The Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, has recently addressed the ongoing debate surrounding the recognition of medical qualifications for Nigerian doctors. This issue arose as the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) sought acknowledgment for membership certificates obtained from specific institutions.
Dr. Sanusi made the MDCN’s stance unmistakably clear, stating, “In Nigeria, what we recognize is the fellowship for you to be recognized as a specialist and not the membership.” He elaborated, “Membership is not the terminal end of their program; our standard in this country is the fellowship of NPMCN, anything below that one means that they are not specialists.”
The distinction between membership and fellowship certificates has sparked concerns within the medical community. Dr. Emeka Orji, the National President of NARD, expressed worries about potential repercussions, saying, “What it means is that the outside world will be looking at us as if we don’t have good doctors here because it is something that happens in Nigeria and other countries, but our own government institution will use their hand to reduce the quality, and that means there is a problem.”
In response, the Registrar of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN), Prof. Akin Osibogun, emphasized the stringent nature of medical training, stating, “As far as the NPMCN is concerned, we award the certificate at the completion of the designed training program when we are certain that the person is a qualified specialist.”
The NARD also emphasized that the two colleges in question do not offer training for doctors in Nigeria alone but to doctors in other West African countries as well. Dr. Orji stated, “I mentioned Ghana and Liberia; they also offer training to their doctors there, and those countries did not downgrade their own, so why are we downgrading ours?”
Furthermore, the association highlighted the potential implications of this distinction, suggesting that it could negatively affect the perception of Nigerian doctors abroad. “The outside world will be looking at us as if we don’t have good doctors here because it is something that happens in Nigeria and other countries,” Dr. Orji noted.
The Registrar of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN), Prof. Akin Osibogun, explained that medical training has distinct phases and emphasized that the MDCN’s grading change could affect the quality of medical professionals emerging from the program.
The issue has prompted ongoing discussions and concerns within Nigeria’s medical community, with many calling for a resolution that upholds the country’s high medical training standards and ensures the continued delivery of top-tier healthcare services.
Source: News Agencies