Problems and perspectives of clinical biochemistry training, and the example of Italy

Even though Laboratory Medicine is a firmly established science, the taxonomy of its various branches differs not only between countries but also within the same country, largely because of conflicting interests and views. Two criteria can be used to define Laboratory Medicine: (1) it encompasses the life sciences such as biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology and other scientific disciplines as applied to clinical practice, and (2) it involves solving clinical problems and making related decisions applied to preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic aspects of medicine. Thus, Laboratory Medicine is an integrated science that is clinically oriented, but it depends upon the basic sciences for its operational and intellectual aspects. The education and training of Clinical Biochemistry professionals can be either multidisciplinary, which is the traditional approach, or interdisciplinary whereby the "student' undergoes a "structured' complementary training. Again, there is much debate as to the pitfalls and benefits of each approach. We suggest the interdisciplinary educational approach can better incorporate the rapid turnover of knowledge and the continuous changes in the various lines of activity that are characteristic of Laboratory Medicine, thereby providing a unifying mechanism by which Laboratory Medicine can enter unequivocally into the scenario of Medical Sciences. In this article, the situation in Italy is taken as an example of the different opinions and philosophies that should be accommodated to reach a training system acceptable to both sides of the debate.