By Meletus EZE
The College of Nigerian Pathologists has said that the shortage of practising laboratory physicians in Nigeria was increasing the incidence of malignancies.
The Chief Medical Director, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr Jafaru Momoh, said this at an event marking the International Pathology Day on Wednesday in Abuja.
The medicine has described malignant as a term referring to a condition that is dangerous to health.
Therefore, a malignant tumour or cancerous tumour is one that is invasive and can spread to other parts of the body.
Represented by Dr Nabila Abubakar, a Consultant Chemical Pathologist in the hospital, Momoh said a pathologist or laboratory physician is a person who is trained and examines tissue specimens and confirms the accuracy of laboratory investigations and interprets results to a surgeon.
He regretted that there were less than 500 pathologists out of 35,000 doctors in Nigeria
“Without active involvement of laboratory medicine and research, upgrading the healthcare delivery will be impossible because pathology blazes the path to improved health.
“Up to 70 to 80 per cent diseases rely on pathology to make evidence-based diagnosis.
“You will agree with me that treatment without diagnosis is tantamount to witchcraft.
“More hands are needed to ensure expedited diagnosis because currently in Nigeria there are less than 500 pathologists out of the estimated 35,000 doctors.
“This is probably due to lack of awareness of the field of pathology and the allure of the `more glamorous’ specialities,’’ he said.
Momoh noted that the low number of pathologists in Nigeria was grossly inadequate when compared with 1,800 pathologists in Australia and 35,000 people working in pathology in various laboratory roles.
He advised young people to join the profession and urged those in training to be tenacious in their pathology study so as to create land mark history in the field.
Dr Bawa Abimiku, the Chairman, College of Nigerian Pathologists, FCT Chapter, said that pathology literally mean the study of structural and functional changes in cells, tissues and organs.
Abimiku said that pathologists were the brains behind the scene who work in histopathology, morbid anatomy, medical microbiology and parasitology, haematology, chemical pathology and clinical chemistry.
He explained that the college organises the event yearly to create awareness on the field, adding that the theme for the 2018 Pathology day is: “We all Need Pathology‘’.
He said that the aim of the event was to also celebrate pathologists, provide their profile and dispel the many myths about the profession.
