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ALL ABOUT MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE IN NIGERIA

STUDYING MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE IN NIGERIA

Medical laboratory 

Medical laboratory science is one the most lucrative courses in Nigeria. Reliable statistics have shown that every year thousands of students are seeking admission into the university to study medical laboratory science often called med lab/medlabsci.

There's no doubt that studying med lab sci in Nigeria is a profitable venture any undergraduate can undertake,but it is actually said that it is not mostly discussed by people how good the course is.


In this post you will find out;


  • Universities/schools offering med

 lab sci

  • How to become a medical laboratory scientist 

  • Duration of study

  • Work of a medical laboratory scientist 

  • Career and job prospects

  • Disciplines under medical laboratory science 

  • Whether it's a professional course or not

  • Salary of medical laboratory scientists 



The question is;

Who's a medical laboratory scientist?


A medical laboratory scientist or medical technologist  or clinical laboratory scientist by Wikipedia describes as someone who performs diagnostic testing of blood and body fluids in the laboratory. Meaning that medical laboratory scientists are part of the patient management system as their duty is to help find out what illness a patient has by testing different variables in the blood and body fluids.

Body fluids such as;

  • Sweat

  • Saliva

  • Urine



It's estimated that about 70% of the decisions made in the hospital for treating a patient are based on the medical laboratory test results and the duties of the med lab scientists affect up to 95% of a health system's growth.


UNIVERSITIES OFFERING MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE IN NIGERIA.

There are over 40 universities offering medical laboratory science in Nigeria

  1. Abia state university uturu (absu)

  2. Achievers university

  3. Adeleke university

  4. Afe Babalola university

  5. Ahmadu Bello university (Abu)

  6. Al-Hikmah university

  7. Ambrose Ali university Ekpoma

  8. Arthur Jarvis university

  9. Atiba university oyo

  10. Babcock university

  11. Bayero university Kano (buk)

  12. Benson idahosa university (biu)

  13. Bingham university

  14. Bowen university

  15. Ebonyi State University (ebsu)

  16. Edo state university iyamho

  17. Elizade university

  18. Enugu state university of science and technology agbani (esut)

  19. Evangel university

  20. Federal university lafia

  21. Gregory university uturu

  22. Igbinedion university okada

  23. Imo state university (imsu)

  24. Kwara state university (kwasu)

  25. Ladoke Akinlola university of technology (lautech)

  26. Lead city university

  27. Madonna university

  28. Niger delta university

  29. Nnamdi Azikiwe university (unizik)

  30. Novena university

  31. Pamo university of medical sciences

  32. Rivers state university

  33. Rhema university

  34. University of Benin (uniben)

  35. University of calabar (unical)

  36. University of Ibadan (UI)

  37. University of jos (unijos)

  38. University of Maiduguri

  39. University of medical sciences

  40. University of Nigeria nsukka

  41. Usmanu danfodiyo university sokoto.

  42. University of Lagos (unilag)

There are many other schools offering medical laboratory science that were not listed . 





HOW TO BECOME A MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTIST.

Becoming a medical laboratory scientist requires a lot of discipline and hardwork, infact studying any medical/health related course requires so much. You'll find out in three(3) steps of how to become a medical laboratory scientist in Nigeria.


STEP 1. Choose science subjects for waec/Neco/,GCE (NB:must have at least five credits in any science subjects including Mathematics and English language) the five subjects are;

  • English language

  • Mathematics

  • Chemistry

  • Physics and

  • Biology


STEP 2. Write 3 science subjects in jamb and post-utme. 

Having a reasonable score in both exams gives you greater chances of getting admitted


STEP 3. Getting admission to study medical laboratory science, if you do well in ssce,jamb and post-utme. Chances are that you'll get admission into any university offering medical laboratory science.


Though there's another pathway, if you have a degree already and you're eligible, you can apply through direct entry all you need is to have a good CGPA of above 3.5.


DURATION OF STUDY;

Studying medical laboratory science in the university takes a minimum of 4-5 years to complete

5 years through jamb

4 years through direct entry


It can extend more than this if the course hasn't gained accreditation in that university

Or maybe if there's a prolonged strike.


WORK OF A MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTIST


What does a med lab scientist do?

Is it just all about blood test,csf or general body test.


Listed below are the work of a medical laboratory scientist.

  1. Receiving a patient who is need of a lab test

  2. Receiving patient's specimen

  3. Ensuring specimen quality and quantity

  4. Performing required lab test on a patient's specimen

  5. Interpreting test results

  6. Data logging

  7. Sending specimen back to clinicians, surgeon or other healthcare providers

The commonest lab test done by a medical laboratory scientist are

  • Complete blood count

  • Urinalysis

  • Thyroid function test

  • Comprehensive metabolic panel

  • Liver function test

  • Electrolyte panel

  • Coagulation profile

  • Lipid profile

  • Renal function test

  • Semi analysis and serological studies.

CAREER AND JOB PROSPECTS FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE.

After your induction into the medical laboratory council of Nigeria

You have a mandatory one-year internship then another one-year youth service (nysc) to be able to find a government work.


JOB OPPORTUNITIES;

Teaching and specialist hospitals

Government hospitals

Primary health care centers

Private establishment

Research institutes


DISCIPLINES UNDER MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE.

Med lab is taught under five disciplines

  • Clinical chemistry

  • Hematology

  • Medical microbiology and parasitology (MMP)

  • Histopathology & immunology

  • Bacteriology, mycology, virology

  • Pharmacology & instrumentation


 Is Medical laboratory science a professional course?

Yes, medical laboratory science is a professional course


SALARY OF A MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTIST.

  • Internship 120,000-160,000 per month

  • Nysc 30,000 per month

  • Early career (average net salary 97,000 per month

  • Mid career 133,000 per month

  • Late salary 160,000 per month

All these salaries do not include their cash bonus, profit sharing, salary commission and accomodation pay.

The pay varies across different States and work places.


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