The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) has inducted 396 foreign-trained graduates of medical laboratory science.
Speaking during the ceremony at the council’s headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja, the Registrar of the council, Prof Tosan Erhabor, said the inductees were products of various institutions across the world retrained at various training centres approved by MLSCN across the geo-political zones of the country.
He said the council had to review the process of admitting those trained outside the country’s shores into the profession, noting that the review revealed gaps in training arising from cultural orientation, infrastructure, equipment, as well as processes to which those who trained in-country were accustomed.
He further said, “As a responsible regulator, MLSCN moved to bridge the gaps by introducing the retraining programme to familiarise those affected with the reality of the health laboratory system here.
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“Today, we are recognising the 11th batch of those retrained, thus vindicating the policy framework deployed for the purpose.”
He called on the Federal Ministry of Health to establish a centralised pool for the internship posting of fresh medical laboratory scientists, saying doing so would reduce the current challenges faced by fresh graduates who were forced to comb the streets in search of internship slots.
He also called on the ministry to open up the employment space to absorb the inductees and other young health professionals, noting that it would create an incentive for them to stay back and help reposition the health sector while slowing down the brain drain currently afflicting the sector.
Erhabor added that the council had zero tolerance for unethical conduct, and advised them to avoid situations that could tempt them to compromise the ethics of the profession or be ready to face the consequences.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the induction was a crucial step in the efforts of the government to ramp up the training and recruitment of competent, skilled and versatile manpower for the health sector.
Represented by his Senior Technical Assistant, Obiajulu Ugbo, he said the exodus of health professionals in search of so-called greener pastures had led to a significant shortage of personnel required for the growth of the health sector.
He said, “Based on recent data, we have about 300,000 health professionals attending to the healthcare needs of over 200 million people. This is grossly inadequate and puts enormous pressure on the available workforce.”
While urging the inductees to be ready to contribute their quota towards repositioning the health sector, the minister urged them to imbibe the spirit of patriotism and always place the interest of patients above material gains.
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