AACC Collaborates on Adaptive Learning Resource

Laboratory professionals will now have a new tool in the search for knowledge. The American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the NEJM Group, and Area9 Learning are joining forces to provide AACC Learning Lab. The online learning resource is “designed to help laboratory medicine experts expand their knowledge and enhance their ability to find answers to challenging patient health problems,” according to a press release announcing the collaboration.

The online learning platform covers five subject areas in the laboratory field with about 20 courses available in each subject:

• Clinical chemistry
• Hematology and coagulation
• Transfusion medicine
• Microbiology
• Molecular diagnostics

NEJM Group publishes the New England Journal of Medicine and already uses the adaptive learning technology for its program NEJM Knowledge+. Area9 Learning developed the technology to be used for the platform. Adaptive learning technology adjusts the lessons to the user’s pace and knowledge needs and is growing in popularity. Analyst Brian Fleming, addressed the technology in a 2015 Eduventures article calling it the “real revolution in online learning” and advised “[o]ur research suggests that no serious inquiry into the future of online education can ignore its potential.” In this case, laboratorians can use the online resource to prepare for certification exams or to obtain continuing education.

“Laboratory medicine professionals play a critical role in healthcare by ensuring that the right medical tests are ordered and that the results are interpreted correctly so that patients get effective care,” AACC CEO Janet B. Kreizman stated in the announcement, adding that this new resource will help these professionals “grow in their careers and positively impact patient outcomes.”