IPC, AMS & Patient Safety

Phlebotomy is one of the most frequently performed invasive procedures in healthcare, but it exposes healthcare workers to significant risks from blood and body fluids. In Kenya, inadequate formal training has contributed to increased cases of needlestick injuries (NSIs) and poor-quality samples, highlighting the need for structured and standardized training.
To address this, the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programme (NASCOP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health together with Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), developed the Safe Phlebotomy eLearning program. This course is designed to equip healthcare workers with essential knowledge and skills in safe blood collection, infection prevention and control, waste management, inventory management, and occupational exposure management. The need for this program was identified during the rapid scale-up of the HIV program and the increasing demand for reliable patient monitoring.
The eLearning modules are hosted on the Ministry of Health’s Virtual Academy and are accessible to both in-service and pre-service clinical health workers. Upon successful completion of the online theoretical component, participants will transition to designated KMTC campuses, where course managers will facilitate hands-on practicum sessions. Given KMTC’s presence across all 47 counties and its role as a backbone in health workforce training, it is ideally placed to deliver the practical component of this program.
Completion of both the eLearning modules and the practicum sessions is mandatory for certification by KMTC. More details on the course page.

Course Image by freepik