Having completing our course almost a year ago, it is so disheartening that we, 2014 College of Medicine Medical laboratory Sciences( COM MLS) graduates, are still languishing in the streets, doing nothing.
As it has always been with our predecessors, we were supposed to be posted for work, which incorporates one year period of internship, immediately after completing our course. Shockingly, our names have only been stuck at MoH for almost a year now. MoH officials have been claiming that there are no more posts for us, after they had employed only less than 40 graduates of our qualification in the past.
Looking at the need for our service, MoH officials had, 2 years ago, reportedly requested the central government to create more posts for us. But it is perplexing, discombobulating as well as transfixing that the central government has remained non-committal on the issue up to date.
This is happening when the Pharmacists’, Physiotherapists’ and doctors’ posting and internship are being organised and run without any hiccup. And if anyone thinks any one category of the medical personnel is more important than the other, they should revisit their minds and come back to their normal senses for medicine is an interwoven package where personnel of different departments work in collaboration towards diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases.
Do we have to sit back and watch this unfairness continue! What is more confusing is that graduates of lower grade than us, are easily incorporated into the system, for they have unlimited posts. May be we should apply at Health Sciences that we downgrade on our qualification. But that does not make sense either. It is so disheartening to be kept unemployed for this long after successfully completing our studies.
School has never, in history of humankind, been simplified and devaluated to this level. Our being unemployed up to now has already rang bells in students who are still pursuing MLS course at College of Medicine. This has been the most of the demotivations to have ever happened to them that some have already been quoted saying they have to rethink about whether to continue with the program or quit and pursue other courses, altogether .
This news is so devastating to them as they foresee the predicament they will be rendered into after their course completion to be the most acrimonious. And it is highly expected that these students will no longer effectively commit themselves to their studies for no one would want to work hard, pursuing a ‘now deemed useless’ career. And if education had always been reduced to this level, no one would want even his or her children to go to school. So, should we continue being seen languishing in the communities after completing our course? Does that make anyone happy? There is too much pressure on us. Some of us have lost all the respect from people who looked up to us.
We have lost relations and no one is coming up with anything to guarantee a meal on the table for some of us. Our young brothers are no longer interested in school now, seeing us doing nothing. We cannot continue relying on our poor ageing parents who have already done their part by investing in our education to this far. More to it, it is embarrassing for an Honours Degree graduate (in a health related field) to continue sitting at home waiting for poor parents to put food for him on the table. We are getting stressed over this, having suicidal minds. Some of us have lost weight due to depreciating health over stress.
We cannot simply take it anymore. The Government should show philanthropism on us. Others have echoed that we venture into the private sector or entrepreneurship. To clear the air on this, no private health related institution would risk employing unexperienced worker, who has not even undergone internship. When it comes to health issues, seriousness is observed. Even in Government, we work under supervision during internship year. If you check around the vacancies for laboratory posts in privates, at least 5 years experience is a requirement in most of them. So, where would we gain that experience? Entrepreneurship is impossible for us as we have no capital to start with. Laboratory reagents and equipment are very expensive. Laboratory work is not only about malaria and pregnancy rapid tests.
There is a lot to it. If it was all about simple rapid tests, we wouldn’t have spent five years at College of medicine studying dip sticks. Do people know how much is it to buy a simple light microscope? On reagents, even some private institutions cannot manage buying, for instance, buying Abbott m2000sp machine reagents. They only manage getting these reagents from the machine suppliers on agreed favourable deals after purchasing the machines. And does anyone think a mere person can buy an Abbott m2000sp machine? Malawi is not like UK or USA where you are born to rich parents who set in place everything for you.
Despite our parents not setting up structures for us to rely on, we are geared to clear the future of our kids. But we can only do so if given a right platform to do so, rather than dumping us without even taking us through internship, which is clearly stated in MLS course outline. Laboratory work involves a lot of practical work, which needs a lot of practice and refresher courses, as we all know. For this, we fear staying for so long without being employed will end up bringing us to the level of uneducated people, practically.
For not only our practical skills being affected, theoretically, we are getting ruined of our knowledge as well for practical and theory goes hand in hand in our career. We are sure the Government would not sink so low to continue leaving us in this predicament until we are rendered deteriorated. We have great passion for our profession and provision of recommended services towards patient care, comes first into our minds But we also need employment for earning our living and to be kept in best form that we remain competent for the work we are trained to do.
Having said all that, we would only like to, through the media, appeal to The president of The Republic of Malawi, Professor Arthur Peter Muthalika, The Vice President and Leader of Public reforms, Mr. Saulosi Chilima and other stakeholders to step up and address this posting issue. By the power vested in the President, We are optimistic that he will come to our aid with immediate effect, considering his commendable vision-seeing the youth employed, propounded through several ventures, which include recent launching of community colleges. Scotch Kaunda (representing 2014 MLS graduates)
