Operators training and qualification in french and swiss healthcare establishments: where are we?

Introduction

According to actual requirements, hospital preparations in small series requires prior certification by the national health authority. Within it, each operator must be trained and qualified according to its specifications. In November 2011, we obtained manufacturing approval. Our objective was to improve training programs and increase the qualification levels of our operators. In this perspective, we made an inventory in the various French and Swiss establishments of health by means of an anonymous electronic survey.

Material and methods

The investigation lasted one month. It consisted of 21 questions divided into four sections: type of institution – type of initial, continuous, theoretical and pratical training - Qualifications areas- followed by qualifications.

Results

185 (34.5%) establishments answered to the questionnaire in which 83 have a pharmaceutical preparation area. Only 42% of these 83 institutions perform hospital preparations. 89% are based on a quality management system, 86% of these provide a systematic operators training. 72% qualify them based on theory & knowledge and 81% qualify them though practical knowledge & skills. 21% have never heard of quality documents. 54% document the theoretical and practical training and only 34% evaluate them.

Discussion/conclusion

This investigation allowed to bring to light disparities in training and qualification practices. It can be explained by incomplete legislation authorizing institutions to train and qualify according to their own rules. It also highlighted needs for process improvement training, particularly concerning the criteria for selecting activities to qualify, or even the methods used for evaluating qualification.