The 7 Best Tips On Securing An MLS Internship.

The internship application journey can be tedious and lonely. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience. There’s a lack of resources, especially regarding MLS internships, and most people just wing it while hoping for the best. So, to make sure you don’t go through the same struggle I went through during my time, I’m writing this: the guide I wish I had.

Before I go further, here are reasons you should listen to me:

Hi, I’m Olajesutofunmi, the best graduating student from the Department of Medical Laboratory Science and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences in 2022. Also, I scored the HIGHEST MARKS in the ONLY internship exam I wrote.

And in this article, I’ll show you the techniques I used and what I wish I had known before I started the application process. Such as:

1. Documents required.
2. Deciding what you want out of the internship.
3. Applying to as many places as possible.
4. Preparing as much as you can.
5. Leveraging connections.
6. Talking to seniors.
7. Joining internship group chats.

How To Secure An Internship Placement

1. Documents required:

Make sure you have at least ten copies of each of these documents in hand:

a. Application letter: This is addressed to the hospital’s Central Medical Director (CMD) or, in the case of the Health Service Commission, the Permanent Secretary. It should contain your address, name, degree, and why you think you’d be a good fit for the hospital.

b. Curriculum Vitae: This details your academic journey and accomplishments.

c. Primary School Certificate: Yes, I know. Where do they expect you to get this from? You didn’t even do Primary Six!

Don’t fret. If your records are part of the school, they should be able to provide a testimonial that you attended their school.

You’d be surprised at the number of places that require this certificate which we thought was inconsequential. So don’t think you can weasel your way out of it. Dust off your shoes and take a trip to your primary school. Who knows? The journey might even have you feeling nostalgic.

d. WASSCE certificate.

e. University certificate and Provisional licence: These are the first things some places will ask you for, so please be sure to have them on hand before you apply. Nigeria is too hard to be wasting transport money.

f. Three letters of recommendation from lecturers or scientists you’ve worked with: The best time to collect this is during the final year week or before school ends because you’re in the same space with your lecturers, so it’s easier to ask.

If you’re unable to catch your lecturers in school, another thing that might make this process easy is sourcing recommendation letter templates and mailing them to your lecturers or scientists to attach signatures to them.

Also, not every place will ask for this, but it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

g. State of Origin Certificate: This is a certificate from the local government of your state of origin attesting that you’re from that local government.

This isn’t difficult to get. To obtain this, you carry along your birthday certificate, National ID, passport photograph, your address within the Local government to the Local government office. And if you don’t reside in your state of origin, someone in your local government can take copies of these documents and help you apply.

h. Passport photographs: you should also have at least 10 of these.

These are the fundamental documents required. Some organisations require some additional documents, like:

1. The Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) required by LASUTH: To get this, carry a utility bill and a verified means of identification to any local government office within Lagos. This process doesn’t take more than 30 minutes.
2. Application forms: These cost between 500–5000 Naira, depending on the place you’re applying to. So make sure to have cash on hand when going to the following places:

• Nigerian Air Force Hospital
• LUTH
• LASUTH
• Nigerian army hospital

PS: Whenever you fill out a form, snap or make photocopies of the documents.

2. Decide what you want from your internship and follow through.

Generally, applying to federal hospitals is your best bet because of the increased quota of interns they take. For instance, FMC Keffi employed about 50 interns.

Regardless, you should identify which of these categories you fall into and know where the bulk of your effort should be placed:

Those who just want to get it over with while having time for other things:

If you fit into this category, your best bet is to apply to specialist hospitals like Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Yaba. By design, these specialist hospitals cater to a subset of the patient population, hence, reducing the workload. They also pay relatively well because they’re government-owned.

Working supra: This is a fancy way of saying “working for free.” It is the easiest route to follow because Nigerians LOVE awoof. In fact, if I had money for every time someone told me to work for “experience,” it’d be enough to pay my salary.

And if you’re following this route, stay away from private labs. In fact, run.

At least with governmental institutions, you get the advantage of an abundance of staff, so the bulk of the work isn’t on your neck. And, if you can stand up for yourself, you get more leeway. Like: reduced work hours or days and no call duties because they can’t treat you like others. You’re not being paid for crying out loud. You can start ASAP, do your thing and get out of there.

Although I’d advise that working supra should be your last resort.

If your focus is on getting paid, the rank of payment for internships goes as follows:

• Federal institutions: >130k
• State institutions: >120k
• Private institutions: <100k

If you want to focus on learning and getting the most out of your internship:

Apply to teaching hospitals like LUTH and LASUTH. They have a LARGE population of patients to attend to and usually have specialised tests, reagents and equipment you might not be lucky to see elsewhere.

3. Apply to as many places as possible.

Even though you may have your preferences, even if you think you have the surest connection, please do not take submitting multiple applications for granted. I said I wrote only one internship exam; I didn’t say it was the only place I applied. Apply, apply and apply.

Things happen. And at the end of the day, connections are human beings too. It’s better to have backups than to be left stranded if your preferred hospital or connection doesn’t work out.

4. Prepare as much as you can.

Everywhere you go, people are always shouting about connections. The irony is that I know people who had STRONG connections but still didn’t get employed. In the same vein, I know people who had NO connections but still got employed.

They CAN’T employ everyone based on connections alone.

Even if it’s just one person, there’ll still be those chosen based on merit. Your goal should be to be that person. And if you follow, I’ll subsequently be sharing tips on how I had the highest score in my employment exams and how you can too.

I know people who shied away from certain places because of the employment exams or because they heard they could only secure a spot through connections.

Before running away from a place, try your luck.

For instance, after the employment exam, I was so scared of the current affairs portion of the interview stage. Even though I had prepared, gnawing at the back of my mind was the thought that current affairs is so broad and they could ask anything.

Only for the interview to come, and the only current affairs question they asked me was to say one state and one capital. And that was it. They went on to ask other people harder questions. But I wouldn’t have gotten my placement if I had shied away from writing the exam and, subsequently, the interview because of my fear of current affairs.

5. Leverage your connections

“But Tofunmi, you said — “

In case you’ve not gotten the gist, the theme of this guide is that you should pull all the stops when it comes to the internship process. Merit, connections, prayers, or whatever, the key thing is to try your best.

In a sane country, your degree should be the major door opener. But this is Nigeria. Sometimes, the difference between you and someone who got accepted is just a signature.

If you have a connection somewhere, use it. But do not put your entire hopes on them.

6. Talk to your seniors

They’re working in various institutions, so they know the intricacies of the hospitals. That is, they have the tea on companies with unfavourable working conditions, those that do not pay on time and those with reduced call duties. They can also provide insight into the application process. They might even be the “connection” you need — you’d be surprised.

7. Join internship group chats:

These group chats circulate information on the hospitals open to applications at particular times. Some even run courier services if you’re open to submitting to hospitals in different states.

All in all, the internship application process can be gruelling, but I trust you to do your best. I wish you luck in this new phase.

If you found this post helpful, please clap, share and follow. I’ll be posting tips and tricks about acing the employment interview, never-before-seen past questions, CV, recommendation letter and application letter templates.