Course · 4 hours of CPD
Run point of care testing properly, without a lab background
Built specifically for non-laboratory teams: everything a clinic, pharmacy or GP practice needs to run POCT safely and defensibly, taught in plain language by a specialist who has implemented and supported POCT services for a living.
Free to complete, with a certificate for your CPD portfolio. If it helps you, an optional donation at the end keeps it free for the next team.
Who this is for
- Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians offering testing services
- Practice nurses and HCAs running POCT in general practice
- Private clinic teams using glucose, HbA1c, CRP, lipids or INR devices
- Managers who bought a device and now need the service around it
What you will leave able to do
- Explain what makes a point of care result reliable, and what quietly breaks it
- Run daily quality control correctly and know exactly what to do when it fails
- Keep records that satisfy an inspector: QC logs, training records, incident notes
- Assess and document staff competency before anyone touches a patient sample
- Ask the right questions before buying any new device
- Know when a result should not be reported, and what to do instead
Syllabus
Module by module
01 What POCT really is, and where it goes wrong
- Why a result at the point of care is not the same as a lab result
- The five failure points of every POCT service
- Real incidents: what they cost and what prevented them elsewhere
02 Devices, cartridges and consumables
- How the common technologies actually work, in plain language
- Storage, lot changes and expiry: the errors inspectors find first
- Reading the IFU like a professional
03 Quality control without a laboratory
- Internal QC: what to run, when, and what the numbers mean
- Setting acceptance rules you can defend
- QC failure: the stop, investigate, document, release routine
- External quality assessment: what it is and why you need it
04 People and competency
- Who may test: the competency ladder from observation to sign off
- Building a training record that stands up to scrutiny
- Annual reassessment without the paperwork mountain
05 Documentation and governance
- The minimum document set: SOP, QC log, training record, incident log
- CQC and professional standards expectations for testing services
- When to escalate: results, complaints and near misses
06 Buying and expanding
- The procurement questions vendors hope you will not ask
- Total cost of ownership: consumables, QC and connectivity
- Your 30 day action plan
Free reading to start today: POCT training for pharmacies and GP practices.
Led by a specialist who has worked every side of POCT
Your course lead has spent a career in point of care testing: implementing, validating and supporting services day to day inside hospitals, consulting to device manufacturers and distributors on POCT and market access, and leading product management for POCT IT solutions. Every module draws on that mix of bench, business and digital, done for real.
Pricing
Free for everyone
Individual
Free
- Full course access, free
- 4 hours of CPD, certificate included
- QC log and training record templates
- Free updates when standards change
Teams
Free
- Free for every member of your team
- Each person enrols with their own email
- A certificate for every learner who passes
Whole service
From £750
- Delivered in house, up to 12 staff
- Tailored to your devices
- Same day competency sign off support
The online course is free for individuals and teams. If the standards change, your materials are updated free.
Questions, answered
Do I need a laboratory background?
No. This course exists because most POCT is now done by people without one. Everything is taught in plain clinical language.
Is it really free?
Yes, the whole course: every lesson, every quiz, the final assessment and your certificate. We built it because too many teams run POCT with no training at all. When you finish there is an option to make a small donation, which keeps the course free for the next team, but it is entirely optional.
Does this count as CPD?
The course represents 4 hours of CPD and you receive a certificate for your portfolio. It is designed to support the professional CPD requirements of pharmacy, nursing and healthcare science registrants.
How long do I have access?
Indefinitely, including updates when standards or guidance change.
We have a specific device. Is the course still relevant?
Yes. The course is vendor neutral by design, and the principles apply to every device. For device specific team training, look at in-house delivery.