Accreditation and postgraduate training in European countries: an FESCC survey. Federation of European Societies of Clinical Chemistry

The mission of the Federation of European Societies of Clinical Chemistry is to support and promote clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine in Europe, to aid communication between the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry 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 initiative of the Federation was a survey on accreditation of medical laboratories and training in laboratory medicine in Europe. Among European countries, three promote accreditation according to EN 45001, several countries apply systems based on professional and nationally defined standards (e.g. CPA in the 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 years; 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.