Laboratory Medicine

The Clinical Laboratory Center of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established in 1959. Since its founding, the center has been engaged in clinical laboratory testing and medical experimental research. After more than 50 years of development, it has reached a relatively advanced level in both equipment and personnel, and has become a comprehensive clinical laboratory center integrating clinical testing, teaching, research and standardized training. Talent pipeline: the center currently has 48 laboratory personnel, including 4 with senior professional titles (8%), 22 with intermediate professional titles (46%); 2 master's degree supervisors (4%), 12 master's degree holders (25%), 14 holders of the practicing physician certificate (29%), and 2 clinical professionals (4%); 26 holders of the higher education teaching qualification certificate (54%); the talent pipeline is relatively reasonable. To improve personnel quality and strengthen the laboratory team, the center, on the one hand, recruits highly educated and high-quality talents, and on the other hand, strengthens technical training for existing staff. In recent years, through methods such as sending staff out and inviting experts in, more than 100 person-times of technical personnel in various specialties have been trained. Twenty staff members were sent for further study to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing, Peking University People's Hospital, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Huashan Hospital, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other institutions, covering all-round content including blood morphology, body fluid morphology, bacteriology, nosocomial infection, clinical immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry and information systems. Eleven staff received training for the operating certificate for large instruments. Most technical personnel improved their experimental skills, enhanced their professional quality and substantially raised their level of knowledge. Advanced equipment: the center is equipped with nearly 100 large-scale biochemical, immunological, microbiological, clinical laboratory and molecular biology instruments, including: fully automated biochemical analyzers (assembly line), fully automated electrochemiluminescence and chemiluminescence analyzers, fully automated enzyme immunoassay integrated instruments, flow cytometers, special protein analyzers, two blood gas analyzers, fully automated bacterial identification instruments, blood culture instruments, fully automated microbial mass spectrometry detectors, fully automated blood analyzers (assembly line), urine sediment analyzers, urine dry chemistry analyzers, fully automated coagulation analyzers (assembly line), nucleic acid amplification detection analyzers, real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR instruments and fully automated nucleic acid extraction and purification instruments, providing timely and accurate results for clinical practice and COVID-19 nucleic acid testing. Tests performed: there are currently 6 professional groups: clinical biochemistry, clinical immunology (including clinical molecular biology), clinical basic testing (including wards, outpatient and emergency), clinical microbiology, specimen pre-processing group and specimen collection group. At present, the laboratory covers a total area of 2,043 square meters, of which the outpatient and emergency testing area plus the blood collection room covers 410 square meters, and the ward testing area plus the COVID-19 nucleic acid testing laboratory covers 1,633 square meters. More than 400 tests are carried out, including liver function, kidney function, myocardial markers, blood lipids, electrolytes, rheumatology, immunology, screening for infectious diseases, sex hormones, thyroid function tests, tumor marker testing, trace elements, bacteriological culture and identification, clinical hematology and morphology, routine and morphological testing of various body fluids, cytokines, lymphocyte subsets, HLA-B27 and hemorheology, and SARS-CoV-2 antibody and nucleic acid testing. To meet clinical needs, about 10 new tests have been introduced each year since 2011. The average annual workload is more than 30 million tubes. Special programs: 1. For most of the tests carried out, internal quality control and external quality assessment activities have been established, and any out-of-control results are corrected promptly, ensuring the accuracy of test results. 2. The center has formulated quality policies and quality objectives, established a series of system documents and standard operating procedures, and revises them promptly in accordance with national standards. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, a complete set of procedural documents and emergency response plans for epidemic prevention and control was formulated promptly. An information management system for the center has been established. 3. Achievements: after years of development, the center has become: a clinical research laboratory of the major project for the development of in vitro diagnostic technology products of the National 863 Program, a clinical research laboratory of the national key research and development program of the 13th Five-Year Plan, an autonomous region key clinical specialty construction project (clinical laboratory specialty), the reference laboratory for clinical hematology, clinical biochemistry, clinical molecular biology and hepatitis B and hepatitis C in the autonomous region, an autonomous region standardized training base for clinical resident physicians, and a training base for clinical laboratory discipline backbones of the Autonomous Region Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is the member institution of the vice chair of the Laboratory Medicine Specialty Committee of the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the member institution of the vice chair of the Laboratory Medicine Specialty Committee of the Xinjiang Medical Association. In 2011, it passed ISO15189 “Medical laboratories — Requirements for quality and competence” and has continuously passed 5 surveillance assessments and 3 reassessments. Honors received: “Double Leaders Party Branch” of the autonomous region and of Xinjiang Medical University, “Women's Civilization Post” of the Medical University, and Outstanding Grassroots Party Branch of the Medical University. A number of skilled professionals have emerged, including outstanding Communist Party members in the fight against the epidemic in the autonomous region, advanced workers in the fight against the epidemic in the autonomous region, pacesetters of women's civilization of Xinjiang Medical University, and outstanding party affairs workers of the Medical University. Research and teaching: the center has presided over and participated in multiple projects, including National Natural Science Foundation projects, sub-topics of the National 863 Program, major fund projects of the autonomous region, reform and development fund projects of the autonomous region, major scientific research projects of Urumqi City and hospital-level projects, and has conducted nearly 60 clinical studies of various new drugs; in the past 3 years, nearly 100 papers have been published in various journals, including 3 SCI papers; it has participated in the compilation of more than ten national higher education textbooks and monographs. On average, it undertakes more than 400 class hours of teaching tasks for various colleges of Xinjiang Medical University each year, supervises about 20 clinical interns, and in recent years has supervised 13 master's students and about 50 person-times of trainees from various regions. It has hosted 6 continuing education training courses at national and autonomous region level. With the purpose of “accuracy and timeliness, scientific management, customer first and continuous improvement”, the center provides better services for clinical medicine and patients and makes greater contributions to the development of the hospital.