Is It Knowledge or Skills? - Education in Transfusion Medicine - Abstract
Transfusion Medicine is one of the youngest medical branches. The specialty started around
1900 with the discovery of red cell characteristics (blood groups) by Landsteiner and his
research group. Although it opened the door to more safe clinical transfusion, the field explored
largely the more technical laboratory aspects related to the manufacturing and preservation
of blood and blood products and the provider of the human source material, the blood donor.
As a consequence, education largely covered these technical elements focusing on laboratory
skills, test tube oriented. That raises the question: is it knowledge or the regular skills which are
regarded to be the most important?
There is a great variety of educational or learning curricula designed around the technical
laboratory aspects of Transfusion Medicine, with little attention to the important aspects of
knowledge, the deeper background of theoretical aspects.
Much education or learning is not systematically and nationally organized and often locally
provided by non-professional teachers. The data assembled by the World Health Organization
and UNDP, but also through surveys conducted by professional associations provide a sad picture
that needs focused action of governments particularly in the Low-and Middle-Income Countries
(LMICs).
The review illustrates the importance and economy or sharing of knowledge as the driving
force in education: awareness and understanding, an education environment and a learning
climate under the guidance of the Ministry of Education – policy and strategies, legal system
and regulation of the education system to respect recognition of education outcomes and
implementation of the required knowledge.