The Need for Laboratory Medicine in the Undergraduate Medical Education Curriculum: A White Paper from the Association of Pathology Chairs

Considering laboratory results are used to make medical decisions, a fundamental understanding of laboratory medicine is paramount to enhance patient care, optimize health care cost containment, and prevent legal repercussions. With increasing laboratory testing complexity, this education is needed now more than ever. This article is a call to action to have medical schools adequately incorporate practical laboratory medicine content into their undergraduate medical education (UME) curricula. The authors discuss the definition of laboratory medicine, what it encompasses, who uses it and why it matters, and propose that a core laboratory medicine curriculum is a necessary part of UME.