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Klinisk Biokemi i Norden · 4 2019
Another group was assigned a similar situation but
in the primary health care center with general prac-
titioners and nurses, which could require a different
type of communication tools from the lab side. This
role-play was led by Sverre Sandberg (Norway), who
was also responsible for another session, in which we
discussed how our labs can think more outside the
box and make our internal lab rules more flexible,
for example when we deal with the rejection of “old”
samples. Essentially, working on being less “square
headed” and rather be more pragmatic and helpful
to the clinicians is to the patients´ benefit in many
situations.
Last, but not least, we had another workshop led by
Anna Linko-Parvinen (Finland). It covered various
questions from everyday clinical situations, this time
focusing on guiding the physicians regarding test
ordering. Various topics were covered in this session,
including marketing a new test to the clinicians. We
also discussed the ways in which the lab now has the
technical solutions to assist with test ordering, for
example by making a test unavailable if new evidence
shows that it adds no value in the diagnostic process
or by making tests only available as packages. We
can also restrict requisition of a test within a certain
period of time, and prevent genetic tests from being
ordered more than once. All in all, the day covered
many important aspects of the interaction between
lab physicians and our clinical colleagues.
Summary
Besides the more formal sessions when we were work-
ing in groups on various challenging tasks and lis-
tening to our very experienced and wise instructors,
there were many other opportunities to network and
deepen connections with colleagues from other coun-
tries. Leading fruitful discussions, socializing and
living together for three days, all the participants were
trained in improving their communication skills, in
an environment where many of us had to get out of
our comfort zone. The course definitely exceeded our
expectations, and we would like to thank the organ-
izers, the course leaders and NFKK for making this
extraordinary experience possible!
Sverre Sandberg inspiring colleagues to think outside the box. Photo: Maria Farm.
