1. VDL Peer Auditing Program
Thomas Bakken
DSO:
Veterinary Population Medicine
Veterinary Clinical Sciences
Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
I was asked to talk about what we’re calling the Peer auditing program being implemented in the VDL.

2. About me… Scientist Asst. Scientist Jr. Scientist
Worked for seven years in Dept. of Medicine
Participated in Lab audits with DEHS
Jr. Scientist
Asst. Scientist
Scientist
I worked for 7 years in Dept of Medicine, starting as a Jr. Scientist. After a while, I was allowed to assist with science as an Assistant Scientist. Further down the road, I was allowed to myself perform science as a Scientist. I was the Lab Safety officer, and met annually with Xiaohong for audits. I took a new position on the Saint Paul campus two and a half years ago, and became the RSO for two departments, VPM and VCS. In the past year, I was also given responsibility for VBS and VDL.

3. Lab specific training…
Print SOP
Review SOP
Sign SOP
DONE.
When in the Dept of Medicine, lab specific training was seen as a chore, but was documented nonetheless. Consisted of printing out and reviewing SOPs, pointing out hazards, and having lab members sign off. This method is probably used by many labs, but it isn’t terribly engaging. Labs may become complacent when training is done this way – simply listing hazards that they encounter every day.

4. DEHS Lab Specific Training template
No need to think (about topics)
Thorough list of topics
The DEHS created Lab specific training record helped by proactively suggesting safety topics to be discussed rather than leaving this up to the lab. Labs are thinking less about what safety topics to cover, but covering more because DEHS has already done the thinking. Other labs have found other innovative ways to encourage participation in lab specific training – one lab manager set up a lab safety trivia session and awarded prizes as motivation.
In a CVM Health and Safety committee meeting, Ron Joki, former RSO for VDL, presented the Peer Auditing Program as another alternative to Lab Specific training. In brief, he suggested lab visits within the VDL.

5. Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL)
Ten Sections all part of ONE team.
Lab for Udder Health
Bacteriology & Media Prep
Virology & Serology
Necropsy
Admin
Lab receiving
Parasitology
PCR lab
Histology
This past spring, the VDL tried out a different approach to lab specific training. The VDL consists of ten different sections, with varying numbers of staff in each section, and each section is responsible for different tasks. “Ten sections all playing for one team.”
Molecular
Development

6. Samples in Diagnosis Lab for Udder Health Bacteriology & Media Prep
Virology & Serology
Necropsy
Admin
Lab receiving
Parasitology
PCR lab
Histology
“Ten sections all playing for one team.” Samples are delivered, and routed to the appropriate section, which then performs tests, leading to a diagnosis. They perform well over one million procedures annually.
Molecular
Development
Diagnosis

7. Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL)
Lab for Udder Health visits Necropsy.
Lab for Udder Health
Bacteriology & Media Prep
Virology & Serology
Necropsy
Admin
Lab receiving
Parasitology
PCR lab
Histology
The idea that was implemented was to have one section host another section for a lab specific safety visit.
Molecular
Development

8. Visit Template Rationale and format:
Staff members from neighboring labs can benefit from visiting each other’s labs and learning about their lab hazards and how they are handled safely.
The host lab is asked to present their safety program to the visiting lab staff members. The visitors are asked to be active observers providing questions, comments and suggestions based on their knowledge and practices.
This is the visit template that was formed. Briefly, the host lab presents a description of their safety program to the visiting lab, pointing out hazards and how they are dealt with. The visitors are encouraged to ask questions.

9. Visit Template
Goals:
to have broad participation from as many staff members as possible
to use the discussion to stimulate collaborative improvements in our safety programs
to document key elements of the discussion including lessons learned, improvements to be made and questions to be researched if answers were not immediately available
to record the event as lab specific safety training for the participants (Q Pulse training records or other recording methods)
The goal is to have broad participation from as many lab members as possible, and to use the discussion that arises to make improvements where possible.

10. Visit Template Training Record
Host Section: Necropsy Visiting Section: Lab for Udder Health
Date: 4/8/2015
Safety Topic Staff Member Key Discussion Points
Formaldehyde Lacey Crispigna
Sharps Marc Schwabenlander
BSL-2 infectious agents Melissa Wolfe
Tissue Digester Mark Diehl
BSL-3 infectious agents Ron Joki
Occupational health Laba Ndiaye
For the first visit, the Necropsy floor hosted the Lab for Udder Health. Six pathologists from the Necropsy floor each took on a safety topic, ranging from the safe use and disposal of formaldehyde to handling of BSL-3 materials on the Necropsy floor. A description of safety issues and hazards were presented followed by how these hazards are mitigated using PPE, SOPs, et cetera. The visiting lab members were encouraged to ask questions at any time.

11. Safety topics decided on by host
Individual lab members each cover one topic
Visiting lab members ask questions as they arise
The response was good from both the hosts and visitors. The host lab brainstormed ahead of the visit to come up with a list of safety topics which were then assigned to be addressed by individual lab members. Lab members were thus made to give more careful thought about hazards present in the lab – what the hazards are and how the hazards are handled, and effectively communicate this to somebody potentially unfamiliar with these hazards and procedures routinely done in the lab.

12. Positive feedback Hosts take pride in hosting
Visitors bring outside perspective
Builds camaraderie
The visitors asked questions, getting the hosts to talk about things they may not have thought of. The visitors also got to know more about the mission of the host section, promoting a sense of camaraderie.

13. Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL)
Lab for Udder Health
Bacteriology & Media Prep
Virology & Serology
Necropsy
Admin
Lab receiving
Parasitology
PCR lab
Histology
After the lab visit, the attending members were given credit for lab specific training in the software system employed by the VDL to document training. The visiting lab then became the next hosting lab, and a new VDL section was chosen as visitors.
Molecular
Development
Histology visits Lab for Udder Health

14. Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL)
Lab for Udder Health
Bacteriology & Media Prep
Virology & Serology
Necropsy
Admin
Lab receiving
Parasitology
PCR lab
Histology
Histology recently hosted Virology and Serology….
Virology & Serology visits Histology
Molecular
Development

15. Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL)
Lab for Udder Health
Bacteriology & Media Prep
Virology & Serology
Necropsy
Admin
Lab receiving
Parasitology
PCR lab
Histology
And over the course of a year, all sections will have both visited another section, and hosted another section. It was agreed that the host lab should provide the visitors with a list of topics to be discussed ahead of time to allow them to start thinking about questions in advance. Knowing the visitors may be coming with questions encourages the hosts to be thorough in thinking about hazards they face in the lab, and to look at their policies and procedures from an outsiders perspective.
Molecular
Development

16. Applicable to other departments?
Obstacle: “Ten sections playing for ONE team” attitude of the VDL may not exist in other departments
The question now becomes, will this work for different departments? Currently unknown. The sense of “one team” may not exist in every department like it does in the VDL.
VDL

17. Applicable to other departments?
Molecular virology
immunopharmacology
infectious disease ecology
Virus-host interactions
Parasitology
antibiotic resistance
Labs may be spread through different buildings and may be studying vastly different things. These are a few areas of research in one of my other departments. The perception is that these different groups all have different interests and so will be unable to learn anything from each other.
Canine genetics
Molecular mechanisms of virus replication
Avian Health 
Different research groups have different interests.

18. Applicable to other departments?
Benefits:
Different areas of study are not a problem when it comes to lab safety
Labs studying different things still need to study different things safely
Can provide an engaging alternative to printing, reviewing, and signing SOPs as lab specific training
Encourages critical thinking
The perception that different research groups have different interests because they are researching different things disappears when the focus is lab safety. This is one thing they all have in common. This model promotes critical thinking regarding how labs respond to hazards present in their labs. Instead of printing, reviewing, and signing an SOP, lab members are responsible for the relay of safety information to a group coming in with little to no context. The visitors further engage lab members with their outsider perspective. New ways of dealing with hazards may be discovered. It may be learned that the way one lab handles a particular hazard may be more effective or efficient than another.

19. Applicable to other departments?
Benefits
Easily documented
Promotes camaraderie
Great way for RSOs to become better acquainted with their departments personnel
A sign in sheet is used to document training, and lists the host and visiting labs.
The VDL may be ten sections playing for one team, but that doesn’t mean they are familiar with each other. The labs have been excited about visiting different sections to see what they do and how they do it safely.
This has been a great way for me to learn about specific hazards in specific labs. Getting to know lab personnel and what they deal with has been great. I’m much more comfortable interacting with people I know, and if I then also already have knowledge about the hazards in their labs, it’s a win-win.

20. Applicable to other departments?
We don’t know because it has not yet been tried!
In summary, this model may work well with other departments – we don’t know because it hasn’t been tried.