Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Codes of practice
Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used
Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements
Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements may include:
Australian and international standards, such as:
AS 2252 Biological safety cabinets
AS ISO 17025-2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
AS/NZS 2243.3:2002 Safety in laboratories - Microbiological aspects and containment facilities
ISO/TS 19036:2006 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Guidelines for the estimation of measurement of uncertainty for quantitative determinations
ISO7218:2007 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - General requirements and guidance for microbiological examinations
cleaning, hygiene, personal hygiene requirements
enterprise procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and operating manuals
guidelines for small scale genetic manipulation work from the gene technology regulations
incident and accident/injury reports
instructions to comply with new legislation, standards, guidelines and codes
quality system and continued improvement processes
safety requirements for equipment, materials or products and material safety data sheets (MSDS)
sampling procedures (labelling, preparation, storage, transport and disposal)
schematics, work flows and laboratory layouts
test procedures (validated and authorised)
waste minimisation, containment, processing and disposal procedures
Equipment, materials and systems
Equipment, materials and systems may include:
protective and physical containment facilities and equipment for safe handling of micro-organisms personal protective equipment, such as gloves, gowns, masks and safety glasses and gloves for working with extremes of heat and cold
carbon dioxide cabinets and incubators
transfer equipment, such as inoculating loops, pipettes (quantitative and qualitative), flasks, tubes and spatulas
liquid nitrogen containers for cell storage
filtration membranes
microscopes with bright field and other relevant illumination systems and stereomicroscopes
counting chambers for micro-enumeration
colony counting devices
Bunsen burners and bench incinerators
Incubators and water baths
anaerobic jars, fermentation chambers, continuous culture systems and other devices for controlling growth environments of micro-organisms
laboratory information management systems (LIMS), databases, record and filing systems
stains, media, reagents and biological materials necessary for laboratory testing
laboratory glassware and measuring equipment
disinfecting and sterilising solutions and equipment, such as ultraviolet (UV) lamps
materials suitable for the safe containment, collection, processing and disposal of biological and non-biological wastes
autoclaves
Communication
Communication may involve:
supervisors and managers (laboratory, quality and customer service)
personnel in other laboratories in the enterprise or in other enterprises to which work may be referred
customers, patients and clients
external auditors and accreditation agencies (e.g. National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA))
Occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental management requirements
OHS and environmental management requirements:
all work will assume the potential infectivity of samples and materials presented for laboratory processing
all operations must comply with enterprise OHS and environmental management requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation - these requirements must not be compromised at any time
all operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied
where relevant, users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and State and Territory Departments of Health

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Assessors should ensure that candidates can:
safely perform tasks for the culture, isolation, identification and use of micro-organisms
not contaminate him/herself, other people, the work area, equipment or the samples or materials under test
not contaminate media or reagents during manipulations involving transfer of cultures
identify artefacts or image aberrations attributable to misalignment or obstruction of light paths or condensers used in bright field, dark ground, phase and fluorescent microscopy, or with other steps in microscopic examinations
be consistently accurate in the identification of Gram reactions
be consistently accurate in the description of bacterial colony forms on common media used in bacteriological investigations
preparedata and documentation that is accurate, concise and in accordance with enterprise requirements
report all incidents or accidents
disinfectany spillage and safely dispose of all contaminated materials
decontaminate the work area upon completion of work.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment.
This unit of competency may be assessed with:
MSL934002A Apply quality system and continuous improvement processes.
Resources may include:
a standard microbiology laboratory with relevant equipment, samples and reagents
enterprise procedures, test methods and equipment manuals
under duty of care requirements, off-the-job training providers will only use samples and organisms of a risk category compatible with their laboratory as defined in AS/NZS 2243.3.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
review of results/data/records generated by the candidate
feedback from peers and supervisors to confirm that enterprise procedures are consistently followed and those results meet workplace requirements
oral and/or written questions associated with laboratory determinations and record keeping
integrated assessment with a case study focus, such as the isolation and identification of bacterial species in a specimen containing two or more species, by relating sample, cultural, morphological and biochemical data, and such from other relevant tests and procedures.
In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.
Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.
Access must be provided to appropriate learning and/or assessment support when required.
The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work like environment.

This competency in practice
Industry representatives have provided the case studies below to illustrate the practical application of this unit of competency and to show its relevance in a workplace setting.
Biomedical
A patient's urine sample and request form have been brought to the laboratory for urgent testing. After preparation of the work area, the technical officer examines a cover-slipped preparation of the sample and notes the presence of pus cells and non-motile rod organisms. In a Gram stain he confirms the presence of pus cells and Gram negative bacilli. They inoculate a MacConkey's and a blood agar plate for growth and isolation of bacteria. After consultation with the supervisor they are asked to set up a direct culture for antibiotic sensitivity testing. The supervisor informs the clinician of the initial findings. The next morning the technical officer assists the supervisor to read the plates. The predominance of lactose fermenting organisms is noted. The supervisor asks the technical officer to set up a biochemical panel to assist in identifying the organism. The supervisor confirms the technical officer's reading of the direct sensitivities plate. Later in the day the team is able to confirm that the patient's urine is infected with Escherichia coli and that the organism is sensitive to a number of antibiotics, including a sulphonamide and a cephalosporin.
Food processing
A swollen can of tuna was received at the company laboratory for microbiological investigation. The technical officer recorded the details supplied with the can and prepared for the investigation. A range of media, including cooked meat media and nutrient broth were prepared and aseptic can opening equipment was sterilised. After the can was opened in the biohazard cabinet, the state of the contents was recorded, pH checked and Gram stains prepared and examined. The media was inoculated with the food samples and incubated at a range of temperatures under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The can was then emptied for double seam tear down to determine the cause of the spoilage. The next day the technical officer examined the media and broth cultures. From all the data collected the technical officer and supervisor were able to determine that pre-processing spoilage had occurred, probably due to excessive delays in the process prior to can sterilisation. The results were reported to production personnel so that they could follow up the circumstances relating to the delays, and ensure that the SOP had been followed and sufficient product rejected.