.
The next part of the talk was devoted to the many ethical dilemas facing modern societies. These included ectogenesis and the divide between private and social healthcare. Professor Nicolaides explored the questions and arguments that may be used to find solutions to such issues and noted that perhaps the ultimate guide is to always maintain open debate. There was a very strong spiritual undertone to this part of the talk and Professor Nicolaides specifically pointed out the religious frameworks in which many ethical systems are based.
Professor Angelo Nicolaides finished off his talk with a summary of some of the major points he had covered. He also took a moment to note the impression that he, as an outsider, had of the good work being done in the biomedical field. This was a moving end to a very interesting talk.
Carol Smith, the branch Chairperson, took the opportunity to thank Professor Nicolaides and presented him with a small token of the Cape Town branch's appreciation for his wonderful talk.
The talk was then followed by the Cape Town branch's annual general meeting.
SMLTSA Cape Branch, 01/12/2015 CPD event:
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Silly CPD End of Year Evening
As the sun started to set on the 1st of December 2015 the Champagne corks popped and the Cape Town Branch of the SMLTSA started their third Silly CPD event. Carol Smith welcomed everyone and thanked the quiz master, Francois Barton, for availing himself for the important occasion. There were 5 teams of 4 to 5 people each. The first challenge was to select a team name. The teams were known as Team Supreme, Students plus one, Past, Present and Future; The Geriatrics and the A Team.
The rules were explained. There are 10 rounds comprising of 5 questions each. The first team to submit their answers and have all 5 questions correct, wins the round. If no team has all 5 correct, the judges will move to 4 correct answers and so on. The 1st round started and with the 1st question the multi-disciplined teams already knew they had this in the bag. The question was what is the term used when there is more than 80% blasts present in a sample. The answer was Acute Myeloid Leukaemia of course. Team Supreme as the name implies was supreme during the 1st round and took home the first prices.
The second and third round was won by The Geriatrics and Past, Present and Future respectively. In the 4th round Team Supreme broke the gridlock and moved ahead of the groups with another win. Round 5 saw the Past, Present and Future retaliate and claim victory to draw level. The fierce competitiveness was put on hold for the lovely pizza and same quick chats with colleagues and friends.
Round 6 started with a lot of smiles and full glasses. Unfortunately the A Team had all the spirit of a winning team but since Blood Transfusion was their forte, the test for Candida Albicans was indicated as the Gram Stain and not the Germ Tube Test. This meant that the Past, Present and Future won a second round in a row. Round 7 brought the breeze of chance. The Students plus one team won the round and the team runner showed the participants the meaning of true joy and happiness. She did a beautiful little dance and would surely outshine even a seasoned ballerina like Natalia Osipova.
Before the start of Round 8, Team Supreme was feeling the heat and made a rather impolite request to have team Past, Present and Future moved to outside. Trish Muller from the Past gave her swinging opinion on the matter and Round 8 started promptly without further comment from Team Supreme. There was absolute silence as everyone concentrated on this do or die round. However Past, Present and Future clearly concentrated the hardest as they walked away with yet another win even though they submitted their questions last!
Round 9 saw the Quiz master take pity on the A Team because their plans just weren’t coming together. The team was awarded some fun prizes for their awesome spirit because they clearly had a blast during the night. The round was won by… yes you guessed it… Past, Present and Future. Round 10 was taken by Team Supreme, however they had to give way for the superior team Past, Present and Future who lifted the trophy in the end. The winning team was Trish Muller, Hoosain Shabudien, Dayne Fouche, Jenna Bury and Elzane Cronje. Well done to all the teams!
Have a peaceful Festive Season. See you again in 2016!