What is a Laboratory Resident?
A laboratory resident is a physician in postgraduate training who is completing an accredited residency program in laboratory medicine/clinical pathology, typically as part of a combined anatomic pathology/clinical pathology (AP/CP) program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). 1
Core Training Components
Laboratory residents undergo structured training that encompasses:
Clinical Consultation and Service
- Active participation in diagnostic stewardship (DxS) activities, including patient safety improvement, quality improvement processes, and interprofessional team collaboration 1
- Real-time clinical problem solving through on-call consultation services for test interpretation, testing strategy design, and quality assurance 2
- Development of skills to function as clinical consultants who apply laboratory-derived, population-based data to individual patient care 3
Laboratory Management Competencies
Residents must demonstrate competence in:
- Systems-based practices including healthcare cost awareness and value-based care 1
- Appropriate test utilization (cost-effectiveness, operations, clinical benefits) 1
- Quality assurance and quality improvement activities 1
- Laboratory management across all subdisciplines of clinical pathology 1
Research and Scholarly Activity
- Dedicated structured research learning time to develop physician-scientist capabilities 4
- Focused laboratory management and quality improvement projects that often result in peer-reviewed publications 5
- Training in lifelong learning and adaptation to evolving laboratory technologies 3
Training Duration and Subspecialties
The training encompasses multiple clinical pathology subdisciplines including clinical chemistry, microbiology, hematology, blood banking/transfusion medicine, and molecular diagnostics. Fellows pursuing additional subspecialty training (such as ASM CPEP fellowships in medical and public health microbiology) receive even more intensive training in laboratory management and diagnostic stewardship 1.
Key Distinction
Laboratory residents differ from other medical residents in that they are specifically training to become laboratory-based physician consultants rather than direct patient care providers, though their work directly impacts patient outcomes through appropriate test utilization and interpretation 3, 2.