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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) said it is continuously updating the training of medical laboratory scientists to keep pace with emerging global technologies, including artificial intelligence, genomics, bioinformatics and biosecurity.
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Dr. Donald Ibe-Ofili, said lecturers involved in training medical laboratory professionals are regularly retrained to ensure they remain abreast of the latest developments in the profession.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, on Thursday, he noted that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated advances in laboratory science, making technologies such as genomic sequencing and Artificial Intelligence.(AI) central to modern healthcare delivery.
He explained that while many of these emerging fields were not prominent before the pandemic, they have now become essential components of contemporary medical laboratory practice.
“Our lecturers are constantly being trained to meet up with global trends. Areas such as genomic sequencing, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and biosecurity have become increasingly important, and we are ensuring that our training reflects these developments,” he said.
Dr. Ibe-Ofili disclosed that some of the new courses are already offered as electives, while others have been integrated into the existing curriculum, describing curriculum development as a continuous process.
“The curriculum we are currently using is still very up to date. However, during the next review, more of these emerging technologies will be fully incorporated to ensure our graduates remain globally competitive,” he added.
The Registrar also reaffirmed the council’s commitment to maintaining quality standards in medical laboratory education through regular accreditation of universities and colleges of health technology offering medical laboratory science programmes.
According to him, accreditation exercises assess institutions based on the availability of qualified personnel, teaching equipment, laboratories and other essential infrastructure.
He explained that institutions that meet all prescribed requirements receive full accreditation, while those with deficiencies are granted provisional accreditation pending improvements.
“Our accreditation process ensures that only institutions with the required facilities and capacity are allowed to train medical laboratory professionals. This is part of our commitment to producing competent graduates and maintaining international standards,” he said.
