Discover a career in EQA and see how this often-overlooked area of laboratory medicine supports the quality and reliability of testing

Webinar overview
Behind every test result is a system working to make sure that result is right, External Quality Assurance (EQA) opens up that world.

You'll hear how quality supports getting the right result for patients, and what can happen when things go wrong, using glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) testing in diabetes as a working example. You'll explore how the quality of point-of-care testing (POCT) supports diagnosis and ongoing patient management. And through a real clinical case, you'll see how a scientist works through the evidence to piece together what's actually happened to a patient.

Together, these talks show a side of laboratory science that's easy to overlook from the outside: the checking, the standards and the problem-solving that sit behind every trustworthy result.

Who should attend
This webinar is designed for students who are:

• Curious about a career as a laboratory scientist, whether or not you've settled on a specific route
• Studying biomedical science, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, or a related life science degree
• Weighing up postgraduate study, training programmes, or direct entry routes into the profession
• Wanting to hear from people currently in the profession

You don't need to have decided anything yet. If you're simply exploring what's out there, you're exactly who this session is for.

Highlights

• Understand why quality matters in the laboratory and how it directly supports getting the right result for patients
• Recognise the consequences of quality failures, using HbA1c testing in diabetes as a working example
• Explain how quality assurance supports point-of-care testing (POCT) and its role in patient diagnosis and ongoing management
• Follow the reasoning behind a real clinical case, seeing how a scientist works through evidence to establish what has happened to a patient
• Get a first look at careers in External Quality Assurance, a route within laboratory science that's often less visible but central to patient safety.

Meet the speaker

Sarah Davies, Principal/HSST clinical scientist & EQA scheme manager, Birmingham Quality (University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust)

Sarah Davies read Chemistry (MChem) as an undergraduate before studying clinical biochemistry as part of her clinical scientist training. She is currently completing a DClinSci doctoral degree whilst working as a principal/HSST clinical scientist & EQA scheme manager at Birmingham Quality. She’s a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and honorary lecturer at the University of Manchester, with active interests in publication/peer review (ORCHID ID: 0000-0003-1689-7134). 
 
Whist working in routine clinical biochemistry laboratories, Sarah developed a clinical interest in hormones and markers of heart disease, as well as ensuring reliable test results. Her current role in an External Quality Assessment organisation continues to develop this expertise, and she currently holds national / international positions including joint clinical lead for Guideline Adjudication (Royal College of Pathologists), Membership of the JCTLM database review team and corresponding membership of the IFCC Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine. These roles emphasise her commitment to getting the right results for patients.