Considering to take up a career in Medical Laboratory Science, here are all you need to know

 What is Medical Laboratory Science?

Medical Laboratory Science is a diagnostic science which specializes in conducting health related tests on body fluid, digestive byproducts or body waste in other to ascertain the general health status of the body. The number one aim of medical laboratory practices is to detect diseases which will enable doctors give prescriptions and manage someone's health conditions.

A laboratory scientists is the doctors diagnostic eyes through which the doctor sees what is wrong with a patient.

Generally, Medical Laboratory Science is said to be the eye of modern medicine. This is because other clinicians depends on results obtained from laboratory investigations in order to treat diseases. The doctors cannot treat without a clear laboratory result showing what is wrong with the body, nurses uses laboratory data to enable them take care of patients. Wrong laboratory results will jeopardize the whole treatment efforts.

If you are a young school lever, or an enthusiast who wish to pursue a career in medical laboratory science, kindly read down.

SUBJECT COMBINATIONS: 

In Nigeria, most universities require applicants to possess at least 5 credit pass in the following secondary school subjects at not more than two seatings.

1. English language 
2. Mathematics 
3. Biology or health science 
4. Physics and 
5. Chemistry.

However, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) requires the following subject combinations with a minimum overall score of 180.

1. English language 
2. Biology or Health Sciences 
3. Physics &
4. Chemistry.

What certificate do one get after university education in medical laboratory science?

In Nigeria, the certificate awarded to graduate of medical laboratory science after a period of at least five years intensive classroom works and laboratory/hospital attachment is "Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science" written in short form as BMLS.

Medical Laboratory Technician/Medical Laboratory Assistant 

Middle manpower in medical laboratory services are trained as  Medical laboratory Technician (MLT) or Medical Laboratory Assistant (MLA). The MLT is a three year monotechnic program usually undertaken in colleges of Health. 

What different medical laboratory scientists and medical laboratory technicians are the complexity of works they handle. Medical Laboratory technicians are not allowed by the cadre of their practicing license to handle some complex and highly technical laboratory analysis. Technicians work under scientist's supervision. Technicians are not also allowed to start up his or her own personal medical laboratory without a scientists being included as one of the key staff in the lab.

Where can I work with my BMLS Certificate?

Holders of BMLS have diverse areas where they can work as diagnostician. Few of those areas are:

hospital laboratory as an analyst 

Private laboratory centers 

universities as lecturers 

Research and Disease Control Centers 

Non governmental organizations

International organizations like WHO, UNICEF, Institutes of Medical Research etc .

What is an average pay of Medical Laboratory Scientist?

Medical Laboratory Scientist in Nigeria earn between ₦3,500,000 to ₦7000,000 annually depending on experience and place of work. While medical laboratory technician  earn between ₦1,000,000 to ₦2,000,000 as net pay. However in some countries like USA, UK, Laboratory scientist earn between $50,000 to $80,000 depending on experiences while Laboratory technicians are paid between $20,000 to $50,000 annually.

After the undergraduate studies, what next?

This is a question that so many prospective students ask. After graduation, one can decide to take up job opportunities in hospitals or with governmental agencies. But in the case if you choose to proceed with advanced studies, here are the available options for you.

Medical laboratory science has four major branches, these includes:

• Clinical Chemistry 
• Histopathology 
• Medical Microbiology 
• Hematology. 

Clinical Chemistry: 

this is a branch of medical laboratory science that deals with the biochemical analysis of body fluids to ascertain disease conditions and to aid treatments. Some of the tests that can be carried out by clinical chemists are liver function tests, blood sugar tests, serum electrolytes/urea/creatinine (serum EuCr) tests.

Medical Microbiology:

This branch of Microbiology specializes in detecting infectious agents (pathogens) by viewing specimen through the microscope. They also carry out sensitivity tests on microorganisms after cultivating it in enriched media.

Hematology: 

Hematology is the study of blood and all the disease conditions that may be related to blood. Someone who studies hematology is called a hematologist. 

Commonest hematology test is  the complete blood count (CBC) also known as full blood count(FCB). This finds out the ratio and percentage of each blood component and how it may likely affect the body health State.

Histopathology:

This branch of medical laboratory science focuses in the study of body tissues and disorders associated to it. Someone who studies histopathology is called  a pathologist.Most common histopathology test is the kidney, bone, liver and skin biopsy.

For those who seek to pursue postgraduate studies

You have variety of options to take in the Msc or PhD levels. You can opt to go for any of the specializations described above. 

Most Nigerian universities have MSc and PhD programs tailored around Microbiology, clinical chemistry, histopathology, hematology, any in advanced options a doctorate program in bioanalytics and immunology are also available.

Stay focused and pursue your dreams. 

Feel free to ask us any question about this career option.