ULAB 110A - Clinical Microbiology Part 1

Three-week hybrid course introducing basic testing utilized in the microbiology and susceptibility lab departments to prepare non-clinical bachelor’s degree students or graduates to begin a career in the clinical laboratory. Topics include use of sterile technique, basic culture set-up and organism identification for common cultures seen in the clinical microbiology laboratory including urine, stool, wound, tissue, respiratory, CSF, and blood cultures, introductory concepts in mycology and parasitology, molecular methodologies, and quality control.

Prerequisite(s): Bachelor of Science with 30 credits of chemistry or biology

Course Learning Outcomes:

Describe proper culture set-up for microbiology testing including media used, plating techniques, and proper incubation.
Use critical thinking to properly identify common organisms encountered in the clinical microbiology laboratory through results from Gram stain reactions, morphology, biochemical reactions, and automated methodologies.
Explain the difference between normal flora, opportunistic organisms, and true pathogens. Make a clear determination of the acceptability of a culture and whether it is contaminated with normal flora.
Understand the importance of sterile technique in required quality control the microbiology lab.

Outline:

Proper specimen collection, use of sterile technique, common media, basic culture set-up, incubation and workflow in the microbiology lab, brief overview of antimicrobial agents.
Overview of common organisms: normal flora, opportunistic organisms, true pathogens. Gram staining, and examination of direct clinical smears.
Urine and stool cultures: media, plating, colony counts, organism identification, reporting results. Quality control in the microbiology lab.
Wound and tissue cultures: media, plating, organism identification, reporting results. Polymicrobial and anaerobic cultures.
Respiratory and CSF cultures: media, plating, organism identification, reporting results.
Blood cultures: methodologies, organism identification, determining contamination. Molecular methods in the microbiology lab.
Mycology: overview of common organisms and identification methods.
Parasitology: overview of common organism and identification methods.
Review and comprehensive final exam