Ob-Gyn and LMP faculty publish paper sharing insights and successes of MHSc in Clinical Embryology

Clinical embryologists play an integral role in providing care for fertility patients and implementing challenging laboratory procedures within assisted reproductive technology (ART) teams. They are responsible for overseeing the handling, evaluation, and care of human gametes and preimplantation embryos within ART laboratories.

Over the years, the role of the clinical embryologist has been transformed by continued scientific and technological advances that are poised to revolutionize the future of infertility care. With remarkable new developments in pharmacology, cell biology, and engineering, clinical embryologists now need deep knowledge of reproductive physiology and genetics, as well as a solid base understanding of scientific theory and complex ethical concerns.

And yet, embryologists in many countries, including Canada, still enter the field after receiving only informal training by individual laboratory directors through a largely unregulated apprenticeship model which doesn’t reflect the level of responsibility and rigour the role demands.

The University of Toronto has developed the first program of its kind to educate clinical scientists in embryology, known as clinical embryologists, within the Department of Laboratory Medicine, with essential support from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. In a recently published paper, the founders of this program have shared the process of its development, their insights, and a detailed description so that other educators and policymakers can benefit from the U of T experience.

“Education of the Clinical Embryology Laboratory Professional: Development of a Novel Program Delivered in a Laboratory Medicine Department” illustrates the potential benefits of university-based programs like the University of Toronto’s two-year Master of Health Sciences (MHSc) in Laboratory Medicine degree program could be implemented and adopted elsewhere.

“Despite the increasing recognition of clinical embryologists as professionals, education, training, certification, licensing, and continued professional development remain poorly defined in Canada,” said Dr. Heather Shapiro, who co-authored the report with Temerty Medicine’s Dr. Danielle C. Bentley, Dr. Ted Brown, Ms. Pat Chronis-Brown, Dr. Avrum I. Gotlieb, Dr. G. Scot Hamilton, and Dr. Rita Kandel.

The many reasons this has not happened are multifactorial, one being how clinical embryologists sit at the intersection of laboratory medicine and reproductive endocrinology, a subspecialty of obstetrics and gynaecology. Historically, obstetrician-gynaecologists recognized the need, but did not have the infrastructure to provide laboratory medicine training. Laboratory medicine did not recognize that there was need for their skillset within the reproductive field.

“Well-structured and directed academic programs addressing the learning needs for individuals wishing to become clinical embryologists are required for them to be fully accepted as professionals,” Shapiro said.

To address that educational gap and the growing learning needs of the clinical embryology field, Shapiro et al. outline the three key features of the University’s MHSc in Laboratory Medicine: the formal integration of clinical embryology into the overall umbrella of a laboratory medicine department; the creation of a Clinical Embryology Skills Development Lab (CESDL) for trainees to obtain the technical skills required in the field; and the incorporation of an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) lab placement course to expose students to the pace and workflow of a functioning ART laboratory. They further provide their experiences in the hope of supporting further education in this important field.

“The clinical embryologist is no longer simply a technician; they now generally provide critical advice and insight that directly impact patient care,” Shapiro said. “Errors in performance or judgment on the part of the clinical embryologist can lead to serious long-term consequences for both the patient and the clinic treating the patient.”

Finally, the paper also recommended a process of formal accreditation for academic programs in clinical embryology.

“Consistent with the fledgling nature of clinical embryology training programs and the recognition of clinical embryologists as true professionals, an overarching accrediting agency is not currently available in Canada,” Shapiro said.