Knowledge and Perception of the Dichotomy between Medical Laboratory Science and Clinical Laboratory Medicine among Students of the University of Calabar, Nigeria

Background: for some time now, there has been recurrent industrial disharmonies in the Nigerian health care system mainly between the Medical Laboratory Science and Clinical Laboratory Medicine professionals. This tussle for supervision of job role on the bench and responsibilities for patient care that seems to be as a result of misunderstanding of the core differences between these two similar but entirely different professional fields of work. This misunderstanding was recently seen to have extended to the Medical Laboratory Science Students of the University of Calabar. Even though there is resemblance in these two professional fields, Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) and Clinical Laboratory Medicine (CLM) are two autonomous professions with clearly defined roles both by global best practice and the Acts of law in Nigeria. Understanding the core difference between Clinical Laboratory Medicine, and Medical Laboratory Science is important to foster a successful and strife-free professional environment in the hospital. Objective: This study investigated knowledge and perception of the dichotomy between medical laboratory science and clinical laboratory medicine among students of the University of Calabar, Nigeria. Method: The study was a cross-sectional observational study that used validated semi-structured and interviewee self-administered type. Result: The result from the study revealed that 49.7% of the students perceived that Medical Laboratory Science the same as Clinical Laboratory Medicine. Most of the study participants thought that doctors working in hospital (clinical) laboratory where Medical Laboratory Scientist and when a medical laboratory scientist is working in the clinical laboratory, he becomes a clinical laboratory physician. About70.1 % of the student had no knowledge of the domain of practice of the MLS. There is gross deficiency in the knowledge and perception of students on the dichotomy between Medical Laboratory Science and Clinical Laboratory Medicine Conclusion: This study has highlighted that most of the medical laboratory science students have wrong knowledge and perceptions on the dichotomy between medical laboratory science and the clinical laboratory medicine. Unique contribution: This study has revealed that there was gap in the knowledge and perception of the dichotomy between medical laboratory science and clinical laboratory medicine among the medical laboratory science students in University of Calabar, Nigeria. Key recommendation: There is need to introduce the students to the Acts of Law that established Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) Profession which has clearly spelt out the job role of the MLS