Teaching pediatric laboratory medicine to pathology residents

Laboratory data are essential to the medical care of fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents. However, the performance and interpretation of laboratory tests on specimens from these patients, which may constitute a significant component of the workload in general hospitals and integrated health care systems as well as specialized perinatal or pediatric centers, present unique challenges to the clinical pathologist and the laboratory. Therefore, pathology residents should receive training in pediatric laboratory medicine.

Children's Health Improvement through Laboratory Diagnostics, a group of pathologists and laboratory scientists with interest and expertise in pediatric laboratory medicine, convened a task force to develop a list of curriculum topics, key resources, and training experiences in pediatric laboratory medicine for trainees in anatomic and clinical pathology or straight clinical pathology residency programs and in pediatric pathology fellowship programs.

Based on the experiences of 11 training programs, we have compiled a comprehensive list of pediatric topics in the areas of clinical chemistry, endocrinology, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation medicine, transfusion medicine, immunology, microbiology and virology, biochemical genetics, cytogenetics and molecular diagnostics, point of care testing, and laboratory management. This report also includes recommendations for training experiences and a list of key texts and other resources in pediatric laboratory medicine.

Clinical pathologists should be trained to meet the laboratory medicine needs of pediatric patients and to assist the clinicians caring for these patients with the selection and interpretation of laboratory studies. This review helps program directors tailor their curricula to more effectively provide this training.