Continuing Education Units and the Toxicology Times
Dr. Joseph E. Graas, Scientific Director
Dr. Edward Moore, Medical Director
Jane Bue, CLS, MT(ACSP)
The Toxicology Time was first published in August 2011, as a free on-line dissemination of information for the treatment community from the laboratory perspective. The intent was to give treatment personnel information on the various drugs, techniques, interferences and anomalies for substances that are used and abused that are available in the illicit market, and the availability of the drugs and pharmaceutical pills that have been obtained and sold or just misused in a recreational sense by patients in drug treatment programs. The use, and denial of the use, add a dimension to the understanding of positive patient results determined by the testing laboratory. At San Diego Reference Laboratory, we track common client questions as subject material for each monthly issue. We further interface with professionals from other agencies (military, police, crime laboratories, etc.) in the dissemination of information on new drugs or modification of common drugs that are manufactured in the United States or brought into this country from other countries. In general, we find a positive reception of the information contained in the Toxicology Times from the feedback provided by treatment physicians, nurses, and all other licensed treatment personnel.
To give further value to the monthly issues of the Toxicology Times, we will be able to offer Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) for medical personnel annual licensing requirements. The CEU program is very simple, and consists of reading the current issue of the Toxicology Times and then taking a short quiz. The quiz, when graded, must have a minimum score of 80% to qualify for the CEU that month. The reading and quiz should not take more than an hour and will carry a 1 contact hour for each month of successful participation. Further, it is our intention to provide this at no cost to qualifying organizations.
What is the process for an organization to participate?
Each organization will identify an individual within the organization to be the Site Coordinator to correspond with SDRL regarding the courses and filing the CEU paperwork. Then the Site Coordinator will fill out a form with contact information and return it to the SDRL Training Coordinator.
What are the Site Coordinator responsibilities?
The Site Coordinator will send out the course and quiz to the individuals on their distribution list, request individual’s signature on a participation list when the quiz is returned from participant, send certificate to participants that have passed the quiz, send a copy of certificate and quiz to SDRL Training Coordinator, and keep a file of all documentation at their organization.
What is the process for an individual to participate?
Each individual will contact the organization’s Site Coordinator to get on the organizations distribution list and return each course quiz to the organization’s Site Coordinator within the required timeframe.