Learning in a reference laboratory is one thing. Applying that knowledge in a real hospital setting – where patients depend on accurate results every single day, is something else entirely.
That is exactly what a group of trainees at the Uganda Supranational TB Reference Laboratory (SRL)/NTRL experienced when they visited Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital for an immersive field training session covering multiple laboratory sections, with a focused emphasis on TB diagnostics and the GeneXpert molecular testing laboratory.
Into the Field
The visit to Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital gave trainees a rare window into how different laboratory sections operate within a functional health facility. From haematology and microbiology to the dedicated TB and GeneXpert laboratory, participants observed, engaged, and practised alongside hospital laboratory staff – gaining practical insight that no training room can fully replicate.
The TB and GeneXpert laboratory was a particular highlight. Trainees observed live GeneXpert MTB/RIF testing procedures, cartridge handling, error management, result interpretation, and the documentation processes that ensure every result is traceable and reliable. The hands-on interaction with functioning equipment in an active diagnostic setting deepened their understanding in ways that stay with a scientist long after the training ends.
Why Field Exposure Matters
Uganda SRL/NTRL has long recognised that truly competent TB laboratory professionals are built not only through structured classroom and bench training at the reference laboratory, but through exposure to the realities of how TB diagnostics function across different levels of the health system.
Regional referral hospitals like Entebbe serve as a critical bridge between the national reference laboratory and the district health facilities. Understanding how these laboratories operate – their workflows, their challenges, their quality systems; equips trainees to become better diagnosticians, better quality managers, and better mentors when they return to their own facilities.
A Programme Built on Regional Excellence
This field visit is part of a broader EQA capacity-building programme through which Uganda SRL, in collaboration with JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), and supported through a Health Commitment grant under the United States Department of State (DoS) Tuberculosis Implementation Framework Agreement (TIFA), is strengthening TB laboratory capacity across national and SRL networks.
The programme, which recently brought together laboratory managers from 20 countries and TB programme managers from 7 countries for a hands-on EQA practical session at NTRL Kampala, focuses on:
- Access to quality TB drug susceptibility testing
- External quality assurance capacity building
- Hands-on EQA panel validation for new WHO-endorsed TB diagnostic technologies
- Preparation for implementation of near-NPOC technologies in participating countries
The trainees who visited Entebbe are part of this same ecosystem, the next generation of laboratory professionals who will carry these skills back to their facilities, their districts, and their national programmes.
Building Capacity That Lasts
What NTRL offers is not just training, it is transformation. Every field visit, every bench session, every interaction with an experienced trainer is a deposit into a professional foundation that will serve Uganda’s TB response for decades.
The trainees who walked through the doors of Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital yesterday left with more than observations. They left with the kind of grounded, practical confidence that defines a truly competent TB laboratory professional.
Uganda SRL/NTRL remains committed to building that kind of excellence; one trainee, one visit, one competency at a time.
For information about upcoming training programmes at Uganda SRL/NTRL, contact us at info@ntrl.or.ug or training@ntrl.or.ug or call our toll-free line 0800-100-066. Applications from national TB programmes across world are welcome!
