In the first week of the training program, the Program Director and the trainee will meet and review previous academic courses taken during BSc, MSc, Ph.D., or MD studies, academic research, and work experiences. Based on the identified improvement opportunities in the review and considering the trainee’s future interests, the Director and the trainee will determine if any additional academic courses are necessary.

The program director will provide the trainee with a program overview and the program curriculum, listing weekly locations and supervisor(s) names.

The Program Director jointly reports to the Clinical Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, who oversees province-wide laboratory medicine services in all discipline areas, and the Chair of the Memorial University, Faculty of Medicine, Discipline of Laboratory Medicine. In addition to Clinical Chemistry, both support other laboratory medicine disciplines in the training program. The trainee will have rotations in cognate disciplines such as molecular diagnostics, hematology, microbiology, and pathology, as required by the CACB curriculum. NLHS’s state-of-the-art laboratories are well-equipped to support the training.

Many learning methods will be used to strengthen trainee’s learning:

a. Guided self-study and received mentorship

Each week has a preidentified theme based on the CACB Syllabus. For each week, the trainee will receive and review a document called the weekly learning plan determining the analytical and clinical learning objectives, locations in the laboratory, clinic, or site, and reference books, standard documents, and guidelines for the self-study. At the end of each week, the trainee will meet with the Program Director and other relevant faculty members, such as rotation mentors, to review the progress during the week. The trainee will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on how the learning experience would be improved while Director and the faculty members evaluate if the learning objectives have been achieved. The weekly learning evaluation form is filled and signed by the trainee and faculty.

b. Laboratory rotations

Laboratory rotations will consist of 50% of the learning time and provide a chance to apply knowledge and learn by observing daily laboratory workflow.

• Participating in clinical rotations, rounds, case studies, and journal clubs
• Attending workshops, conferences, or seminars to learn from experts in the field
• Taking additional courses or certificate programs from professional organizations such as CSCC, ADLM, EFLM, IFCC, JCTLM, MSACL, etc.
• Assisting Clinical Biochemists in daily laboratory work and longer-term projects.
• Participating in research and projects to gain hands-on experience
• Joining professional organizations or networking groups to connect with others in the field and stay up to date on the latest developments
• The trainee will be assigned gradually increasing service responsibilities