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The course will explore how best to use the clinical and anatomic diagnostic laboratories for the diagnosis and management of major diseases. We will employ a case-based approach to examine the utility of specific laboratory procedures. The focus will be on current practices, and we will explore how the practices have been developed and validated. We will explore medical and scientific issues involved in specific laboratory tests, as well as logistic, economic and regulatory issues which affect the practice of laboratory medicine. The first day of class will involve an overview of the course and an interactive exercise. During the days following, students will discuss pre-assigned cases, with three student discussion leaders and faculty acting as facilitators and resource people. The last day will be used for a final exercise and summation. Among the topics to be discussed are:

• Issues in the use of the clinical laboratory
• Diagnostic issues in hemostasis and monitoring of anticoagulation therapy
• Tumor markers
• Diagnosis and monitoring of HIV, HCV, HBV
• Role of the laboratory in diabetes monitoring
• Use of Frozen sections
• Advanced diagnostic methodologies in cancer
• Cervical cancer screening
• Reflex testing and development of clinical algorithms