MLTs Choose Winners of the First Ever BloodTechNet Learning Competition

May 13, 2011 (Toronto, ON) — Seven MLTs' Choice winners of the first ever Learning Competition were announced today at the Canadian Society For Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) conference in Toronto. Kieran Biggins, president of the CSTM and a Learning Competition judge, made the announcement to an audience of appreciative conference attendees. "An important part of this innovative program is that MLTs themselves chose the winning projects," he emphasized.

The seven winners were selected from a pool of submissions in a unique, four-month long competition designed to find and inspire innovative projects that support learning among Canadian MLTs interested in Transfusion Science. The Learning Competition centred around an online portal — www.bloodtechnet.ca — where members of the transfusion community were asked to submit ideas for innovative learning projects. All ideas were reviewed by an impartial panel of judges who were tasked with inviting the most promising applicants to submit further project details. MLTs then cast their votes for the best projects, ultimately deciding which applications would receive funding.

Reflecting the diversity of MLTs themselves, the winning projects come from across Canada, use informal and formal learning approaches, online and face-to-face designs, a variety of media, and serve local and national needs. "We have been truly inspired by MLTs' passion for professional development, with over twenty applications and over 600 votes cast over the course of the competition," said Dana Devine, Vice President, Canadian Blood Services. "The success of this program reinforces our commitment to support positive change in the transfusion community."

BloodTechNet congratulates the winners of the Learning Competition:

Large Projects ($15,000 - $25,000)

• Transfusion Quest: Nicole Caldwell, New Brunswick (category winner) — A flash-based trivia game for MLTs across the country in which points are awarded as players successfully answer challenge questions and tackle various tasks on different benches.
• Transfusion Bits and Bytes: Susanna Darnel, British Columbia — An online library of 15-minute live lectures with 5-minute question-and-answer sessions on Transfusion Science, including an audio version and transcript.
• Transfusion Medicine Video Teaching: Kelly Richmond, Ontario — Twenty five-minute videos to educate Medical Laboratory Technologists who rotate through the Transfusion Lab and nursing staff during orientation at four hospital sites between Trenton and Brockville.
• Passing the Serology Torch: Colleen Gibson, British Columbia — A series of hour-long weekend and evening wet/dry workshops held at the BC Institute of Technology. Workshops will be recorded and made available online.

Medium Projects ($15,000 - $25,000)

• Plasma Protein Reference Poster: Robyn Shenner, Saskatchewan (category winner) — A frequently updated reference poster about plasma protein products currently available in Canada that includes product name, manufacturer, indications for use, and storage temperature.

Small Projects (up to $5,000)

• TransMed Trivia Game: Dyanne Marlok, Ontario (category winner) — A series of multiple choice questions on specific transfusion medicine topics, broken down into basic, skilled and master levels. CDROMs and card sets to be distributed across Canada.
• Transfusion Medicine Poster Series: Donnell Wolff, Alberta — A series of posters outlining basic Transfusion Medicine topics, with quizzes and keys to be distributed to Alberta hospitals

BloodTechNet is a not-for-profit learning network for medical laboratory technologists interested in Transfusion Science. The Learning Competition is our way of supporting the transfusion community. It is administered by Canadian Blood Services, with unrestricted funding provided by Talecris Biotherapeutics.

Contact: Shanta Rohse, (613) 739-2067, info@bloodtechnet.ca

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