Professor Angela Xuereb, co-ordinator of the B.Sc. (Hons) in Medical Laboratory Science Course, wrote an extensive report on the developments in the teaching of Medical Laboratory Science at the University of Malta. The report was compiled by the Communications Office of the University of Malta and published by the Institute of Health Care as part of its annual report.
Professor Xuereb said the B.Sc. (Hons) Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) degree course is offered as one of the options in Health Science within the Institute of Health Care (IHC), University of Malta.
The IHC is a relatively young institute, having opened its doors to the first cohort of students in health science in 1992. To date, there have been 50 graduates in MLS (11 of whom were IHC Diploma holders upgrading to a Degree), and 48 diplomates in MLS.
Medical Laboratory Science combines professionally taught modules with an extensive practical component. There is a high degree of collaboration with the healthcare professionals in the local hospital medical laboratories, interaction with whom ensures that graduates have an overall understanding and competence in all the major areas of medical laboratory science.
External examining by leading UK biomedical scientists has further enhanced the quality of the course through their visits and recommendations. The culmination of nine years of constant endeavour to develop and improve the course has seen the accreditation of the degree course in June 2001 by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (UK).
MLS degree course
The degree course provides a broad based foundation and a multidisciplinary approach encompassing the major areas of medical laboratory science, namely: haernatology, transfusion medicine, immunology, medical microbiology and virology, cellular pathology and cytology, and clinical chemistry.
The specific aim of the degree programme is to produce high quality graduates with expertise in all the experimental and routine aspects of a pathology laboratory, and with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required for the study and interpretation of pathological processes.
The objectives of the degree are to produce graduates who: 1. are qualified for suitable employment and service in a hospital pathology laboratory, or in industry; 2. qualify for State Registration by the Maltese Board for Professions Supplementary to Medicine; and 3. are qualified to proceed to postgraduate degrees.
There are two full-time members of the IHC teaching staff on the B.Sc. (Hons) Medical Laboratory Science course: Professor Xuereb, co-ordinator of the degree course who lectures in Biochemistry and Research Methods, and who is also a member of the Department of Pathology in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; and Joseph Borg, assistant co-ordinator of the Diploma course, who is responsible for the consolidation of biology on the Diploma course, and lectures on the research methods module at degree level.
Teaching on the B.Sc. MLS course is conducted mainly by members of the Department of Pathology in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. The degree is also serviced as required by other University departments.
More information on the Medical Laboratory Science Unit at IHC, as reported by Professor Xuereb, will be given in future columns.