TEST SELECTION AND INTERPRETATION IN CLINICAL-CHEMISTRY - AN ELECTIVEFOR 3RD-YEAR MEDICAL-STUDENTS

Few publications have addressed the practical details of structuring a nd implementing a course for medical students in laboratory utilizatio n. We describe an elective for teaching the selection and interpretati on of chemistry tests to third-year medical students. The course consi sts of lectures, interactive case studies, case presentations by stude nts, and independent textbook study. As part of the course, students' blood samples are drawn and analyzed for a series of commonly ordered tests. Our 7-year experience with the elective shows that there is a s trong demand for this type of course and that clinical chemistry can b e made interesting and relevant to medical students.