Medical technology education in the Philippines

In other countries such as the United States and Canada, Medical Technologists have a shortage. This is the reason why they are hiring medical technologists from other countries. But in the Philippines, it has no shortage of medical technologists. The reason for this is that so many students are enrolling in medical technology in the hope that when they finish studying they could land a good job in the country or in other countries.

In the Philippines, before one could enrol in a Medical School, there are entrance examinations administered. And just like other courses, unless you pass a certain examination, you cannot just go into the Medical School. Once a student graduates from the Medical Technology course, one must pass the National Licensure Examination before one could finally be taken in as a Medical Technologist. For those who haven't passed the licensure examination but have grades of 70 percent to 74 percent, they could be absorbed as laboratory technicians under the supervision of a registered medical technologist.

Most Filipinos want to go abroad when they finish a degree in Medical Technology. With the high cost of college education, those who go to Medical Schools are very eager to finish their educaton and have a high-paying job abroad. In the Philippines, one cannot earn as much as when one will work in other countries. This is the reason why so many Filipinos opt to go abroad to work once they are out of the universities. Although there are some who still prefer to work in the country, majority of those who finished Medical courses want to go abroad to work.

Before one could apply for a medical technology job abroad, one must pass the ASCP examination which gives an additional credential to the applicant. This is an international certification that makes one become competitive in the global market.

There are more than 60 universities and other schools offering a degree in Medical Technology in the Philippines and 2 of these schools offer a master's degree. Recently, there was a decline in the enrolment in Medical Technology because enrollees in the Nursing program has increased tremendously. The reason for this is that nursing is in-demand in other countries. With the present economic crisis in the Philippines, almost everybody is aiming to go abroad once out of the university. There are already millions and millions of Filipino workers abroad which includes nurses and medical technologists. These are so far one of the highest paid Filipino overseas workers.

The advantage of taking up Medical Technology in the Philippines lies in the fact that Philippines Health System is patterned after the United States Health System. This is why Medical Technologists trained in the Philippines could work perfectly in the United States without or little problems. There are three categories in the Philippine Clinical Laboratories. They are the tertiary which is fully automated, secondary which is partly automated and the primary which is only 30 to 50 percent automated.

Despite rigid training afforded to the students during college, some Medical Technologists go to Canada and the United States to further their training and enhance their profession. Today, the implementation of continuing education is being reviewed while seminars and trainings are offered through professional organizations such as PAMET. This is to further upgrade and improve Medical Technology courses in the country.

Although most of the graduates prefer to work abroad to earn more money in other countries, there are always those who want to serve the country once out of the university.

http://www.helium.com/items/1318245-medical-technology-education-in-the-philippines

OH MY GOD, this article said 180 degrees from Medical Laboratory Technology reality in Indonesia ---___--- .

I'm declaire that I could go abroad with my profession as MedLabTech someday!