Navneet Singh (right) during lab classes at FNU

Navneet Singh is now a successful medical laboratory scientist after graduating with a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLS) from Fiji National University’s (FNU), College of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences (CMNHS) in 2022.

Originally, from Lautoka, Singh chose to pursue this career because it was his father’s dream. However, with time, he realised that it was the right field for him since working as a medical lab scientist contributed to saving countless lives every day.

“Medical laboratory scientists and technicians play a pivotal role in our medical and healthcare systems,” the 25-year-old said.

“Approximately 70% of diagnoses are given through the expertise of medical laboratory scientists.”

He further stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, people began to realise that medical lab workers were unsung heroes, as they helped in the life-saving testing and diagnosis of numerous people.

Singh revealed that even though studying away from home was a challenge, he was thankful for FNU’s support services that helped him adapt to his new chapter in life.

“It took time to adjust, but the friendly environment and workshops that were conducted to help first-year students were helpful. Resources like the 24/7 free WiFi were readily available, which helped us study and keep in touch with loved ones back at home.”

“Studying BMLS could get very intense sometimes; however, the well-equipped medical lab facilities, together with highly trained and experienced lecturers and tutors, were a great help,” Singh added.

He said the practical skills he gained at CMNHS were proving to be extremely beneficial to his career, as the manual tests taught at University helped him understand the principles of automated tests.

“BMLS is a four-year programme, with three years of study and practicals and a year of clinical attachment with research. The final year was interesting, educational, and filled with discovery as we had handson practice with clinical samples while conducting and presenting a research paper.”

Singh presented a research paper on “The Prevalence of Leptospirosis in Fiji from 2017 to 2021”.

He hopes to pursue postgraduate studies at CMNHS soon, with a keen focus on molecular diagnostics.