APHL is working with FDA's
Office of Training Education and Development and a team of subject matter experts (SMEs) to build a
competency-based curriculum framework (see image) for human and animal food laboratory professionals. The goal of the framework is a competent laboratory workforce doing comparable work as part of an
Integrated Food Safety System. The curriculum framework is a career-spanning, visual schematic of the human and animal food laboratory profession. It is being developed in tandem with another FDA curriculum development project for regulatory program professionals, the
National Curriculum Standard.
Framework Levels
The framework spans five professional levels (entry, mid, expert, supervisor/manager and senior administration), and depicts the content areas in which laboratory professionals must possess competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors and attributes) in order to successfully perform their job functions. Content areas are either core (applying to all laboratory professionals) or program-specific, applying to laboratory professionals specializing in either chemistry (shaded in purple), microbiology (shaded in green) or special testing (shaded in pink). There are also two cross-cutting content areas for Leadership and Quality Managers.
The curriculum framework is being used for:
- Training development (courses and other learning events)
- Cataloging existing training
- Competency assessment
Using the Competencies
The Laboratory Curriculum Framework Work Group has created the following blueprint documents to serve as guides for those looking to evaluate competency, either self-evaluation or as a supervisor. The framework content areas and competency statements are regularly reviewed and updated (as needed) to remain current. The documents below are subject to change and will be updated with the most current version.
Entry Level Competency Statements
Mid Level Competency Statements
Expert Level Competency Statements
Director Level Competency Statements
Cross-cutting Competencies
Training Available
Competency-based training courses are currently in development to complement the curriculum framework. These courses can be found on APHL's Learning Portal.
Work Group
The Laboratory Curriculum Framework Work Group consists of SMEs from various associations, state and local public health and agricultural laboratories, and federal agencies. The work continues the partnership between APHL, AFDO and AAFCO as the associations share resources and gather subject matter experts from their memberships. The workgroup will continue to meet ad hoc when competencies need to be reviewed and/or updated.