Clinical Microbiology · stage 4 of 5

Naming it, and testing what will treat it

Growth on a plate or a curve on an amplification run is not yet a result. By the end of this stage you can work an isolate through to a named organism by culture or molecular methods, decide what is pathogen and what is flora, produce and interpret susceptibility data, and recognise when the method or the instrument — not the patient — is what changed.

Work through these in order

1. 1Presumptive identification from the plate and a spot testPreparation and Testing
2. 2Sorting true pathogens from background floraEvaluation and Interpretation
3. 3Turning colonies on a plate into a reportable countPreparation and Testing
4. 4Working a specimen through to a named organismPreparation and Testing
5. 5Reading culture and cell results from blood and sterile fluidsEvaluation and Interpretation
6. 6Handling specimens on their way to a molecular assayPreparation and Testing
7. 7Getting nucleic acid out of a specimen intactPreparation and Testing
8. 8Setting up amplification reactions without contaminating themPreparation and Testing
9. 9Interpreting amplification data before a result is releasedPreparation and Testing
10. 10Testing an isolate against the antimicrobials that matterPreparation and Testing
11. 11Interpreting susceptibility testing before it is reportedEvaluation and Interpretation
12. 12Judging commercial kit results and their limitsEvaluation and Interpretation
13. 13Knowing where each method stops being reliablePreparation and Testing
14. 14Reading the failure when equipment stops performingEquipment and Resources
15. 15Telling random error apart from systematic errorQuality Assurance

This reading order is MLTPrep’s own. To browse the same material filed against the competency areas instead, go back to the Clinical Microbiology study guide.

MLTPrep is an independent study resource. Not affiliated with or endorsed by CAMLPR. Always confirm current requirements with CAMLPR directly.