The impact of clinical biochemistry on the pre-doctoral medical curriculum: an Italian viewpoint.

Clinical biochemistry can be viewed as a subdiscipline of laboratory medicine, but is not confined to the practical aspects of laboratory testing as clinical chemistry is. Since medical studies comprise both theoretical education and practical training, clinical (bio)chemistry must be taught by preceptors experienced in clinical laboratory operations. In Italy, where medical education traditionally has been separated into basic sciences and clinical sciences, clinical biochemistry has been added as a course to bridge between the two phases of the curriculum. However, the broader changes in Italian medical training will create a more cohesive pattern of teaching, and the integration of different material into a 'layer cake' curriculum. In such a structure, clinical (bio)chemistry will be considered a clinical discipline devoted mainly to teaching the use of laboratory tests, while the linkage between basic and clinical sciences falls to general pathology and pathophysiology. Nevertheless, to avoid overlap and lack of propaedeutical coordination, the content of the clinical (bio)chemistry-course must be coordinated with both the basic and the clinical sciences. This viewpoint is also supported by IFCC/IUPAC guidelines on teaching clinical chemistry to medical students.