Accreditation and postgraduate training in European countries: an FESCC survey

The mission of the Federation of European Societies of Clinical Chemistry i s to support and promote clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine in Euro pe, to aid communication between the International Federation of Clinical C hemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) and National Scientific Societies, to develop education and quality in the discipline, and to encourage young scientists to take an active role in these activities. One recent initiativ e of the Federation was a survey on accreditation of medical laboratories a nd training in laboratory medicine in Europe. Among European countries, thr ee promote accreditation according to EN 45001, several countries apply sys tems based on professional and nationally defined standards (e.g. CPA in th e UK) and other countries are moving to define accreditation standards at a national level. Data on vocational training demonstrate that this is based on a postgraduate education with duration ranging from 6 months to 11 year s; in most countries the average length of university education is 5 years and that of postgraduate training is 4 years. A great difference, moreover, exists regarding the polyvalent versus monovalent training. Taken together , these data indicate that a great effort should be made by the Federation for promoting harmonization and coordination in Europe. (C) 2001 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.