Training of clinical laboratory professionals in Russia.
In Russia, specialized education of clinical laboratory physicians who work in the positions of medical technologists, head of laboratory or one of its divisions is conducted in various forms of postgraduate training, namely internship, primary specialization courses, advanced study courses, graduate clinical studies and postgraduate fellowship. Such education is offered at 14 Departments for Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics, which are located within the Institutes for Advanced Medical Studies or at Faculties for Advanced Medical Studies in Medical Institutes. Until the present, the primary specialization courses and the advanced study courses have been the most prevalent forms of training clinical laboratory professionals. These two types of courses offer formal lectures, seminars as well as practical classes, and the course contents are regulated by a uniform curriculum promulgated by the Ministry of Health. Training in these courses is the necessary prerequisite to obtain degree of advanced qualification as an expert in clinical laboratory diagnostics, which in turn provides access to better remunerated positions.