[Education for medical students and post-graduates--Training of laboratory medicine at Nihon University Medical School and Surugadai Nihon University Hospital].

Laboratory medicine is defined as 'a field which analyzes the patients' clinical condition and contributes to the procedures such as diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and prognostic determination'. In other words, it involves not only in every process of medical treatment for patients, but also in the field of preventive medicine and occupational health. Therefore, it is unavoidable for every department to interpret the laboratory data. This necessarily requires all medical students to master laboratory test procedures, comprehend various impediments to the accurate laboratory data, and acquire the basics of the interpretation of laboratory data. During postgraduate training period, they must acquire enough skill of test procedures and determination methods such as Gram stain, and their interpretation of the test results should also be wide and directly connected to the treatment. Physicians who are trained in each particular department and aim to become a laboratory physician are in need of enough understanding of the specialized tests relate to each specialized area. Based on the fact that laboratory physicians involve in all of these educations, this symposium addresses the early training during pre- and post-graduation in Nihon University.