Improving the training, competency, and health and safety culture of a microbiology laboratory through the exploration of situated and social learning models.

Compliance to health and safety regulations is paramount when working in a microbiology laboratory. Hazards including the handling of infectious agents and using safety-critical equipment mean that staff working in such an environment must be aware of what they are doing and act appropriately. The relationship between training, competence, and safety culture was explored in the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC), a microbiology laboratory with 13 staff members.

The aim of this research was to ascertain how laboratory training and technical competence is developed, how it contributes to the overall health and safety culture of the microbiology, what factors influence how staff in a microbiology learn, and what mechanisms should be applied to make a tangible improvement in the approach taken to build a positive safety culture with competent staff.
The research took place during the COVID-19 pandemic in a microbiology in the United Kingdom, after the end of lockdown and during a time of transition back to “business-as-usual,” providing a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on training and safety culture in a microbiology laboratory, with transferrable practices and idiosyncratic characteristics. A qualitative research methodology was followed, using an iterative action research approach in which the participants were involved in shaping the outcomes of the resources created and implemented during this research. In total, 24 unique individuals, and 1,190 records featured in the study.

A formative review of incident and training records showed there was potential for improving the laboratory training and competency process to allow for safe practise in NCTC. A critical literature review of 20 research revealed a rapid transition to virtual learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but lacked effectiveness and generalisability to the microbiology setting. The widely used team and problem-based learning, simulation and coproduction, showed the importance of interaction and a collaborative approach to education. These findings aligned with the learning model of Communities of Practice (CoP), providing a potential solution to addressing the link between competence and culture, the influence of leadership and access to tacit knowledge in the workplace. This research reverts to the origins of the CoP theories in its application to an in-person setting.

This is the first known application of Wenger’s value creation framework to evaluate health and safety culture in a microbiology laboratory. It used semi-structured interviews with 10 staff members to explore how information flowed in the workplace what sources staff valued and how leadership and the collective identity of the unit influenced safety culture. Social network analysis to identify information exchange, and triangulation with meeting recordings were also employed to corroborate findings.

The overall findings of this research show that social learning, collaboration and participation are an important contributing factor to the participants’ overall professional competency and should be utilised and incorporated into the laboratory training approach. The competency assessment process was updated to better capture safety training, encouraging involvement at all levels in meetings, establishing feedback on the design of written documentation and decision making and establishing a forward training strategy. The interventions led to a reduction in safety incidents in the laboratory attributed to insufficient training, demonstrating an improvement in the overall safety culture of the laboratory through the integration of social learning, upward feedback and recognition of identity into training frameworks.
The potential impact of this thesis in the wider biomedical community is an alternative approach to effective laboratory training, technical competency and collaborative leadership that moves beyond knowledge and compliance to utilise social interaction to fulfil the training needs of the individuals and build a resilient safety culture across laboratory environments.