...STILL ON RESIDENT DOCTORS!!! Panic appears to be rife amongst the ranks of the Resident Doctors, on the face of the Federal Governments continued insistence on review of the residency training program. It is difficult not to call this a witch hunt, based on the timing of the exercise, but it insults the sensibilities of Residents to insinuate, albeit subtly that the exercise is being done to fish out those with fake certificates, and those not found worthy in character. Such positing shows gross lack of insight on the part of the authorities on the design of the Residency Program. The alternative is that they (the authorities) are in the know, but deliberately chose to immerse themselves in self denial. It would be most callous to insinuate that Resident Doctors have not been altruistic enough in the course of the industrial action (called by NMA- the umbrella body of all doctors in Nigeria), more so, in the face of the Ebola Virus Disease catastrophe. Its on record that over 70% of the initial volunteers to fight the EVD were Resident Doctors. For the benefit of those that are uninformed (and those informed but chose to embark on a conspiracy of denial and silence of diabolical heights), the Residency Program is the post graduate training for medical doctors that elect to become specialists after graduation from the medical school, and in Nigeria, post NYSC. An entrance examination, called the Primaries must be passed before admission into the program. On admission, a Resident embarks on a structured and timed training program, duration of which is dependent on the faculty and college (in Nigeria, the West African Postgraduate Medical College and the National Postgraduate Medical College). Successful completion of the Junior Residency Training culminates in the Part One Fellowship examinations. Successful candidates become Senior Registrars, and commence the senior arm of the training (also timed). After the senior postings, and the writing of a dissertation, the Senior Registrar qualifies for the Part Two Fellowship examination, and successful candidates would be awarded the Fellowship of the requisite college, and this qualifies the postgraduate doctor to be appointed a Consultant. This brief expose tends to oversimplify an ordinarily arduous training program, but it suffices. The Resident Doctors are the engine that drives services and research at the Teaching Hospitals. They are the ones that train fellow Residents and medical students (with Consultant supervision). The thrust of this is that they offer services, and quality services! Medical education, even at the undergraduate level is a rigorous exercise. Admission into the medical schools remain highly competitive, and entry requirements remain stringent. It was a process designed to select the better brains, and despite the monumental rot in our system, the process still maintains some vestige of sanity. Resident Doctors are a highly trained workforce, one anchored on the tenets of excellence, and for Onyebuchi Chukwu, and his ministry to all of a sudden realize the need to re-evaluate the program, to meet the challenges of the health sector is all the more laughable. The Health Minister was once a Resident Doctor, and the training he had was no way different (or better) from that obtained by Residents in Orthopaedic Surgery today. He wrote same Primaries and other Fellowship examinations that Residents of today are writing. Perhaps, the certificate re-evaluation should start with the Minister! The greater challenge facing medical practice in Nigeria today is the medical doctor! While respect for elders is firmly rooted in our culture as a people, the elders have oftentimes fallen short of the expectations of the younger generation. This sad fact was made the more manifest by the ignoble role played by medical elders, in the guise of NMA in the recent embarked (and aborted) strike by medical doctors in Nigeria. This conspiracy of silence and grand betrayal of NARD by NMA could be forgiven, but the role played by MDCAN is the one that would leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the Residents in decades to come. The relationship between NARD and MDCAN is a special and inextricable one, as most (if not all NARD) members would naturally transit to MDCAN. That MDCAN could sit on the fence and watch the denigration of the ranks of the Residents is the greatest catastrophe that has befallen medical practice in Nigeria. Again, the re-evaluation exercise should extend to MDCAN, as some of our seniors (and elders) may not be immune to forged certificates and questionable attitude to work. The Residency Program in Nigeria is a far cry from what it was intended to be, but the search light of blame could hardly be directed on the part of the trainee. The program is grossly underfunded, the Teaching Hospitals are most ill equipped to handle medical education at all levels; not with the dearth of modern facilities and conducive environment. The Resident Doctor, by the design of his program, is to be sponsored by the training institution for seminars, update courses and exams, but this is hardly the case. The Resident, again by same program design, is to undergo exchange program abroad to keep abreast with breathtaking medical interventions not readily available in our clime. This was the case, but yearnings for same by the Residents could only draw the ire of the government. While the public could rejoice and throw vitriol on the greedy Resident Doctors, the loser remains the common man on the street, and not the political class. The political class would always hop to the West to treat the slightest health scare. Most worrying is the fact that recent events in the health sector could lead to a large chunk of Nigerian doctors seeking pastures outside the shores of Nigeria. The massive brain drain that defined the medical sector in the mid 1980s could be looming again. MDCAN could play the proverbial ostrich today, but they need not be served a reminder that when the government succeeds in clipping the wings of the recalcitrant Residents, theyd be next on line. Its only a matter of time!
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:18:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015