Croatian Society of Medical Biochemists

Croatian Society of Medical Biochemists (CSMB) was founded in 1953 as voluntary and non-profit scientific and professional association of medical biochemists. Until 1998 the Society was a part of the Croatian Pharmacological Society, and afterwards it became an independent association. Today the Society has more than 750 members; graduates, specialists, masters and doctors of science and doctors of philosophy involved in health care system, research, education or trade.

Since 1973 CSMB, as a part of Yugoslav Society of Medical Biochemists, CSMB is full member of IFCC and since 1992 a full member as an independent association. In 1993 CSMB has become a member of Forum of European Societies for Clinical Chemistry (FESCC) today’s European Federation of Clinical Chemistry (EFCC).
The Society activities involve organization of monthly meetings of the members, seminars, workshops, annual symposia and every three years national congresses. Society publishes bilingual scientific journal Biochemia Medica three times a year, indexed in distinguished citation databases like Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Report/Science Edition in scope of the Thomson Reuters databases. Until 2006 CSBM informed its members through the newsletter Glasilo four times a year and afterwards all news and information can be found on the Society web sites (www.hdmb.hr).
One of significant activities that the Society has been performing since 1970 is the national External Quality Assessment (EQA) for all medical laboratories in Croatia. The EQA programs have continuously upgraded and expanded related to the needs of the profession and in accordance with European institutions for EQA (EQAL).

   

Croatian Chamber of Medical Biochemists (CCMB) was established in 1995 as the obligatory professional organization of medical biochemists in health care system based on the Law on Health Care (Official Gazette 75/93). The founders of the Chamber, according to this Law have been the Zagreb University Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemists. This Law has introduced the working license lasting 6 years for all health care workers. The Ministry of Health and Social Care authorizes the Chamber for licensing of medical biochemists serving in health care system.
Related to this fact a mandatory program of continuous professional education of medical biochemists was established. The Croatian Chamber of Medical Biochemists has recognized the credits accomplished by variety of programs organized by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry (scientific degrees), the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemists (symposia, congresses), the Croatian Chamber of Medical Biochemists itself (courses) and other scientific institutions, as well as research publishing activity. The license has prolonged every 6 years on the basis of successfully completed criteria of continuous education defined by the Rules of the Croatian Chamber of Medical Biochemists.

CCMB has worked together with CSMB to introduce in Croatia the international norm EN ISO 15189:2003, accepted as the fundamental norm for accreditation of medical laboratories in European countries. The Croatian Institute for Norms accepted this norm for quality assessment of medical laboratories in 2006 as the HRN EN ISO 15189:2006 norm entitled Medical Laboratory - Particular requirements for quality and competence. This norm is also translated into Croatian in 2006. In accordance with the policy of EA (European co-operation for Accreditation) national accreditation bodies, EA members, have accepted the ISO 15189:2003 norm for practical application during accreditation since 2003. Croatian Accreditation Agency started in 2006 in co-operation with the Ministry of Health and Social Care, CCMB and CSMB with activities on development of accreditation scheme for medical laboratories according to requirements of the norm HRN EN ISO 15189:2006. Following these events, first medical biochemical laboratories in Croatia were accredited in 2007. In the accreditation process specially trained medical biochemists – experts of the profession are involved in auditing.   

Education of medical biochemists

In 2005 the study of medical biochemistry at the Zagreb University Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry became a five-year study following the reform of university education in Croatia in line with the accepted Bologna Declaration. New concept of the study emphasis the multidisciplinary character of the profession in particular in order to enable application of up-to-date scientific knowledge in medical context. The program is harmonized with the recommendations accepted by the majority of European countries for work in medical biochemical laboratories, and is comprised in the document European Syllabus for the Training in Clinical Chemistry. The curriculum consists of integral five-year program leading to the degree of Master of Medical Biochemistry. The difference in relation to former teaching programs of the study is that professional subjects are part of the curriculum already from the first study year with a lot of elective subjects. The curriculum is organized in a way that there are 28% subjects of fundamental natural sciences, 12% biomedical, 45% professional and 15% elective subject. Fundamental and professional subjects within the curriculum are intensively correlated and training in university department hospital laboratories starts already at the first year. The ECTS credits are assigned to each subject, and are transferable among universities. The suggested curriculum is performed in co-operation with teaching hospitals related to the Faculty.

With introduction of the Bologna Rules in University education in 2005 the rules for acquiring a Ph.D. degree have been changed too. The new 3-year doctoral curriculum containing basic, modular, methodological and elective subjects has begun in 2005 at the Zagreb University Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry. It often takes 5 to 6 years to complete the doctoral thesis requirements. The candidate graduates with a Ph.D. (Doctor of Phylosophy).  

Medical biochemical laboratories (MBL) in Croatia and medical biochemists as profession are a part of the health care system and their activities are regulated by the Law on State Health Insurance (Official Gazette 117/03), Law on medical - biochemical activities (Official Gazette 121/03) and Law on Health Care (Official Gazette 150/08).
The health care system recognizes medical biochemist as one of four academically educated personal in health care (doctor of medicine, doctor of dentistry, magister of pharmacy and master of medical biochemistry).
The first license for practicing medical biochemistry in the health care system in Croatia is issued by the Croatian Chamber of Medical Biochemists after one year of obligatory practical training in a medical biochemical laboratory and state exam taken at the Ministry of Health and Social Care. The plan and the program for practical training was proposed by the Zagreb University Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemists and regulated by the Bylaw of The Ministry of Health and Social Care.
The new specialization of medical biochemistry and laboratory medicine is regulated by the Bylaw for Specialization of the Ministry of Health and Social Care (Official Gazette 73/08). According to this Bylaw, master of medical biochemistry can specialize either in medical biochemistry and laboratory medicine or in analytical toxicology. Only medical biochemists graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry are eligible to proceed towards further specialization in medical biochemistry and laboratory medicine.
The new specialization in medical biochemistry and laboratory medicine lasts four years. New professional program is comprised of one year of professional study courses and simultaneously beginning of residency in medical laboratories accredited for teaching graduates by the Ministry of Health and Social Care according to the proposal of the Zagreb University Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemists.

After ending the specialization, the specialist in medical biochemistry and laboratory medicine is an expert who individually organizes all laboratory analytical procedures and bears full responsibility for each individual co-worker participating in analytical workflow. He is also trained to participate as consultant in tests selection and interpretation of expected and unexpected laboratory test results.

xClinical Chemistry tradition in Croatia

Clinical chemistry has been a separate professional field in Croatia since 1937 when the first medical-biochemical laboratory was founded as an independent unit in Clinical Hospital Merkur in Zagreb by Professor Ibrahim Ruždić.
The starting point in the undergraduate education of clinical chemists was introduction of clinical chemistry as the subject into the academic curriculum of the study of pharmacy in 1946 by Professor Marijana Fisher Herman.
In 1962 formerly existing Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Zagreb was reorganized into three graduate degree programs: pharmacy, nutrition and medical biochemistry and was renamed to Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry. Since 1963 the study lasted for 8 semesters.

In 1986 a completely new organization of the academic curricula of medical biochemistry was designed at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry. The separate academic curricula of medical biochemistry was designed with considerable improvements offering new obligatory subjects (Molecular and cells biology, Imunochemistry and immunology, Molecular medicine, Laboratory management and organization), introduction of electives. The novelty of such an approach has resulted in creating a network with University Hospitals’ laboratories, increasing individual and active participation of students in education and improving practice-based knowledge. In 2002 the Study was prolonged to 9 semesters. The graduated experts successfully finished the study acquire a degree of Graduated Engineer of Medical Biochemistry.

2005 the Study of medical biochemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry becomes a five-year-study in line with the reform of university education in Croatia which was based on the accepted Bologna process. The curriculum is harmonized with the recommendations accepted in the majority of European countries and consists of integral five-year program leading to the degree of Master of Medical Biochemistry.

Former Congresses organized by HDMB

Prepared by:

Prof. Dubravka Juretic, Ph.D.
Prof. Elizabeta Topic, Ph.D.