7min read • 6 months ago
I had two things on my mind on my first day of SIWES at the prestigious Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
Thing One, act like you know something and be eager to learn.
Thing Two, please and please clumsy Joanna, don't break their test tubes😭
I didn't break any though thankfully through the 6 weeks of my training but you get the feeling.
The first thing I'll miss is the buzz
LASUTH Laboratories could seem like a market on some days.
You have patients, different staff, hygiene control, interns, students like me, all revolving in an ecosystem looking to help and heal.
It's 9 am and the loud shout of “Next donor” every 5 minutes is giving you a splitting headache.
When I got to shout that a couple of times too, it was such a thrill to be the cause of noise.
Don't judge!
I do think they should invest in a signboard for that, just a suggestion..
Between dodging test tubes, shouting occasionally and chasing results, I slowly realized SIWES wasn’t about showing how much I knew, it was about unlearning and relearning everything I thought I did.
I worked in three units, sadly I didn't get Histopathology, it was such a pain.
My learning kicked off with Chemical Pathology, everyday from 8 am till 12 noon, I got to face my arch nemesis, PHLEBOTOMY.
I have such terrible experiences of trying to bleed people to collect samples.
I've watched countless videos, watched countless scientists and classmates in my school do it like a pro and then there's me.
My hands would shake, I'm the one doing the piercing, I'm the one feeling the pain and ever since I cried that fateful day under the supervision of a meanie at my institution, I haven't touched a needle or tourniquet for that purpose, I honestly developed a stigma.
They didn't really care about that here though, they were adamant that I'd do it and lo and behold Day 4 at phlebotomy, I had taken a sample with just the mistake of pushing the blood too fast into the anticoagulant bottle not even the actual bleeding process.
I smiled the entire day, it was such a win for me. I continued to do it and guys, my hand doesn't shake anymore and they are of course things I still need to perfect but hey, major growth right there.
To be honest, Chemical pathology which I have always found boring and too technical found life and meaning in the 3 weeks I spent there.
I had already canceled this course from my future, now I'm not so sure anymore.
I even got to work on glucose samples using the estimation method pictured above and it sounds simple until you’re the one holding the micropipette, double-checking every drop like your life depends on it.
For the first time, I was allowed to handle the specimens myself and trust me, that kind of responsibility makes your hands steady up real quick.
It was also where I began to understand tests I’d only seen on lecture slides , things like bilirubin, HbA1c, urea, liver and kidney function tests.
Each one told a story about what was happening inside a patient’s body.
Some numbers had me feeling sad especially when it correlated with the patients diagnosis, often I'd say a silent prayer.
I reaffirmed that lab science isn’t just about mixing chemicals, it’s really about decoding lives in numbers, colors, and reactions.
I think my favorite experience there was being asked to do a presentation for the entire lab on a faithful Thursday.
I won’t lie, my heart was beating faster than a centrifuge spins but when I started speaking and the faces around me were open and kind, something clicked and it just flowed.
The same lab that once intimidated me was now my audience, and I actually knew what I was talking about.
That presentation built my confidence in a way no classroom ever could.
After that, it was time to roll up my sleeves for the Microbiology unit, the real “crime scene investigation” of the lab.
If Chemical Pathology was calm, courage and precision, Microbiology was pure adventure.
Every sample had a mystery waiting to be solved, and my job was to find the culprit.
Fun fact, this was another course I'd cancelled!😂
First thing I'll say is, if you're involved in Microbiology, you're either favored by the Lord or you're a genius because the kind of people I met there, they honestly blew my mind!
It was an entire pack of brilliant scientists and interns around one bench and no question was ever left undebated or unanswered.
I was made to research so much that before long I also felt brilliant.
I learnt a thousand, and got taught a million.
Truth is Micro to me has always been interesting but crazy bulky, the sheer amount of things to not just learn but know like the back of your hand is daunting.
Finding inspiration that I could achieve just that and excel at it is something that will stay with me.
Every morning, we'd carry out Culture Plate Reading from 9 - 11 am and I found Microbiology to not just be interesting but beautiful.
Have you ever seen Pseudomonas or Streptococcus on a culture plate before?
The colors, the patterns, the analysis, a process I quickly fell in love with.
Micro came with different smells too, some characteristic to the organism or specimen involved, others just constant in the lab like a ghost that never leaves, I quickly got immune to.
From urine cultures to stool samples, I learned how to streak plates, identify growth, and do urinalysis like a pro (well, almost).
I got to work on sugars, rapid testing for infections, so much urinalysis, tasks that once felt intimidating but soon became routine.
The best part?
Watching results line up exactly how we expected them to.
There’s a quiet joy in getting it right.
My favourite part of Microbiology?
Definitely Microscopy
The picture above is from a urine sample I focused and viewed under the microscope
My first time achieving such clarity and actually knowing what I was looking at.
I loved chasing what the naked eye couldn’t see, watching a whole new world appear — cells, crystals, yeasts, bacteria, each one with its own strings attached.
I learned to identify structures that once looked like random dots on a slide. My supervisors would smile whenever I got it right and that tiny “good job” meant the world to me.
The microscope taught me patience, attention to detail, and humility because one wrong adjustment and your beautiful field of view turns into blur and chaos.
After my intellectual quiet microscope days, I moved to Haematology and Blood Donor's Clinic where things were louder, busier, and definitely redder.
Here, I felt like part of the LASUTH rhythm.
It’s the heartbeat of the lab (literally), and the first thing that hits me is how much blood passes through those benches every single day.
Some days 80-100 samples, everywhere was just red.
From PCV checks, ESR to blood film examination, every test felt like piecing together a patient’s story one cell at a time.
I learned to read results beyond the numbers to understand what they meant for real people waiting outside those lab doors.
The skilled scientists made sure I knew that in haematology, accuracy saves lives, and that stuck with me especially when I found myself using the reader to estimate patient PCV ranges.
Then came one of my favorite places, the Blood Donor Clinic.
If the main lab was the heart, the donor clinic was the pulse.
The buzz there was unmatched: patients, donors, interns, staff, everyone moving in sync.
I got to weigh donors, check vitals, ask vital screening questions, and sometimes, even assist in bleeding.
And oh, of course the privilege to shout “Next donor!” — unforgettable.
There was this shared sense of purpose that made the noise here beautiful – knowing every pint collected could save a life.
The summary to my learning curve is I felt more like a scientist than I'd ever felt before in various units, not just one.
Everyday, I'd learn something new or build more knowledge on something old.
This growth is something that'll always stay with me and I'm so grateful I made the right choice as to where to do my SIWES.
Six weeks, countless samples, and not a single broken test tube later, I can confidently say SIWES changed me.
It didn’t just teach me lab work, it taught me life work.
In short phrases,
1️⃣Patience is a reagent — add it to every experiment.
2️⃣Teamwork isn’t optional in the lab; it’s
the buffer that keeps everything balanced.
3️⃣Precision saves lives.
4️⃣Theory gives background, but practice gives confidence & understanding.
I found joy in small wins, the first time my control worked perfectly, my first successful phlebotomy, my first successful microscopy, the day I gave my lab presentation with confidence, the moments supervisors trusted me with real samples.
Most of all, I learned that behind every test tube and slide, there’s a human story, someone waiting for answers, someone hoping for healing.
Looking back, I walked into LASUTH laboratories clutching lecture slides and fear.
I walked out holding skills, confidence, and memories I’ll carry for life.
As I hang my lab coat and return to the classroom, I realize SIWES didn’t just teach me lab techniques — it taught me clarity, bravery, and a new sense of purpose in every drop, stain, and slide.
I'd love to hear which part of this stuck with you and of course if you have a SIWES memory to share!
Let's mingle in the comments🤭
Love,
JoJo✨