@anselm_victor, thanks for finding time to be here. You are warmly welcome.
Answer to your querry already exist in the first page of the forum where a similar question was extensively dealt with.

cheers

hey benard, long time. nice to see new members here. . .i've not been regular on the net like before

@anselm
i've already answered your question in the thread you opened. i'll advise you to get yourself acquainted with this thread if you intend to be in this field after you graduate.

good luck

Hiya there lab guys

a friend( a doctor) told me of a prob he had with his lab in nigeria that was rejecting some of his samples for a CBC, the samples were collected in an orange topped bottle with the following anticoagulant (K-EDTA with Na-F), said the lab said it could only be used for blood glucose estimations as it gives wrong PCVs, im wondering why the heck the company would put those anticoagulants in there if the bottles cant be used for a CBC.

Cant K-EDTA successfuly work for CBC's?

Hi reindeer,
to the best of my knowledge,the K(potassium)-EDTA is good if not the best for CBC.In the states,it is widely used and referred to as 'lavender top'
or 'purple top'.
As for the Na-F, that could have been added as a preservative and may be affecting hematocrit result.
maybe somebody else in the house can throw more light on that.

i agree with dayleke, we use K-EDTA containers to collect blood samples that will be used to carry FBC (full blood count). if anything, it gives more relable results. i'm not familiar with any other anti coagulants used in labs so i cant say much about the NA-F preservative, it may have tampered with the results.

Am vry happy to see this a very good development i must say.

I am yet a medical scientist, still a student in the university of calabar.

am glad to be part of this forum.

I will really be glad if we disscuss more of the challenges facing the profession here in Nigeria compared to other nations that we must look up to.

To be sincere am not very happy when i see most of the professional medical scientist because most dont appear "BIG" in finance, wealth, famousity,standadised etc. compared to the Surgical Doctors.
I think something serious should be done about this and we are the ones that must change this.

It is obvious that thier are different battles in the profession of the medical scientist between the MLS and ,

We all know am sure. SO WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP I THINK WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT THIS. THANK YOU.

.

@kosisochi

welcome to the forum. . . looking forward to more contributions from you

@ubine
nice observation. depends on what you mean by "wealth" though. medical labs are getting profitable by the day as they are patronised by hospitals, companies as well as individuals. true that they may not be as affluent as other medical fields, but they're also "wealthy" in their own rights.

@kizzyaka
i dont yhink you can run a medical lab without proper certification in the field. try and acquaint yourself with the earlier posts on this thread and you'll get more tips on requirements.

.

kizzyaka:

Do you mean if one is not a medical lab scientist you are not allowed to open a medical laboratory even if you hire the professionals to do the job?

i think you can as long as you let the professionals handle everything. but as C.E.O you need to familiarize yourself with what the profession entails. otherwise, you'll have to take a backseat to major decision makings except where money is involved.

.

@kizzyaka,
dominique has been generous in her contributions to your querry.
Your proposal is about running a successful Medical Laboratory. You will need a partnership arrangement with a licensed and experience Medical Laboratory Scientist. Your arrangement must be made known to the Medical Laboratory Science Council of NIgeria (MLSCN). This is Council's policy on non-medical laboratory scientists running diagnostic facilities.
No wise businessman invest in any business without feasibility study so you'll definitely need it.
The depth of your feasibility study will depend on the kind of market and service you want to target. Automation is the trend in medical laboratories now adays.

cheers

my fasting blood sugar result is 158
pls wat does it means

@Ubine, Kosisochi and dkizzyaka, I want to personally welcome you to this unique global forum of Medical Laboratory Scientists. You must have seen by yourselves how interactive and beneficial to knowledge the forum has been. You'll do well to announce the existence of the forum to all MLS in your locality.

As a new comer to the forum, there is a special gift for you at my site

http://www.benardsolomon.com

The resoures are free.

Meanwhile to Ubine, I want to say that Medical Lab have many wealthy and knowledgeable people too. I'll encourage you to attend any of our national conferences to have a glimpse of how unique this profession is. We'll need to continually work on our self esteem and self-development to stamp our authority and relevance whereever we find ourselves. Ours is a great profession with a great future.

On the political front, the struggle has been long and tortuous. Efforts of great lights such as Prof. Agbonlahor, Prof. Emeribe, the immediate past AMLSN president Prof. Useh and the current president Mr. Manason Rubainu has not been in vain. It is a continuous struggle but there are tangible results to show for all the years of resistance against intimidation and professional persecution. An improved scheme of service and emolument for MLS in Nigeria is currently receiving the attention of Government and the national leadership of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) is highly committed to that.

I'm particularly delighted that we have web savvy individuals in our profession which you too must have seen from the contributions in this forum. People like dominique are leading lights in this area.

Medical laboratory scientists who want to be relevant in the information age cannot run away from certain internet skills like web design, web management, blogging, social networking etc. Here you find me particularly interested and it is responsible for the birth of this forum.

My own journey into web savvy skills were influenced by mentors abroad who are medical laboratory scientists themselves and highly successful in their careers. People like Professor Pat Letendre of the University of Alberta Canada leads the pack. You can find out more about them at
http://biomedical-internet-guide..com

Medical Lab is a multi-skill profession. We are all priviledged and fortunate to be among this blessed profession. So Ubine, just keep dreaming and working towards the best. I am beginning to see the need for professional motivation in  the profession in Nigeria as done abroad. You can find these tips in my special blog
http://magic-keys-to-success..com

Stay tuned to the forum. You have much to gain.

Cheers

Hello to all my professional colleagues. I sincerely apologise for being away for so long. I had to take care of certain things that had kept me very busy. I'm so glad to be back and i must say you are all doing a great job in this forum. It is really blossoming. Pls do keep the flag flying.

@ dewoy, 158 Do you mean 158mg/dl ?That is actually higher than the normal range of 65 -105mg/dl (may vary slightly). This means a raised blood glucose level, a condition known as hyperglycaemia (usually indicative of diabetes mellitus). This is due to a deficiency or reduced effectiveness of insulin which is the most important hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood. Common symptoms of diabetes mellitus include excretion of large amounts of glucose in the urine (glycosuria), excretion of an excessive amount of urine (polyuria) and excessive thirst (polydipsia). If a repeat of this test still gives a high result, i advise you see a doctor for proper management. You may be placed on insulin and will need to go to a medical laboratory from time to time for blood sugar testing cos it has to be monitored. It is essential u mind what u eat (less of carbohydrates). Proper management regimen is important to avoid complications.

@chinenye,
welcome back. Your absence was really felt. As one of the early subscribers to this forum, your regular contributions is highly coveted to make the forum a community of our dream both in Nigeria and abroad.
Thanks for the professional response to the query on high blood sugar level.

Cheers

Thanks Bernard, your site is as loaded as ever. Thumbs up!

dewoy:

my fasting blood sugar result is 158
pls wat does it means

It doesn't mean anything.
If you want details; it could mean:
1. You did your lab test too early, 8hr instead of 12hr of fasting
2. You ate 1.5 cups of eba instead of 1
3. Your monthly hormonal changes are kicking in---if you're a female
4. You took certain medications
5. You may have a whole host of possible hormanally related diseases--- diabetes, cushings, etc.
6. Your blood sample might have been tested wrongly.
7. You could have other medical conditions
8. You might be under stress
9. You have an underlying infection
10. You might need to loose weight
11.------------ infinity.

What to do?
Repeat the test, and consider a visit to your doctor for routine medical check------ if you had a need to check your blood sugar, you're obviously thinking about medical check up.

@naijaking1
Thanks for your contribution to the sugar level query. I am pleased at the way the various factors were listed for comprehensive education of the enquirer. Keep it up.

@chinenye
Thanks for the compliments and kudos for taking time to visit my site. Visiting useful sites like that is one skill and life style most MLS lack. You are one in a million. Please spread the news of the forum to colleagues around you.

And this, you must have noticed that my name is correctly spelt Benard Not Bernard.

Cheers

As we begin a new month, I extend my warmest greetings to all those who have made this forum a great place to belong.
@dominique, chinenenye, dayleke and others, may this month of August bring you good tidings and the best you wish yourself.

The Lord's mercy be unto you.

Enjoy your weekend
Benard Solomon

The MLSCN Board has been finally inaugurated by the Minister of Health -Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.
Members of the Board Include:
Prof. Dennis Agbonlahon-Chairman
Dr. Ezekiel Akintunde
Dr. Yemi Akinloye
Hon. Kunle Jenrade
Mr. Manason Rubainu

These are the ones I could remember. If you know others please post.

Nigerian Medical Laboratory Scientists both home and abroad have desires and transformation they want to see happen in their professional practice in Nigeria.

Forumites, what do you want the newly inaugurated board of the Medical Laboratory Science Council Of Nigeria (MLSCN) to do to move the profession forward in Nigeria?
Please post your comments.

@benard08
Thanks for that reply to my first post. Am really imprease that something is happennig cause am really narvous about it.
Am just back from the NFCMLSS (National felloship of Christian Medical Laboratory Science Student) CONFERENCE
It was really great some scienctist were to spore us up through seminars and talks. This is really a unique profession


For the newly Inuagrated memebers
its simple, they just have to make the profession more professional than it has been e.g MLS to DMLS
create facilities to affiliate with much universities abroad for Transfer since thier are better faccilities over thier to help have better scientist in Nigeria.
Influence the government to have a world class or premier laboratory center here in Nigeria foe research purpose.

Hi Bernard,
I must commend your effort n the job well done. I m a Medical lab scientist . I practice in Lagos. I ve been through ur site, it was amazing. I believe if we have more people like you in this noble profession, our voice will be heard and people will know who we are in medical profession as well as our role. Pls keep it up and more grease to ur elbow.
Before I forgot, Pls. do you know if MLSCN has a website. if they do can you post it.


Cheer.

@ benard08
Thank you for the compliment and also keep up the good work too.
As for ur question,
the new members can start off by setting up different panels to overlook the changes in our profession,two(2) of which i think need immediate attention;
1. Regulation of private labs. establishment -- some yrs back,anybody can set up a lab. as long as they have the capital.There were a lot of mushroom labs. in lagos then(lab. technicians(no offence meant) and even pple who weren't in the profession were setting up labs,they were paying the MTs to work in the labs. then.)
2.Image of the profession-- A lot of seminars and workshops shld be organized to bring the public's awareness to the profession.Bringing a lot of learned persons in the profession from both home and abroad to talk on topics that both techs. and the public can benefit from.
These kind of seminars and workshops can also be made into continuing education(CE) classes for the MTs and have them completing/having a number of credits by the end of the year,this will encourage them to attend these events and in addition to annual membership dues,the classes/credits must be another requirement to
renewing one's license.

@ bernard08,
do you know Mr S.K Babatunde in the teaching hospital in ilorin over there?

I want the new board members to treat the issue of medical lab scientists not being allowed to head the various departments of the laboratory in teaching hospitals. I don't see why a medical laboratory scientist cannot be the head of the department of microbiology, haematology, chemical pathology or histopathology in the teaching hospitals. Histopathologists should also be allowed to read slides.

Another area that demands attention is the need for enforcement of the new consolidated salary structure all over the federation.

I also want the issue of discrimination against the holders of AMLSCN both by our colleagues and employers to be handled. I believe we need unity to get to our next level.

@dipole,
welcome to this forum. Thanks for your compliments too.
I'm not aware of the existence of any website belonging to MLSCN.
If any exists, perhaps it may not be functional.
You can do a simple google search to verify my response.

Cheers.

Hi,new to the forum.great to see fellow lab scientists keeping one another informed about current issues affecting our profession.hope to get more involved as time goes on

@nubym
A personal welcome note from me. Other forumites are glad to have you here too.

As usual, find my gift for new entrants below
http://www.benardsolomon.com

you can download as many info as you wish. It is Free.

cheers

Hi Bernard,
Good work! I have a question; Are leb. med. scientists qualified medical doctors?
In the U.S we have medical technologists who work within and some serve as directors of the labs but the labs are always ultimately run by directors whom are medical doctors that have specialised in anatomic and clinical pathology which refer to all aspects of histopathology, lab and molecular medicine (diagnostic medicine).

The reason I ask is I am one of these medical doctors-a diagnostic medical specialist. I trained at the harvard hospitals in boston and I am also of Nigerian descent.

Do opportunities exist for such a specialty in Nigeria as i would like to take a few weeks off and do some comp. work for a hospital or institution.

A friend mentioned this forum thats why I ask.