In this insightful interview, we sit with Daniel Feranmi Ogundele, a recent graduate of Medical Laboratory Science from Lead City University, Ibadan.
Daniel takes us through his academic journey, the experiences that have shaped his career path, the challenges he has faced and how he overcame them. Join us as we delve into the story of a passionate professional making his mark in the healthcare industry.
Briefly introduce yourself to our audience and readers
My name is Daniel Feranmi Ogundele, and I’m a recent graduate of Medical Laboratory Science from Lead City University, Ibadan.
Can you share some experiences at your university that shaped your career path?
First of all, on entering the 100 level, I remember entering the University as a young, naive boy.
During my 100-level to 300-level education, I wasn’t involved in extracurricular activities, most of my energies were channelled into my academics.
When I reached 400-level, attending webinars and meeting new people helped me understand the importance of extracurricular activities. In my 400 level, I joined the department’s association, it is called the Nigeria Medical Laboratory Science Student Association. I joined the legislative arm of the association, the Student Representative Council.
When I reached the 500 level, I was elected as the speaker of the SRC. This and many other things are the things that helped shape my experience at Lead City University.
Can you walk us through your academic achievements?
I started my academic journey at Victory Nursery and Primary School, Ilora, Oyo. I was the assistant senior prefect.
Proceeding to secondary school, I had my junior secondary school at Sped International Secondary School, Akinmoorin, Oyo, where I had the best junior WAEC result in my school.
I then proceeded to Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo for my Senior Secondary School, where I became the Senior Prefect Boy.
Based on my academic performance in secondary school, I became one of the beneficiaries of the Eduserve Consult Scholarship, which led me to Lead City University to study Medical Laboratory Science.
Speaking of your scholarship, what motivated you to major in Medical Laboratory Science?
Right from my time in secondary school, I have known about MLS because I have an uncle who studied the course, that was one of the things that motivated me to study MLS. And also, my interest in research and diagnostics in health care also inspired me.
I am very passionate about saving lives, and that led to me choosing Medical Laboratory Science as my course at the university.
Can you walk us through your career progression?
My career progression is just beginning, but I have already laid a solid foundation through a strong academic record, practical experience, and a commitment to continuous learning. I am excited to leverage my skills and knowledge to make meaningful contributions to the field and to healthcare as a whole. And I’m currently at Intern at the Osun State Hospital Management Board.
Can you explain to us the most challenging project you have worked on and how you overcame it? And also, what are the key leadership lessons you have learnt as a medical laboratory scientist?
My final year project was a very key project that I worked on. My research interest was antimicrobial resistance. I focused on the prevalence of carbapenemase-producing organisms in urinary tract infection cases at University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Based on my research interests, I was able to channel my energy towards this project. I worked with my supervisors, and this helped me a lot with the outcome I got. The project was an eye-opener for me on critical public health issues.
The project involved extensive lab work and data analysis, but with the help of my professors, my supervisors, some of my lecturers, and also the scientists at UCH, I was able to overcome all of these challenges.
One of the challenges I faced was obtaining ethical approval at UCH. It was a bit tough, but through mentorship and curiosity, I was able to get the ethical approval to go ahead with my project. So my final year project was one of my key projects.
One of the key lessons I have learnt as a medical laboratory scientist is paying attention to details. This is because the profession is more practical-based. So you want to make sure that you obtain precision and accuracy, every detail must be paid attention to.
The second key lesson that I have learnt so far is the importance of participating in extracurricular activities. Most people think that because they want to focus on their studies, they don’t have to participate in extracurricular activities.
Extracurricular activities help to shape who we become, they give you soft skills. It helps you to build your teamwork and your leadership skills as well.
Another thing I have also learnt is to be consistent because consistency is key. Every success is the sum of small efforts that are repeated day in and day out. So you want to be consistent. You want to keep doing what you are doing and be focused.
And lastly, seek to gain hands-on experience. As I said earlier, this profession is more practical-based. People come in and tend to just focus on reading, and they are not good at the practical aspect. So you want to make sure that you are good in the aspect of practical.
So just a follow-up question on that. How did you balance your extracurricular activities with your studies?
Thank you very much for that question. I would say balancing them was not much of a challenge for me. From 100-level to 300-level, I wasn’t balancing anything. This is because I was focused on my GP, so I wasn’t balancing anything at all, but when I got to 400-level, I got to show interest in extracurricular activities.
One of the things that helped me to balance it was that I knew what I wanted, I knew when to pause, I knew when to rest and I knew when to come back. I knew all of these then, and I was able to prioritize my time.
So one of the things that was crucial for me was time management. Time management and prioritizing tasks were two of the things that helped me balance them.
I created a structured timetable, prioritizing difficult courses and practical sessions. I also surrounded myself with friends who helped me, people of like mind.
On days when I tend to focus more on those extracurricular activities, some people could pull me back and call me to order. So these were the things that helped.
How do you see the role of medical laboratory scientists in this digital age? And is there any accomplishment that you are most proud of in your career?
Okay, so speaking of the Medical Laboratory Science profession in this tech world, I believe that Medical Laboratory Science is a growing field and it is here to stay.
Part of the things that Medical Laboratory Science will be doing in this tech world is that it will be helping with personalised medicine.
There’s this thing called personalized medicine. It’s an approach to healthcare that tailors medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient. This includes factors such as genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environment. So anytime you’re sick, there’s a personalized treatment for you.
So when you want to treat anybody who has cancer, personalised medicine helps you know the specific therapy to give to the person. This is what Medical Laboratory Science will be doing in this tech world, it will help in personalised medicine.
One of my achievements that I am most proud of in my career is being able to balance my practical aspect with my theory, and being able to emerge as the Second-Best graduating student in my class with a CGPA of 4.83.
I would like you to give us a brief insight into what Medical Laboratory Science is all about, and what advice will you give to someone who is just starting out in the field of Medical Laboratory Science?
So, in Medical Laboratory Science, there are different branches and specialisations: we have haematology, which talks about the study of blood and blood-related diseases.
We also have microbiology, which helps us to know about the microorganisms around us, and also we have histopathology, which talks about the pathology aspect of MLS. It deals with tissues and cells, and that’s where we have the diagnosis of cancer.
There’s also chemical pathology, which is also called clinical chemistry. It helps us know the chemicals and hormones in the body. These are basically the four major aspects of MLS. It involves the analysis of biological samples to diagnose and monitor diseases. Medical laboratory scientists perform lab tests on specimens in the laboratory, like urine, tissues, and body fluids.
One thing I would advise someone starting out in the field of MLS is that they should be passionate about patient care.
Most people tend to come into MLS with the intent of being just medical students, most people come with the notion of making money. So, I just tell them, if you are looking for a profession that will bring you money, then you are in the wrong profession.
You have to be passionate about patient care, and while you start, especially as you proceed and enter the clinical aspect of MLS, you should seek hands-on experience as much as possible.
You do not want to focus too much on theory, you should engage in practicals in the lab. You can look for a lab around you, approach them, tell them you want to learn, and I’m sure they will be glad to let you learn.
Also, you must learn to network with professional colleagues, senior colleagues, and lecturers. You must have a good relationship with your lecturers, and you should also join professional associations, like the Nigeria Association of Medical Laboratory Science Students. You must also be eager to learn and stay curious because if you are not curious in the laboratory, you will not learn and discover more.
You can also seek mentorship from professors and lecturers at your school.
For your final question, what are your future career goals and how do you plan to achieve them? And describe consistency in two words for our audience and readers.
For my future career goals, of the four specialities we have in MLS, I specialise in medical microbiology, and my research interest is antimicrobial resistance.
One of my future career goals is to lay my hands on research and proceed with my Master’s degree, which is going to be in microbiology. And also lay my hands on practical experiences in clinical laboratories and delve into research and innovation. I’m more passionate about research and maybe becoming a lecturer.
So, as I said earlier, success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out, and that’s what consistency is all about when you keep doing the same thing over and over again to achieve a desired result.
So, the two words that define consistency for me are perseverance and being steady.
