LAB M 685 & 686

Overview

Faculty in the Department of Laboratory Medicine are responsible for all clinical laboratory analyses at the principal teaching hospitals: University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System.

This web page is designed to familiarize the medical student with the courses available in Laboratory Medicine. Course descriptions outline what each clerkship rotation covers. Prerequisites are listed, where applicable.

Whether you decide to register for one of our courses or not, we encourage you to seek out our staff, faculty, fellows, and residents for consultation regarding blood smears, Gram stains, or other interesting laboratory data. Our laboratories are staffed 24 hours a day and our resident-on-call (206.598.6190) is available to help you with urgent problems relating to laboratory care for your patient.

Registration Information

Pre-registration is handled through the Office of Academic Affairs, according to the policies of the School of Medicine and the clerkship calendar.

Please contact the Clerkship Administrator, Tho Bui, at lmclerk@uw.edu or 206.598.1566 for questions about this process.

Student health related information

The UWSOM supports students’ access to healthcare and strongly encourages them to obtain and maintain health insurance while enrolled at the UWSOM. The consolidated content on the links below has been created by collaboration between students and the UWSOM student affairs to ease of referencing for student related health information. All three sources will be updated centrally by student affairs and the Student Committee on Healthcare Access (SCoHA). If you have questions regarding the content, please reach out to adminsa@uw.edu.

Student Health Insurance

Healthcare Access for Medical Students

SOM-Telehealth Program for Medical Students

LAB M 685 - Laboratory Case Studies for Clinical Diagnosis (virtual elective - not offered AY24-25)

Course Directors: Joshua Lieberman, MD, PhD & Hamilton Tsang, MD

This course is typically held during winter quarter during February or March of each year.

LAB M 685 is being offered as a virtual distance learning course until 2024. The 2024 course dates are February 12-23, 2024.

Visiting medical students are welcome to apply in VSLO.

This course is NOT offered virtually for the 2024-2025 academic school year. Please refer to our LAB M 686 - Laboratory Case Studies for Clinical Diangosis In-Person elective.

LAB M 686 - Laboratory Case Studies for Clinical Diagnosis (in-person elective - available starting AY24-25)

This course is typically held during winter quarter during February or March of each year.

Location: UWMC Seattle, Montlake campus. 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195

LAB M 686 is being offered as an in-person elective starting 2024-2025. The 2025 course dates are March 3-14, 2025.

This course is NOT offered for visiting medical students.

Course Description

This course is aimed at preparing senior medical students for the rigors of clinical residency by educating them in the efficient selection and rational interpretation of laboratory tests. A core faculty will employ a combination of lectures and case discussion to help develop cost- and time-effective strategies for diagnosing and managing common clinical problems. Appropriate test choices, optimum clinical laboratory utilization, and limitations of tests will be emphasized. While the pathophysiological basis of laboratory testing will be emphasized, analytical methodology will be minimized. We will also address how to evaluate new tests, economics of testing, and minimizing equivocal results.

Prerequisite: Completion of required third-year clerkships.

University of Washington School of Medicine Resources