By Hassan Zaggi
The West Africa Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science, has insisted that when healthcare professionals work as a team, they will have the skills to unlock important medical information that is pivotal to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.
The Chairman, Steering Board, West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science, Dr. Godswill Okara, disclosed this at a pre- media briefing on the induction/investiture and 2020 annual congress of the College, in Abuja, yesterday.
The briefing, he, said, “is to bring our people in Nigeria up to speed on the forthcoming induction/investiture of Foundation Fellows and the 2020 annual congress of the college taking place at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, on the February 22-23.”
Dr. Okara, therefore, reiterated that, “there is no reason we should not work harmoniously with physicians in the overall interest of the patient.
“The relationship and roles should be complementary to each other in an atmosphere of respect and reciprocity.
“In a very exemplary display of collaboration and cooperation, the Royal College of Pathologists and the Institute of Biomedical Science in the UK have worked together through the establishment of Conjoint Examination Boards.
“This is the joint professional model that has been used to produce a standardized and structured approach for the delivery of the training and assessment of biomedical laboratory scientists wishing to undertake histopathological reporting.
“The successful candidates work alongside medically qualified pathologists as part of an integrated reporting team and they are able to dissect, independently report and present cases at multi-disciplinary team meetings.
“They play an integral part of teaching and clinical audit as part of an overall service improvement strategy.
“This role is not in any way a replacement for a medically qualified pathologists but a key part of an integrated clinical pathology team that is able to deliver a flexible, efficient and prompt service for the benefit of patients.”
He, however, expressed the readiness of the Postgraduate College to change the narrative of undue long delay in unraveling the causative agents of disease in the African region.
“The College is poised to change the narrative of unduly long delay in identifying the causative agents of diseases in our region by ensuring that the complement of specialists needed in our region is available.
“We call on all members of the health fraternity to join hands with us in the College for the realisation of the goal of synergy, collaboration and efficient service delivery in the West African region.
“The college will roll out a well- coordinated and integrated training curriculum and programme across the region to develop the required corps of specialists and experts in all the sub-disciplines of the profession,” he said.
