Application guide: training of professional users of devices for near-patient testing

Abstract Insufficient operator training has been identified as an underlying root cause for many errors of point-of-care testing. However, while the need for operator training is beyond doubt, the practical solutions on how to train operators remain challenging. Therefore a multidisciplinary team of experts created the application guide VDE-AR-E 2411-2-101 “Schulung professioneller Anwender von patientennahen Tests” (Training of professional users of devices for near-patient testing). This work is based on the talk of Nicola Barabas during the POCT-Symposium in Munich 2017 and presents selected aspects of the application guide such as the role of the manufacturer, the learning path, the selection of training topics, the train-the-trainer concept and e-learning.