Professional Roles and Functions
About the Profession
It is a specialized profession providing patient sample analysis for diagnostic purposes to private and public medical professionals through analysis of blood, urine, cells, tissues samples, DNA and other body fluids. Due to the hazards of handling infectious material, all laboratories conform to stringent safety procedures.
The health sector relies on the effective diagnosis and management of patient care, as well as the implementation and management of a legislative framework that protects people’s rights to reliable and accurate healthcare services.
What does a Medical Laboratory Scientist do?
Qualified Medical Laboratory Scientists are highly trained health professionals who work in pathology laboratories and play a crucial and integral role in the healthcare of South Africa. Many medical laboratories are linked to hospitals and are generally equipped with sophisticated and modern analytical instruments.
Medical Laboratory Scientists are responsible for the vitally important task of processing and analysing the samples taken by medical practitioners and thereby assisting with an accurate diagnosis and subsequently influencing a specific course of treatment.