[Undergraduate education of laboratory medicine in Hirosaki University School of Medicine].

The Department of Laboratory Medicine is responsible for the several undergraduate educational programs in Hirosaki University School of Medicine. We describe here how these programs are taken place. The staffs of the department participate in premedical lectures for the first grade students under the name of "21st century education" to introduce the medical english, human science, health and disease. As an early clinical exposure, the first grade medical students spend half day to make rotational visit to major clinical departments in the University Hospital once a week. We show them how each section of the Department of Clinical Laboratory works. At Year 4 during preclinical courses, 15 credit lectures of laboratory medicine based on clinical core are provided by our staffs and invited lecturers. Year 4 students can also choose one of elective research courses. This year, 5 students studied three topics of diagnostic testing and derivative research in the setting of an academic clinical laboratory. The core clerkship in laboratory medicine includes the necessary skills for acquiring a blood sampling and performing core laboratory examination. Emphasis is placed on interpretation of the data as well as the sampling and examination. We have played some role in the introduction of tutorial learning methods into preclinical courses in the year of 2003. Although we need supply of directors manpower, we hope that all of the students can acquire quality of the generally permissive six year of medical school and prepare postgraduate educational programs through our education courses.