Welcome to the World of the Medical Laboratory Scientist

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You wake up one day and just can’t fathom why you couldn’t have a sound sleep. You can’t really focus or think straight. Why? Because all you have on your mind is getting rid of the headache, your nose won’t stop running, you wish you could cease coughing. Although you’re weak, you decide to utilize the drop of strength you have in you to go to the hospital. Then another thought comes to mind, ‘You can simply let someone get you some antimalarials from the pharmacy’. But then, you boycott the second idea because you’ve heard several times that self-medication is deadly. “How am I even sure it’s malaria? It could be typhoid or any other pathogenic infection.”

Photo credit: Nadine Hutton/Bloomberg

Being a resolute person, you make it to the hospital, struggle your way through all queues to finally see the doctor for consultation. He writes a couple of laboratory (lab) tests for you to go do which will enable him have evidence of your ill state. Your blood sample is taken, and you’re asked to collect your urine into a container. After about half an hour, you’re presented with a report to send back to the doctor.

Now, let’s zoom in into the lab portion. What did the Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) really do with the blood and urine samples? The truth is, the doctor wasn’t certain of what actually was the cause of your ill-health. After briefing him on your symptoms, he was left with about three or more possible causes. Therefore, to make an evidence-based diagnosis in order to treat you right, he requested those tests. The MLS run a full blood count, using your blood sample. He also prepared a spherical blood film on a glass slide, and went through processes to see if there were malaria parasites present in your blood. He again did an in-depth analysis on your urine sample. All these were carried out to give a general picture of your health condition.

Photo credit: Blood Tests London

The report he gave you is the actual reason you walked to the hospital and pushed your buttocks up the hospital benches. It is the pink sheet of your health condition.

In our subsquent articles, we will break down the work of the Medical Laboratory Scientist. It’ll be a nice ride. Stay with us.

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