Medical Laboratory Technician Laboratory Operations and QC Questions and Answers Flashcards
6 cards from real Medical Laboratory Technician Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
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A technician notices that the last 10 consecutive QC values all fall on the same side of the mean but within 2 standard deviations. Which Westgard rule is violated?
Answer: 10x
The 10x rule is violated when 10 consecutive control measurements fall on the same side of the mean, indicating a systematic shift even though individual values are within 2SD.
Which agency establishes the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulations that govern laboratory testing in the United States?
Answer: CMS
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing CLIA regulations for clinical laboratories.
A laboratory is validating a new chemistry analyzer. Which parameter assesses the agreement between the new method and the existing reference method?
Answer: Method comparison
Method comparison studies evaluate the agreement between a new analyzer and an established reference method by testing patient samples on both systems.
What corrective action should be taken when a Levy-Jennings chart shows a sudden upward shift in control values starting after a reagent lot change?
Answer: Rerun controls using the previous reagent lot to confirm the new lot is the cause
When a shift coincides with a reagent lot change, rerunning controls with the previous lot helps confirm whether the new reagent is causing the problem.
What does the coefficient of variation (CV) measure in laboratory quality control?
Answer: The relative standard deviation expressed as a percentage of the mean
The coefficient of variation expresses the standard deviation as a percentage of the mean, allowing comparison of precision across different concentration levels.
Which laboratory practice is essential for maintaining chain of custody for forensic or legal specimens?
Answer: Documenting every person who handles the specimen from collection to disposal
Chain of custody requires detailed documentation of every individual who handles the specimen to ensure its integrity and admissibility in legal proceedings.